dirty cookie

this summer i am gonna ride from seattle to sf along the ocean, with some friends. some will be on geared bike, some not. i catching a lot of slack bout wanting to ride it fixed. has anyone ridden any or all of these sections on the west coast? any thoughts? how was it?

awesome

dc

fixedpip

Ridden pretty much all of Washington/Oregon/California coastal route and it was great. Best three weeks or so ever (we ended in SF). Some fair ol' hills on this route which would make riding it fixed a real challenge especially with all your gear.

I would recommend getting the Adventure Cycling maps (https://www.adv-cycling.org/) for at least some of this journey, as well as reading "Bicycling the Pacific Coast" (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/089...ance&n=283155). BtPC has a fixed route and distance to do each day which can be a little limiting/anoying but it has good info. Personally I liked using the maps as it gives you a lot more freedom.

There are some bloody amazing hiker/biker campsites on this route (wonderful locations).

dirty cookie

right on fixedpip! thanks for the reply. i actually already have the adventure cycling maps, and have been planning routes. it was the elevation charts that got me a little worried!

ch0mb0

better take a break just in case. you're gonna be hauling a lot around with you.





also, a means of stopping or slowing down might come in handy. what with the hills and all.
you may wanna attach one to the front at least

evanyc

i'd definitely add a front brake, and possibly a freewheel if ya have a flip-flop, just in case. i think this would be an awesome ride to do with a group of fixed riders, but with a mixed group it might end up being a pain in the ***. as long as the geared riders don't complain too much though it shouldn't be a problem.

dirty cookie

oh yeh! i plan on a front and rear brake for sure, as well as a freewheel on the flipflop.

jyossarian

Bring a trailer for all the wine you get in the Napa valley.

dirty cookie

i will be taking orders.

Rugen

I think you're going to have a hard time keeping up with the geared folks, unless they're really patient.

dirty cookie

well, not so concerned about that, as i am about possibly having to walk my bike up these hills!

marqueemoon

The ride sounds fun but loaded touring on a fixed bike sounds like a serious drag to me.

cyclotoine

Yeah.. sorry why anywould WANT to tour on a fixed gear baffles me. What a pain in the A** and frustrating will it be as all the geared toruers pass you.

dirty cookie

well, yeh, i guess thats a risk i am willing to take. i am pretty excited about it, and excited about building my bike up and seeing how it rides beforehand. if its completely ridiculous, than i will have to change bikes i spose.

i think touring on a fixed/singlespeed sounds pretty fun actually. i think touring on a bike with a bob sounds like a pain is the a s s. but thats me. i plan to travel pretty light.

haaa haa, we will see! thanks for the replies

shawnrock@gmail

Touring fixed is miserable.

dirty cookie

good lord

ch0mb0

why would?....he wants to be challenged, ffs!
this may not sound like an easy thing to do, but it can be done...when he's finished, he'll look back and see double the accomplishment.
(if he doesn't get eaten by the b'ar along the way)

if he wanted to do it the real easy way, he'd just drive it I suppose.

endform

Well since you're going in the summer and with other people you have a few weight advantages going for you.

You can spread the universal tools around (although carry your own darn lockring tool ) and camping gear can be light light light. Chances are it's gonna rain at least once (you're on the pnw coast afterall) so you gotta pack a bit for that.

What are you doing for camping supplies? I'd say concentrate on losing weight off your gear, and plan with the rest of your group about who's bringing what.

edit: also find some real hills to train on.

plantdude

You might want to end your trip at the UC Davis sports medicine clinic - they are the experts in knee problems. You'll most likely have some...

Should be a beautiful ride though.

Dogbait

You may be interested in this free bike map of the Oregon Coast. It has an elevation profile along the left margin of the main map. It's a 3.62mb PDF.

Oregon Coast Bike Route

Dogbait

space_robots

Before you commit to doing the tour fixed, you should go on some all-day rides out in the country to test out your bike setup. You'll probably be spending more time in the saddle and less standing than when riding in the city, so you might notice that you are too stretched out, or your bars are too low, or your seat is uncomfortable.

I would also recommend running a gear that will allow you to climb most hills seated, but this might hinder you too much on the way down... so I dunno actually, that's part of what makes fixed gear so difficult for touring. Whatever you decide, I'm sure you have a good time.

Also, too bad those sturmey-archer 3speed fixed hubs are so rare. One of those would probably be perfect.

fixedpip

Oh for longer bike touring Chamois Butter (or similar) is a godsend, especially for the early days. Your butt will thank you for it esp on a fixie.

See:
https://www.pacelineproducts.com/products/chamois.html

and this thread for some more recs:
https://www.bikeforums.net/archive/index.php/index.

I'd second the recs to do as much loaded training as you can muster.