Looking for touring advice/tips
 

I plan on touring from Delaware to Nebraska around 1,390 miles and I was looking for advice on the best route I should take. I plan on camping 85% of the time, what is everyone's suggestions for a ^one person tent, sleeping bag, and rain gear. I am curious in what brands you all use, what is lightweight, or saves space. I am getting some advice from a co worker who biked from DE to Venezuela in the 70's for a lot of the other stuff I'll need, but I appreciate any other information. Thank you.

Times have changed since the 70s. :)


Go into some shops and start looking at what is available. Visit MEC, REI, Army surplus, or whatever other sporting goods shops you have in your area. Read about the features of each of the tents ... especially features like their weights. Many of these sporting goods places will have tents up and on display so you can actually see what they look like and go inside to check them out.

Same with things like sleeping bags etc. Look at their temperature ratings, check out their other features.

Go look at what's available and do some in-person research.


I could tell you that our tent is a Quechua from Decathlon in France (which we picked up when we passed through Dunkerque in 2007) ... and that we really like it ... but that's probably not going to help you a whole lot. :)

Since you don't currently have gear, I'm going to assume long-distance bicycle touring and camping isn't something you've done before. My biggest advice would be for you to do your research "on the road", buying gear incrementally and trying it out for short overnight or 2-3 day weekend trips. Credit-card tour for a single overnight the first trip to get your basic luggage and kit sorted, then start adding in the camping and taking longer tours

You can get great advice and recommendations on forums like this, but expecting everything to magically come together the first time when you depart on a 3-week tour is not a good strategy.

- Mark

Can't help with the route, but these posts on my blog will tell you what I take whether it's a weekend or week long trip. For rain gear I generally rely on a Campmor Rain Cape. It keeps me dry enough without getting too wet. It's not great in the wind, but how fast are you going with a fully loaded bike anyway?

Marc

here you can see my gear list

as nossas viagens: Equipamento

In portuguese but with google translator option on the right
You have already good tips in some answers, do one night trips to test/improve your kit.
Most important for me is good panniers like ortlieb, 100%waterproof
My tent, sleeping bag and pad are also from decathlon. (I've changed from a 15Cº sleeping bag to a 5Cº now in winter)

If you'll be in the Western part of Nebraska, stop by this place...I took this picture in 2012.

Carhenge, Alliance, Nebraska

Wiki Carhenge Nebraska

https://c2.staticflickr.com/2/1514/2...0acfe86c_c.jpg

Another neat spot in Western Nebraska...the drive/ride to the top had a dozen plus tunnels on it:

https://c2.staticflickr.com/8/7391/8...4b8a71b8_c.jpg

https://c2.staticflickr.com/8/7449/8...57bc2730_c.jpg

https://c2.staticflickr.com/8/7293/8...0ab59c43_c.jpg

See the thread I just started about around the world by bike.

My wife and I rode cross country in 2014 starting in Delaware. Here is a map of our route. Though we walk into Nebraska!
https://www.google.com/maps/@41.5151...4.katiPNhrySLU

Those parts of I-74 and I-70 are open to bikes?

Woops! That was our generic map to show non-cyclists where we were going. Our actual routes may still be in our Ride With GPS Routes.

Milk is pretty much always a bad choice.

For tent I would go with the Big Agnes Fly Creek UL 2 it is a two person tent that tends to be lighter comparatively to a lot of single person tents and is always well rated and reviewed. Having that extra space without extra weight means more comfort and storage possibilities.

For sleeping bag I like the UltraLamina from Mountain Hardwear (whatever temp rating you might need) because it is a decently light synthetic bag great for all conditions and quite comfortable to sleep in. I have the 45˚ bag and it works for most of what I do.
I would put that bag on top of a Sea To Summit sleeping pad (most of your heat is lost through the ground) which is very comfortable and easy to inflate and deflate. Instead of having long vertical tubes or many horizontal tubes it has smaller individual air pockets which provide a lot more comfort and stability so your pad doesn't fold up on you while sleeping and doesn't transfer motion from cell to cell. They are also quite lightweight and you can get them insulated as well.

I also highly recommend a sleeping bag liner such as the Sea To Summit Coolmax Adaptor. I have two of them one in plain Coolmax and one treated with Insect Shield and it is great either for summer time when it is too hot for a sleeping bag or for keeping the funk out of your sleeping bag and being something easy to wash. It is like a performance sheet sack. STS also makes some that add warmth to your bag if you should need that.

