My tour idea - input welcome/needed
 

I am retiring next month! So, I have this idea to ride the Amtrak from Colorado to Sacramento/San Francisco/Oakland in September and then ride north to see me oldest son who lives near Sebastapol and Monte Rio. After a week or so, they will be getting tired of the old man and think I'll start working my way back via the Western Express - I live on US 50.

I have a 1997 Trek 520 (and feel fortunate I was able to find it during the pandemic as I have not seen another touring bike for sale since then). I have front and rear racks and some older Lone Tree panniers, a decent 2 man tent, sleeping gear and other stuff. I have done several overnight and several 2-3 day camping trip rides on a mountain bike. This could be my first road type tour - but I plan on doing several overnight and less than weeklong tours here in Colorado over the summer. I'm working with a local bike mechanic/shop to look at changing the gearing to get lower climbing gears - not sure it will get done though.

Specific input I'm looking for - best place to depart Amtrak in northern California and then suggested routing to get up toward Sebastapol, Monte Rio or Guerneville. He lives maybe 10 miles off the PCH so that could be an option. Also, leaving from Sonoma County after the visit, routing to get back to the Western Express. I have the ACA app with the Western Express maps on my phone.

Thanks in advance for sharing your insights.

I'm fairly ignorant about the specifics of northern California, but I did persuade my dad to ride the train from Seattle down to Emeryville and then to Denver. I don't remember how long the layover was in Emeryville, but it was a long time for an old man in his 80s. So with that intro, here's a few thoughts:

First, unless you're a speedy long-distance rider, you might consider leaving a bit earlier in the year. I'd suggest a late August trip west, and start back right after Labor Day for more sunlight and less snow as you cross the Rockies.

Second, could you ask your son to come pick you up in Davis, Martinez, or Emeryville? That'd be a few hours out of his day, with perhaps a stop for a meal and/or a few vineyards on the way home. It'd be a relaxing way to end a couple days on the train.

Third, and like the second, could he drop you off when you're ready to head east? I've read some horror stories about Sonoma and Napa valley roads, and close to harvest season might not be the time to tackle high traffic roads with no shoulders. You could pick a point from the Western Express maps that isn't too far from son's house and puts you directly en route.

I think I trust traffic more than this young man's driving! :lol:

Seriously, hadn't thought about having him come pick me up.

This is my first year of retirement and I don't think it will really hit me until other teachers go back to school in August. I will probably head that way on the train around the middle of the month and like you suggested, start back around Labor Day. No Colorado State Fair for me this year!!

Two concerns -

1) Your exact dates aren't clear - late Sept means late October in Colorado.
Early Sept is a lot more forgiving weather-wise.
If you are from Gunnison it probably doesn't matter.

2) US 50 across Nevada is long and rugged - with lots of mountain passes.
It is not the best route for a newbie - esp. considering the remoteness.

Just my 2c. (Done the WX a half dozen times.)

Thanks for your experienced thoughts jamawani As an inexperienced tourer, I take it all in.

Back to my questions though - ideas about where in California to exit Amtrak? Routing from there to Sonoma County?

Sonoma County has fairly good bus services. You can see their transit network here: https://sctransit.com/ .

Amtrak has stops in Oakland, Berkeley and Richmond. From Richmond, you can take a Golden Gate Transit bus (https://www.goldengate.org/assets/1/...bayol.pdf?7559) to San Rafael.. From San Rafael, you can take a bus to Santa Rosa (https://www.goldengate.org/bus/route...co-101-update/). From there, another bus to Guerneville, Monte Rio, or Sebastopol. It will take some planning and likely some local transportation to get from the train to bus station. I would guess that you can take the bus from either Oakland or Berkeley, as well.

Note that while Amtrak from Southern California doesn't go directly to San Francisco, you can take a separate line from San Jose to San Francisco and from SF you can get buses directly to Santa Rosa. In reality, that might be your most direct route.

As for the Western Express, be aware that the climb over the Sierra (Carson Pass) is no joke. You will have to be prepared to climb over the 8574 foot pass in the first part of your trip. With 50 mile days, it is 2 days from Guerneville to San Francisco (I overnighted in Petaluma). If you'd like an idea of what the ride from SF to Carson City on the Western Express is like, check out my journal.

Good luck and keep us informed of your progress.

By the way, congratulations on your retirement!

You are retired, take your time. Get off the train in Emeryville. Assemble bike and pack your panniers. Then take a shuttle bus to Fisherman's Wharf bus stop. Then ride your bike west, then north across the Golden Gate Bridge, and check out some of the sights north before you go see family. There was a Safeway grocery store just west of Fisherman's Wharf you could pick up a few days of groceries, it was there when I was there in 2014. I stayed at the Fishermans Wharf Hostel, but I have no clue how hostels are doing with a pandemic. There also was a hostel in Sausalito eight years ago, that is another option.

Some but not all California state parks have hiker biker sites, no reservation needed, those sites charge per person for those on bikes. The last state park I stayed at in 2014 before I rode to San Francisco was Samuel P Taylor State Park. Distance to Samuel P Taylor is far enough you might want to stay a night in San Francisco or Sausalito after your train ride.

The night before Taylor park, I stayed at Sonoma Coast State Park, I was going south, not north. You would have to check their websites to see if they still have hiker biker sites.

Then head east to see family from there. There you would be on roads I have not been on, but you would not be going far.

Along the coast you would be traveling North against prevailing winds, but you don't need to go too far before you turn east to see family.

You will never forget riding your bike across the Golden Gate Bridge to start your big bike tour.

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...74fc933ca6.jpg

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...e343ff33df.jpg

If my recollection is right this photo is the hiker biker site (in 2014) at Samuel P Taylor.

