WNCGoater

@Machka and @Rowan Thank you for the info. Seems I've looked at Carradice bags before but I don't think I realized they made such a large seatbag. I can see where that could come in handy as a single bag for short tours or even commuting.

Machka 

The nice thing about the Nelson Longflap is the long flap. It can be unfurled as it is in our photos, or it can be folded in half if you're carrying a smaller load.

So, we did that 200K randonnee on the Sunday. I carried the Longflap with me on that ride but it was practically empty (rain jacket and one or two things), so I folded the flap in half and kind of scrunched things in a bit, and it looked like a much smaller bag.

It's quite versatile.

indyfabz

What about underwear. New ones or old ones you will throw away during the trip?

Papa Tom

Thanks for the reminder. I hope I have enough tattered boxers and t-shirts for more than an overnight!

Leebo

Ok then, news to me. Know the origin of the name in AUS? We have so many English named towns up here.

Machka 

And we have so many English named towns here too.

Machka 

And also the colourful, pretty mushrooms that appear in the pictures in childrens' books!

I had never seen a mushroom that was anything other than a grey/brown tone before that one.

WNCGoater

A short tour. Last weekend overnighter with a grossly overloaded bike. I packed everything I could possibly want for a 5 day tour to sort out gear. Needless to say, it was indeed a learning experience and my gear is going on a crash diet! I did this with backpacking gear. "Necessities" can become luxuries that has to be carefully selected and "luxuries" become unnecessaries! Anyway, I pedaled about 44 miles the first day, camped overnight on a "Closed to Motorized Vehicles" Forest Service road in Pisgah National Forest, then pedaled about 35 miles the second day to close the loop back to the start point. About 12 miles was on the gravel FS road.

Photo op starting out.
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The French Broad River drains this whole area west of the Eastern Continental Divide. This is through the relatively flat river valley.
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This is the road through the valley not far from the above photo location.

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Then after considerable climb, just like that you're in the mountains.
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This is Looking Glass Falls, a fairly busy tourist photo-op right on the side of the road.

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Then I got to the gravel. At this point I was about toast with over 40 miles and waaay too much gear weight!
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The road is steep in parts with some switchbacks.
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Finally camp set up. Complete with mild thunderstorm that evening.
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indyfabz

Three-day trip from the house to French Creek S.P. in Berks County, PA. On Saturday I took a 39 mile day ride from camp to the infamous Shady Maple Market for groceries and lunch with these fine beasts. Rained heavily Friday night and Saturday evening. Also got rained on during the final four miles before home. Total mileage was about 135. Good preparation for my upcoming St.Albans, VT to Philly tour starting June 3rd.


Also passed a few one-room schoolhouses.

Machka 

There were a couple long weekends in North America recently ... did you do a short cycling tour?

DIY masochist

Planning to do a ~120 miler on the Greenbrier river trail in West Virginia some weekend soon... Hopefully I don't wait too long and the summer disappears.

indyfabz

9:15 a.m. train to Saint Albans, VT. See you in a few weeks.

indyfabz

The "Alive at 35" tour from St. Albans, VT to Philadelphia is in the books. Total mileage of about 620 in 12 days of riding, with a day off in Burlington for dinner with a friend and a short day to, and a day off during, my 35th high school reunion in Deerfield, MA. Highlights included some beautiful dirt roads in VT, a snapping turtle laying eggs by the side of the road in MA, spending the night in a restored caboose in MA and a bear cub sighting in camp at Worthington State Forest in NJ. Photo album to follow later this week.

Happy Feet

Looking forward to the photos!

indyfabz

Photos from St. Albans, VT to Philly:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/105349...57695059662912

Click on the first one and advance manually with the arrow to the right to see the captions.

Route map:

https://ridewithgps.com/routes/27849657

Actual miles ridden was about 620 when things like trips for groceries are factored in.

As I noted before, I incorporated a two-day stop at my 35th high school reunion at Deerfield Academy in MA. It was fun to hang with my former schoolmates, including the grandson of Gen. G.S. Patton. I also spent an extra day in Burlington, VT and had dinner wt a former colleague and his wife. They have a place in town that looks onto the lake. Other overnights in:
Half Moon Pond S.P. near Fair Haven, VT
Dorset, VT
Guilford, VT (just outside of Brattleboro)
Chester, MA
Taconic State Park, Rudd Pond area, outside of Millerton, NY
Hyde Park, NY (motel)
Godeffroy, NY
Worthington State Forest along the Delaware River in NJ
Upper Black Eddy, PA

The VT state parks were a real treat. Since showers were possible both nights I got lean-tos for around $26/night. Half Moon Pond made me chuckle there was at least one owl and numerous frogs. including bull frogs, making what sounded like loud, cartoon noises.Overall, the weather could have been worse. It poured in Burlington late Sunday night into Monday morning, but then the rain let up. (It was supposed to rain for the next three days.) Tuesday I got spritzed on a couple of times while on the road, but it was warm and humid enough that I never bothered with the rain gear. Other than another short, light shower before I left Hyde Park, the roads and I remained dry. By the time I set off for home th last day it was downright warm.

The most strenusous climb by far was the 6+ mile hill leaving Manchester, VT. Was made it a bit frustrating is that my rhythm was disrupted at least a half dozen times by wide vehicles hauling modular homes. The stiff climb leaving Chester, MA had a ruling grade of 14% according to RWGPS. I was able to make it up without stopping, but only because the road was car free, allowing me to "deliver the mail." And as you can see, the route used several unpaved roads.

Saw my third bear in the last two week+ tours. A very young cub in camp at Worthington that walked across the campground road coming from the river. I did not, however, see mom, which was unnerving. Hope the poor thing wasn't lost or orphaned. I let the par staff know the next morning.

Guess that's about it. Time to come up with a trip for September.

Machka 

So how are the short tours going?

PedalingWalrus

Machka 

Great photo!!

Machka 

How did your planned tours go?

Are you doing any touring in the last 6 weeks or so of the year?

Machka 

We did a short tour in February (Posts 37 and 38) and I really enjoyed that. It was good.

We had one more weekend where we did a 300 km randonnee in early March ...

And that was that for this year.

On March 22 Rowan had an accident.



Happily we are cycling a little bit again, so hopefully we'll be able to tour again.

ricrunner

Just recently, did 1X 4 day trip from Bundarra NSW to Bingara NSW to camp and fish with my dog, round trip 150km, then this last weekend , did the same trip again with the dog and was lucky with catching 2 Murraycod, but have to release them as out of season. Haven't done a big trip since 2016, was looking forward to going this year but circumstances has put that back to next year maybe. I do like short 1 to 5 day trips a lot though and it keeps my dog Milo and I pretty close as apposed to him having to share me with 2 other dogs. He is an assistance dog for severe depression and very good at his job.

DropBarFan

Hi Machka, great to hear Rowan is on the mend. Locally it's turned unusually cold so no fall tour, hoping the local ski hills will open early.

Machka 

We did a short driving trip the other weekend that included a little bit of cycling. Hopefully next year we'll do a short tour or two.

waddo

Live in Tokyo? Fuji 5 Lakes is an absolute must for a short tour. Take the train to Kawaguchiko and start from there. I have a couple of vids, this is an autumn one.