For rain gear I am a big fan of Mountain Hardwear again. Specifically anything with Dry.Q Elite which is a very nice air permeable waterproof membrane. I have the lightweight reasonably stretchy Seraction Pants which were designed for ice climbing which is high output and and the kick patches on the inside ankles are great for cycling to help protect against getting caught by the chain. For jacket I have the Chinley 3L but I don't think they make that anymore but any of their Dry.Q Elite jackets would probably work well. I chose what I chose because of the pockets for non-cycling use.

You could also go with Arc'teryx which makes some awesome jackets with Gore-Tex (and other materials) and either has or soon will be coming out with a jacket or jackets with the new Gore-Tex Active which is supposed to be a lot lighter and more air permeable and keep the water out of the jacket completely rather than having a sandwiched membrane and a DWR coating on the outside which can get soaked through. You can also find that technology from Gore Bike Wear which makes some great cycling specific pieces if that is your thing.

I do recommend doing a shorter local easy tour to test gear and make sure you would be comfortable going further and figure out what you know you need and stuff you might not. Especially make sure you know how to put up your tent in good conditions and use other gear. Learning how to set up your tent in a rainstorm would not be fun.

Things have changed a lot since the 70s so while your coworker sounds awesome and probably still has a few useful tips, you should know the information is quite old and might not still hold up. A lot of technology has improved and become lighter, stronger, faster...

Realistically, you have to first establish your budget before you ask for advice. Then you might take a look at some comparative reviews at online sites, such as outdoorgearlab.com, and then maybe head to various retailers for a personal inspection...but now armed with some knowledge about features and suggested prices.

It has to be exciting to plan such a ride! Take a look at https://www.crazyguyonabike.com
This is a great blog site where people who have toured write their stories and usually list equipment used. Also, The American cycling association (ACA) have excellent touring maps of cycling routes and bike paths. They are based out of missoula, Montana. I would recommend a 2 person tent. One that you can sit up in and store your gear in doors if it rains. Also, join "warm showers". This is a group that are bike and touring frioendly and allow you to shower at their homes and many will let you set your tent up. Fire stations are another great place to set your tent up. In terms of gear, most people who have toured realize tey brought too much stuff. There is a lesion there. Don't go cheap (walmart) on the gear....you get what you pay for. You also don't have to purchase the most expensive. Are you going to cook. There are plenty of Utube videos on building your own alcohol stove, or wood burner, Usually out of a pop can. Have fun planning. If you need a place to stay in SW Iowa, on highway 34, let me know.

Tom Young

Read this thread as well: http://www.bikeforums.net/touring/12...ps-tricks.html

Yeah I planned on doing a few weekends and a week long one before I do the 3 week tour. Thank you for the advice!

Where are you planning on finishing in Nebraska?

Most likely Omaha.

I've been experimenting with Strava Route Builder. It uses the Strava Heat Map of popular biking roads, and can make some reasonably good routes quickly.

See my previous review post here.

I tried to click Delaware then Omaha, but that was probably too far. So I tried again, Delaware to Cincinnati, then a second click at Omaha. It doesn't look bad. The routing through southern Ohio and western Indiana is mostly good to excellent. But there's a few short, steeper climbs that can be avoided. And a couple of the roads are kind of bad for bikes, but the alternative routes are quite a big detour.

For me, the advantage is picking reasonable routes off the main highways in areas that I don't know. But these routes really need to be uploaded to a GPS, split into smaller sections. Look at the cue sheets, there's a lot of turns!

The maps can be edited by dragging a point on the route to a new road or city. It'll reroute to include that spot.

Here's the link: DE to NE

Hi ZMRider23,

I'm planning a cross-country ride this spring and summer, going E to W from Cape Henlopen, Delaware to Seattle, with Omaha Nebraska along the way.

Here is our tentative route, open to changes as road construction, weather, cyclists' suggestions arise: 2016 - A bike ride in Sussex County, DE.

Our route is based in part on trying to take many rail trails, which are good for us as our daughter is 9. So we take the C&O and GAP from DC to Pittsburgh, then a good portion of the Ohio to Erie Trail, then the Katy Trail across much of Missouri.

Hope this helps, and maybe we'll see you out there! We leave in early April but we'll be going slow so you'll probably zoom past us somewhere along the way if you're going this season.

