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Tell me if nothing scary or funny has ever happened to you when touring

Old 09-26-19, 07:37 PM
  #26  
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given their size and weight, I'd be happy if they ignored me.
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Old 09-30-19, 07:49 AM
  #27  
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Did a three-day this past weekend. Nothing funny or scary happened.
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Old 09-30-19, 11:41 AM
  #28  
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Originally Posted by indyfabz
Did a three-day this past weekend. Nothing funny or scary happened.
I know this is completely off topic, but did you have any interesting train-related experiences?
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Old 09-30-19, 11:44 AM
  #29  
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Originally Posted by alan s
I know this is completely off topic, but did you have any interesting train-related experiences?
I took three different trains as part of the tour. PATCO from town to the start, then the Atlantic City line from A.C. to Lidenwold to pick up PATCO again back to the city. Nothing interesting or scary happened during the rides.
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Old 10-03-19, 03:31 AM
  #30  
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Originally Posted by alan s
I know this is completely off topic, but did you have any interesting train-related experiences?
trying to buy a train ticket in austria. went to the counter and asked for a ticket for myself and one for my "fahrrad."

older lady at the counter writes up two tickets. the one for my bike cost more than mine, i complained.

she dinna understand what was wrong, so i pointed at me, and i pointed to my bike next to me.

ach du lieber! crazy austrian accent! she wrote the second ticket for my "vater" (father), instead of my "rad'l"

so, in short, no, not really an interesting experience.
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Old 10-03-19, 08:15 AM
  #31  
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Way back when (like early 70s) I occasionally rode my bike from college in NH to VA for summer vacation. I once altered my normal route to cross the Hudson at Kingston rather than my usual crossing at Poughkeepsie. Wrong! I got onto busy roads and decided to abort the trip and continue to DC on the train.

In those days I was riding a stripped down racing bike with sew-up tires so when I boarded the NYC bound train at Rhinecliff I carried the bike on with wheels removed and stuffed it into the overhead storage bin. In NYC when I was preparing to transfer to the train for DC an angry conductor asked "Where did you get on?" "Rhinecliff", I replied "Well you wouldn't have gotten on with that bike had I seen you!", yelled the conductor.

I put the wheels back on, rode from Grand Central to Penn Station and repeated the carry on for the train to DC!
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Old 10-03-19, 08:44 AM
  #32  
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Awkward.

I once boarded a train to Jasper from Vancouver with plans to ride back down the Yellowhead Hwy. I booked economy and it took nearly 24 hours to make the journey but the seats were large and I napped there and in the observation car.

We arrived on time.
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Old 10-03-19, 12:30 PM
  #33  
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One more Canadian train story where nothing scary or funny happened and then I'll shut up! Happy Feet's Yellowhead Hwy story brought back a memory...

This trip I flew to Calgary for a loop to repeat a previous Icefields Parkway trip. When I got to Jasper I decided to ride the Yellowhead Highway back south like Happy Feet did but only as far as Kamloops before continuing the loop back east. I decided to take the train from Kamloops to Salmon Arm, just a short hop, to avoid the Trans-Canada highway before cycling south towards Peachland.

It was morning and I was enjoying coffee while sitting and chatting with a really pretty girl in the observation car. Suddenly the conductor came up looking for me. I looked out the window and saw my bike and panniers sitting on the platform. We had arrived at Salmon Arm already but I was too distracted by my new friend to notice!
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Old 10-03-19, 11:20 PM
  #34  
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Originally Posted by BobG
One more Canadian train story where nothing scary or funny happened and then I'll shut up! Happy Feet's Yellowhead Hwy story brought back a memory...
Well by golly, your remembrance of the southern train route reminds me of another story...

In 1988 or 89 I lived in Banff as a climbing bum and decided to return to my hometown for the summer to cut grass while my girlfriend travelled abroad.

I bought a ticket cheap because I possessed a student card from SAIT for an EMT course I took that year and recall I could board my bike without box or bag - just rolled it on.

That was the far more scenic route compared to the northern route through Jasper. It goes through Banff, Lake Louise, the Spiral Tunnels of the Kicking Horse Pass, Rogers Pass and more. A year or two later it was privatized and renamed the Rockie Mountaineer and the ticket price went up into the thousands.

Now only rich tourists ride it but I only paid $110 and completed the trip without incident.

Last edited by Happy Feet; 10-03-19 at 11:24 PM.
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Old 10-04-19, 04:32 AM
  #35  
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Originally Posted by Happy Feet
I booked economy and it took nearly 24 hours to make the journey but the seats were large and I napped there and in the observation car.

