I'm better with cold/wet weather tips than hot weather tips. Sadly I've got much more experience with the cold and wet conditions. :rolleyes:

Things like ...

-- Splurge on a good waterproof-breathable cycling jacket with lots of ventilation. You will not regret it! It'll keep you warm and dry both on the bicycle and off.

-- Get a helmet cover with a bill, and a neck flap. It can also be used on and off the bicycle ... while you are riding, and while you are frantically trying to set up your tent in a torrential rainstorm.

-- Pick up two or three sets of those little mini-gloves which you can get for $1 in Walmart during the winter. They are small so they don't take up much room, or add much to the weight of the load. Wear them under your cycling gloves in colder or wet conditions.

- Put socks over your water and keep them wet... thanks to evaporation your drink will stay cool.

- Use a canoing 'dry bag' to put your sleeping bag and other bulky item. These bags are relatively cheap, mush stronger than garbage bags and can easily transform into laundry bags or shoping bags if needed.

- Keep plenty of space in your bags for shopping... food for a nice diner can be surprisingly bulky.

- Ask local cyclists about the best roads!

Bring a ziplock of your favorite Meal replacement/ protien powder.
When you finish dinner and are itching for a midnight snack, when dinner was too little or when your low on food at the end of a day you can supplement.

Ah, but you can squash your bread so it takes up less room. After all, bread is half air! I hadn't thought of that one until the first time my cycling partner and I went grocery shopping on our Australia trip. We got out of the store ... he picked up the loaf of bread ... and squashed it so that the slices were still the same height and width, but their depth had significantly diminished - each piece was about 2 mm thick. Later, when you get to your campsite, and peel off a slice of bread, it plumps up a little bit so it isn't too bad.

I got so used to doing that to bread, I had to stop myself a few times once I got home!


You have to be a little bit careful with this one.
-- If the local cyclists are avid, adventuring cyclists who really know cycling (different aspects of it) and know their area, you can get some good answers.
-- But if the local cyclists are the ones who do 5 miles a day on bicycle paths, you'll get the directions to the local bicycle path which might be scenic, but will slow you down significantly and will usually take you quite a bit out of the way. That might be all right, but if you are trying to make some time, it might not be what you're looking for.
-- Or if the local cyclists are racers who easily ride straight up mountains at 30 mph on their 3 lb bicycles, they might tell you that the road ahead is basically flat ... and once you get there you discover you are pushing your 60 lb loaded touring bicycle up the never-ending, steep hills.

It wasn't long before I started taking all directions and suggestions with just a tiny grain of salt.

Okay, I've been reluctant to post this because no matter how I say it, it sounds strange and embarassing, but what the heck, it works for me, and if you try it, you'll be convinced, too.

About 2-3 weeks before your trip, begin drinking three big glasses of Metamucil or some other fiber supplement every day. I believe one can take pills now if drinking that stuff is not your, well, cup of tea. Continue this through your tour.

Why?

Well, let's just put it this way: It will make your #2 potty breaks much less of a chore because your stools will be firm, shiny, uniform size and shape (I can't believe I'm writing this), and a breeze to pass. Most of all, you will find there is very little "clean-up" work afterward. If you've camped a lot like I have, and if your diet on the tour involves a lot of powerbars as mine does, then this can be a real morale booster as you hover, sweating, swatting flies, over some stinking vault toilet in the middle of nowhere.

I just had to quote ya...
Just in case you chicken out, and decide to "edit" :D

BTW, it is a great "Tip", as those power bars can really bind you up!

Brilliant, gnz, thank you.

Shiny?

Perhaps glistening would have been a better term.

P.S. Open the pod door HAL! --Great movie, one of my all-time fav's.

Instead of a towel or "camp towel" (those blue thingys), go to Wally-World and get an $8 man made chammy in the auto department. Take it into the shower (or whatever you are using), rinse it out, hang it within reach, shower, use the chammy, wring it out (marvel at how much water it absorbed), and put it up wet. It packs into a small cylinder, packs well and doesn't need to dry out.

Now you aren't going to be absolutely dry when you use this thing, but in 30 sec you will be.

Ohhh I LOVE those micro-fiber towels! Except I get mine at the "clearance" store for about a buck.

Use a friend as your personal Storm Spotter.

While touring Kansas on the TransAm several weeks ago, I had heard from some locals in a tiny town that some severe thunderstorms were moving west to east. I was going in the opposite direction. The storms were predicted to bring huge hail, high winds, and a chance of tornadic action.

Thunderstorms are relatively small, so I didn't know for sure if I'd actually encounter one. I didn't want to chance it because almost no shelters exist between towns in that part of western KS.