Rob

White_birch, your route through SW Ohio is okay, but I've got a more interesting route: ridewithgps.com/routes/11790518, with Points of Interest added to the route map.

This local map starts at your Mile 776.

At your Mile 780, stay on the trail.

On my map:
Follow the bike trail almost to it's end near Mariemont OH at mile 12.7. Route 50 is a main highway, but not too busy outside of rush hour, and they are used to seeing bikes there.

Mile 14.2 The local Graeter's Ice Cream has a shop in the center of Mariemont--get the chip flavors!
Mile 16.9 turn in to Armleder Park, then take the connector to the Lunken Airport trail. You might see business jets taking off.
Mile 22.2 Lunken Terminal building is a small 1930s Art Deco lobby, with a 1930s tiny airplane hanging from the ceiling, and murals. Also a restaurant (with outdoor seating in the back, and you can leave a bike in sight there.)
Then take Airport Road to connect to Riverside Drive along the Ohio River. It's a reserved bike lane to downtown.
Mile 24.3 St Rose Church has great views of the river from it's back parking lot.
Mile 26 The river side parks begin. Either stay on the road or take the park paths if you aren't in a hurry.
Mile 28 the new Smale Park has views of downtown, the river, the 1865 Suspension Bridge, and has many interesting features to explore. There's a bike station that has locking bike storage inside.
Mile 29 head back a mile to cross on the 1890s Purple Bridge, now it's for pedestrians and bikes only.
Follow KY Route 8 to the Anderson Ferry. Bikes are $1.00, and it's an interesting trip across the river.

Some of the roads on the way to Indiana are main highways, but avoid rush hour and you'll be fine. There's no good alternative routes without adding quite a few miles to the north. For example, this route--which only avoids maybe 5 miles of busy highway. But it's a scenic route through the Whitewater River valley, on mostly lightly traveled roads.

EDIT -- added links

By going off of your newest post regarding your bike, it seems that weight may be a concern. After all, it's a road bike, not a LHT. No problem; in fact, many on this forum are ultra (I cut the tags off my equipment/clothes to save weight) light enthusiasts. This means that you'll have to either spend a little more to get lighter gear and/or cut down some of the luxury items. Something to think about.

First you have to figure out your budget. You could spend $1K on good quality light wt. stuff. You can also buy heavier stuff much cheaper and take the wt. penalty. Your choice.

Just a couple of notes since rode in SD last June and was planning to ride in NB:

1. Chadron to Hot Springs is a long stretch with very few services and zero shade. There is a bar/casio near the state line and allegedly a service station a local told me about, but I don;t think there is much else. The only camping in Hot Springs itself will be on the left on U.S. 16 just before you hit the commercial center of town. Expensive ($30) for what it is, but the tent sites have full shade and are right next to a little creek. Don't let the chamber of commerce information center steer you to the campground at the recreation area. It's several miles of hill outside of town. I gave up trying to find it and went back into town.

2. Argyle Rd. between Hot Springs and Pringle is not paved.

3. When you reach Pringle, the only commercial thing there is a bar/restaurant (closed on Sundays). There is a volunteer fire company. Maybe one of those places will let you cap there if you need to stop. Otherwise, taking the Mickelson, you next option is Custer.

4. French Creek Campground in Custer looked decent. It's right off the trail and two blocks from the center of town.

5. Crooked Creek Resort in Hill City is nice, and right next to the trail. From there, there is only one commercial place (restaurant in Rochford) and no camping that I found until you reach Lead.

I will PM you with more later.

Hi rm-rf -- This is fabulous stuff! Thanks so much for these tips and hints. I adjusted everything on my route accordingly. I really appreciate your taking the time to put this together and share it with me!

Rob / White Birch

Thanks so much indyfabz! I'll take whatever more tips you have to offer, as always.

Rob / White Birch

If you are thinking of crossing the river in St. Louis give Trailnet a call and find out how to get through East St. Louis safely. It's confusing and you do not want to get lost there.

Seems I can't private message you as I don't have enough posts!