We arrived on time.
I went coach from Chicago to Seattle to start a tour. Took nearly 48 hrs. We also arrived on time.
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Old 10-04-19, 05:07 AM
  #36  
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Originally Posted by Happy Feet
Well by golly, your remembrance of the southern train route reminds me of another story...
I found snapshots from a previous "short hop" on that southern route that we discussed on another thread...



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Old 10-04-19, 08:20 AM
  #37  
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So many almost might have been close encounters here. Could be a real eye opener about the realities of touring for some folks.
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Old 10-05-19, 06:12 AM
  #38  
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The snake stories reminded me of one of my companions on the TA. She was terrified of snakes and really frightened by the dogs that chased us. On my next tour I had an experience that definitely reminded me of her. A couple farm dogs in Missouri came out to give a little friendly chase and as I sprinted away I had to bunny hop over a big snake. I was smiling thinking about how my friend would have lost it over the whole episode.
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Old 10-05-19, 08:33 AM
  #39  
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Originally Posted by staehpj1
The snake stories reminded me of one of my companions on the TA. She was terrified of snakes and really frightened by the dogs that chased us. On my next tour I had an experience that definitely reminded me of her. A couple farm dogs in Missouri came out to give a little friendly chase and as I sprinted away I had to bunny hop over a big snake. I was smiling thinking about how my friend would have lost it over the whole episode.
I laughed at this
fear squared indeed.
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Old 10-06-19, 09:17 AM
  #40  
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I was touring in the British Isles with a friend. We were riding into a town in northern England and I was having a problem with a toe strap. I reached down to adjust it and a parked car jumped right in front of me with no warning at all! Because I was fully loaded, my maneuverability was not what I could have wished. I plowed into the evil vehicle, though at fairly low speed. No damage to the frame or fork and the car was unharmed. Unfortunately, my front wheel looked like a potato chip.

We started off in search of a bike shop, me wheeling my bike along on its back tire. Within just a couple of minutes, a passing car pulled to the curb in front of us. The driver jumped out and said "Looks like you need a wheel!" Of course, I was in no position to argue the point. He said if my friend would watch the bikes for a bit, he would see if we could get it taken care of. I got in the car and he sped across town, not to a shop but to his home. We went in the kitchen door and he introduced me to his wife who was cooking dinner. She said hello and acted as if this was a daily occurrence. Anyway, we went into the garage, where he had several wheels of varying sizes. Then it was back across town to my friend and our bikes. The wheel was not perfect but it was sufficient to get us to York, where there were lots of shops. He refused payment, saying that instead, he just wanted me to write with an account of our adventures when we got back to the States, He rummaged through his glove box and tore a corner off an envelope from the Automobile Association that had his address on it..

In York, I had a new rim laced to my old hub and we spent another two months on the road. I guess the moral of the story is, if you ever find yourself in a rather forbidding looking town with the unfortunate name of "Goole," don't be put off. There are angels there.
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Old 10-06-19, 07:13 PM
  #41  
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Is needing to bunnyhop a hole at 30kmh while soft-touring in Vietnam, and having one of my riding buddies capture it on his GoPro scary or funny?

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Old 10-06-19, 08:25 PM
  #42  
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I like bunny hopping stuff, but it's a drag that you can't do it with much of any load one a bike...
Neat screen grab though!
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Old 10-07-19, 06:35 AM
  #43  
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Originally Posted by djb
I like bunny hopping stuff, but it's a drag that you can't do it with much of any load one a bike...
It is harder, but not impossible with a loaded bike. At the very least you can manage to take most of the impact off even with a heavy load. I have managed to hop stuff even with a fully loaded bike. It is one of those skills that I am better at when I actually need it and don't have time to think about it than when I am doing it for the fun of it.
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Old 10-07-19, 09:38 AM
  #44  
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Originally Posted by staehpj1
It is harder, but not impossible with a loaded bike. At the very least you can manage to take most of the impact off even with a heavy load. I have managed to hop stuff even with a fully loaded bike. It is one of those skills that I am better at when I actually need it and don't have time to think about it than when I am doing it for the fun of it.
I agree. I too have at least lessened the impact of a sudden hole that I cant avoid, by putting all into at least lightening the bike as much as I can.

and as you say, we have usually a half second or whatever to just do it...another reason thats its good to play around with bunny hopping and other avoidance manoeuvres like emergency braking, makes it more instinctual--this is the basis behind motorcycle defensive riding and practice practice practice, same with bikes push bikes...
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