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...90a752aa9d.jpg

All the locations I cited here are from my 2014 trip, you would need to make sure that things like shuttle buses still exist.

this really, really, really needs to get done.

you'll be climbing some long hills.
it gets hot out there, and resupply points aren't always conveniently spaced.
plan on carrying lotsa extra water.
very heavy water.
up long hills.
in the heat.
spinning uphill in a low gear beats pushing.....

Thanks saddlesores I need to get with the LBS mechanic and get a plan. My drinking buddy bike mechanic just wants to talk about changing to a 1X front and I don't think that will do anything but limit. Not sure if I can source an MTB front crankset and figure out how to install but maybe the longtime LBS mechanic and direct me. As far as I can tell, the 520 has the stock front crank and rear cluster right now.

your drinking buddy won't be the one painfully dragging a bike uphill!
figger out what you have now, plug it into a gear calculator.
what do you have now?
fiddle around to get lower lows and lower highs.
(you're not likely to complain about not having a high enough high gear)
plenty of parts available on ebay.
any mechanic at any shop can switch chainrings and cassettes.

Don't go 1x for a tour like that! You're going definitely going to want some lower gearing for the terrain/length of tour. I'm in the midst of swapping out pretty much everything but the brifters and front derailleur on my gravel bike. A few youtube videos and a bit of swearing later, I'm a much more competent bike mechanic. It's not as daunting as a task as I thought it would be.

from the intertubes memory hole:

not sure if that's what you got...........but it's nuts for an old guy to tour with.
i'd prefer 16-18" low gear.
not worried about the high gear. coasting is fun. but 95-100" is fine.

should be a piece o'cake to switch out the front crank with a 26-36-46 and the rear with a 14:34.
your mechanic can confirm your deraillers will handle the chain wrap.

This is very helpful. Thank you!

Thank you!

That's what I thought myself. He's a good friend, but only started working on bikes a few years ago, so that is his experience - make em all sporty for the youngsters.

The LBS mechanic has been there for years. She was as young as me when I bought my first Schwinn Sierra MTB back in the 80's at the same shop so she ought to know her stuff by now.

A 1X? ... No. That is the latest fad, but that is not good for distance touring.

If it is a 1997, a​​​​ trek of that age probably has a road triple. If it has a five arm 74mm BCD, you can put a 24T granny gear on it. You might lose a couple gears that have your smallest sprockets and smallest chainring, but those are cross chainged gears, should not use them anyway. If you lose them, the reason is that your rear derailleur might not be able to take up the slack.

I am guessing eight speed cassette.

My medium touring bike has an eight speed Sram 11/32 cassette, a mid 90s XT rear derailleur, bar end shifters, a vintage Suntour front derailleur, and a Campy triple with 46/42/24 (half step plus granny) gearing. Photo below:

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...19ce6d4cce.jpg

This is not a Trek, but the drive train might be very similar to yours. My crank started out as a road triple, I reduced the size of the big ring and granny ring. The photo above is not of the bike I used for my Pacific Coast trip, but the gearing is almost identical to what I used along the coast. But, I can't comment on what things are like as you leave the coast and head to Colorado, others will have to provide that input.

Unfortunately this does not say much about the details:
http://www.vintage-trek.com/Trek-Fis...d/1997trek.pdf

Can you post a photo or a couple photos of your drive train and shifters?

If your front shifter is indexed, you might have problems if you start making changes as the indexing might not work well. That is why most of my bikes have a friction front shifter, I can easily shift with mis-matched front derailleur and crankset. My derailleur touring bikes use bar end shifters, the front shifter is friction.

If this is your crankset, you should be able to put a 24T granny gear on it instead of a 30T. But this is a 1999, maybe yours is different.
https://velobase.com/ViewComponent.a...m=115&AbsPos=1

You might have a seven speed instead of eight. I know nothing about the seven speed systems.

I have friction in the front and indexed on the rear and they are bar end.

I think it has a 7 speed - 11-28

I'll do that this evening or tomorrow when I am home.

Sram makes a 12-32 seven speed cassette, but if you have a biggest sprocket of 28 at this time, it is possible that your rear derailleur would have to be replaced to install a 32.

If you can put a 24T chainring in front, 32T biggest sprocket in rear, that will get you up most hills. That is what I have on my bike in the photo above. I am guessing you can do that with your existing crankset.

A new cassette before a long trip with a new chain is always a good idea anyway.

I assume you are content to stick with seven speed, eight or more means new shifter (or at least rear shifter) and likely a new rear hub or wheel, possibly rear derailleur.

Does your rear shifter have a little D-ring on it? If so, that probably means you can turn the ring to switch the rear to friction.

It would look something like the D-ring on the right of this photo.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/cb...C=s1600-l75-e7

The 520 is stock 1997, so has the 30-42-52 crank and the 11-32 8 in the rear. Rear shifter can move from indexed to friction. Front is friction. I hope it will be as easy as changing out the inner ring to a smaller or replacing with an MTB crank. LBS is on tap for the weekend.

ok, now that you know what you've got and what you wanna do with the gearing......how much of what came with the bike can you keep?

what is the condition of the chainrings and cogs? sharkfins?
how about the chain? worn out and/or stretched?
are the crankarms the proper length for your legs?

the rear cassette, if not worn, should be a keeper.
you can change individual chainrings, but might find it cheaper to just buy a new crankset on ebay.
you don't wanna switch only the inner ring........derailler may not take up the slack, too big of a jump between rings, and the big ring will be useless for a "mature" gentleman touring with gear.
plan on replacing the chain.