A quick reply to your message:

[QUOTE=indyfabz]1. I assume you have looked at the official site for the Mickelson Trail and noted the profile. The trail is not a “warm and fuzzy” trail like the GAP. While there are water cisterns and shelters spaced nicely apart, there is very little in the way of commercial services outside of Edgemont, Custer, Hill City, Lead and Deadwood. The trail surface is not crushed limestone. It’s much rougher, and can get extremely messy when it rains. It is also not flat. There will be longish stretches of noticeable uphill (e.g., Custer to Crazy Horse memorial, leaving Hill City). Combine that with the slow surface and you end up working harder than you thought. I highly recommend packing plenty of food. I headed south from the Engelwood trail head. During the climb from Mystic I encountered a guy who was leading some young people on bikes. They had started the day in Deadwood and were headed towards Hill City. They were all bushed and were walking their bikes. I didn’t reach Hill City until it was nearly dark, so I know they must have been riding in the dark. I hope they made out o.k.

ME: Yes, I have read that the Mickelson Trail is rough. We're considering it optional at this point. We'll see how hot it is, how strong we feel, how much we want to get off the road, etc.

2. Leaving Deadwood, your route again uses unpaved roads until it joins up with U.S. 85 again. To climb out of the gulch there, RWGPS is showing some double digit grades. You might consider sticking to U.S. 85. Busier, I know, but there is a good shoulder, and climbing steep grades on gravel/dirt can be very tough. Once you summit the hill on U.S. 85 it’s a nice descent toward E. Colorado Blvd. I had a nice tailwind and was cruising along easily at around 20+ mph.

ME: I didn't realize that road was unpaved. Thanks for the heads up. I switched over to 85 there.

3. E. Colorado Blvd. towards Spearfish is an option, but I believe the western end has no shoulder. I took the interstate (totally legal) instead for that reason. Traffic was light. I took it to the second exit (Jackson St.) which leads you to the center of town. Another option is to take the interstate to the first exit (27th St.) and take 27th to the intersection of E. Colorado, where you can pick up a bike trail that, if you follow it correctly, will take you right into the municipal park/campground in town. That place is a must-stay. Without a doubt it is the nicest municipal campground I have ever stayed in. In addition to the plush grass, modern facilities and the little creek that runs along the west edge, another nice thing is that during the season they close the eastern end of the road through the park so there is no through traffic. Right next door is the national fish hatchery historic site. Kids love it. You can buy food and feed the trout they have growing in several tanks. Make sure you see the re-creation of a rail car that used to haul fish throughout the state. In general, Spearfish is like an oasis in SD. It’s a fairly prosperous town with a university. It does not rely solely on tacky tourism like most of the towns in the Black Hills. You will see people doing things like exercising and walking through the park with their children. In part of the park near the campground there were kids taking an outdoor Karate lesson. Bunnies were hopping around and young deer were frolicking. Totally surreal. Maybe the best way to describe it is to call it the Burlington, VT of SD. If you take a day off there, riding part of Spearfish Canyon Rd. (U.S. 16 Alt.), which you can access easily from the campground, is worth it. The grade is pretty gentle and there is a shoulder. Maybe ride up to the waterfall and back.

ME: I guess we'll check this out when we get there, and I've copied your notes here.

4. Don’t know when you plan to be in the Black Hills area, but you might want to consider reservations. They are likely a must if you will be there during Sturgis motorcycle rally week.

ME: I once got stuck with car trouble in the middle of Sturgis. Won't make that mistake again, although it turned out to be a fun adventure. We'll be through there by July, or we'll bypass the area.


5. We have friends to stay with at Lewes, so no worries about the state park, but thanks for the heads up. Silence of the Lambs - duly noted. Creepy. Not sure I want to go check that out!

Also, I rerouted our way through the southern part of the Black Hills, near Hot Springs and Custer and Custer SP. I put us on Needles Highway into Hill City. We'll see if we're up for it. Otherwise we'll head into Custer. Here's the new route altogether: Map Bike Rides with Elevation Profiles, Analyze Cycling Performance, Train Better. Ride With GPS.

And as for the long haul from Chadron to Hot Spring -- I don't know of any way to get from the Niobrara valley to the Black Hills without a long haul. It looks even worse from Crawford. I did note the casino at the state line and saw that as an oasis of sorts. Any thoughts you have would be appreciated, but I'm not seeing any better way. I don't want to route through South Dakota earlier than the Black Hills, as that looks more barren than the Niobrara valley route.

Thanks so much,

Rob

Thanks for the follow up, rm-rf! Actually, here's my proposed route from Elizabethtown, on the OH/IN border, heading west: Indiana - OH Border to Vincennes - A bike ride in Hamilton County, OH.

As you can see, I don't have to get back on Route 50 at all after North Bend. So I think I'll probably pass on your more northern route. But thanks for giving it some more thought.

Rob