I called a friend in PA, who began tracking the storms on www.noaa.com. I told him the exact route I was to take to the next town. He informed me that the storms would miss my route by many dozens of miles. Therefore, I proceeded to the next town without incident, but did see the storm clouds in the distance.

Oh yeah! I'm lost. It's raining hard and I ask a couple of farmers for directions. They have local knowledge. Problem is the farmers in that area are tired of bikers going down their lanes. They have had a few too many close calls with bikes and tractors. They have removed the bike route sign posts. That is why I'm lost.

They direct me to a superhighway. It's illegal, but I biked the 12 km on the shoulder.
TIP: Always carry a good map.

Regarding Machka's reply. Where do you find a helmet cover with a bill and a neck flap?

Right here:

http://www.mec.ca/Products/product_d...=1124332359933

I have a blue one, and I see they sell black now, but I guess the yellow would have been the more visible choice.

I use a Louis Garneau head cover that I pull on before I put on my helmet. It protects the neck from the sun, and wicks away sweat.

http://www.louisgarneau.com/media/im..._020_large.jpg

I did a quick check to see if this had already been dealt with, and was surprised to find that it hadn't - or at least not in exactly the same manner as my solution for a "parking brake", which involves using a Velcro™ strap looped through the front wheel and down-tube. It makes the bike much more docile when leaning it against a wall/bench/whatever… (see pic…)

- Wil

PS - this could be better described as a "hobble" than a brake…

I wish I'd seen this yesterday! I missed out on a club ride today because my chain fell off the front sprockets while the bike was on my trunk rack. What I suspect happened was that the brifter banged against the rear window of my wagon because I hadn't immobilized the front wheel. For want of a piece of velcro,. . . .

It's not a hobble, the technical name is "A front tire holder thingie" just for the record. Here is my one handed model.
http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/journ...e_id=9172&v=4n

Do they still make those flick stands? Back in the day when 700c ruled those things were a big item in bike mags, I never had one, but with all the alternatives, maybe they have a market.

That thing is a dew rag! I don't wear a helmet, seems like they are required in NB. Maybe if I made one out of cardboard and covered it with one of those, or reflector tape, I might get by.

1. For cold rain or snow, I carry a pair of large dishwashing gloves that I put on over my full finger gloves. They keep my hands warm and dry and they are cheap, very light weight and don't take up much space.

2. I wrap my duct tape around a small pencil so it doesn't take up much space or I wrap it around a section of my frame pump.

3. Guys, I save my first empty Gatorade bottle and keep it in the tent with me so I don't have to leave the tent in the middle of a cold night to relieve myself. It takes up a little space in the pannier, but it is very light weight to carry.

4. When I'm camping, I really like having a soft chair so I have one similar to this that utilizes my Thermarest sleeping pad. It is also lightweight (for a chair) and folds up nicely to strap on to my rear rack.
http://www.backcountry.com/store/CAS...l?CP=Affiliate

5. For a backup to a flashlight or headlamp in case they burn out, I carry one of those little promotional keylight mini flashlights. They are very small and light weight.

To be honest, I tend to avoid 'squashable' bread and prefer the hard crust stuff... I also tend to buy lots of fruits and veggetables (especially in the summer) to make salads or to eat along the road or in the morning... it takes quite some space... I understand that we all have our own indulgence once on the road and these are mine and for this reason I find it useful to keep some extra space in my bags!


The idea is to ask the right people! you can usually tell sunday riders from the more adventurous ones... This summer, I avoided a 30 km dirt road thanks to the advice of a cyclist who told me that the shoulders of an otherwise very busy road was paved which made it easy to cycle.

More tips:

1)My favorite "multi tool" is a Swiss Army Signature II Lite Knife.

-Very lightweight+pretty darned durable, I allways keep it nearby (in an outside handlebar pocket, or in a pants pocket).
-The tiny blade is suitable for cutting slices of cheese, pepperoni, zip ties etc.
-The scissors can be used to trim nails, mustache/beard, and as scissors on paper (maps, guidebooks ec).
-The nailfile/flatblade screwdriver is the perfect size for deraileur adjustment screws, and also works excellent to pry off beer bottle tops:).
-The pen is handy, still works after a couple tours+a trek. Not the greatest ergonomic design if you write novels, but passable for short entries/notes.
-The red LED works great/and is pretty bright. I'm still on the original battery. Handy to find stuff in bags/do some short reading (you have to hold the button on) or find the bathroom in the middle of the night at a hostel, without waking everyone else up by turning on the lites. I've even used it to lite a trail when I was late getting back to camp after a hike, and didn't bring a regular lite.

2) Cycletouring I don't wear a bladder backpack, but take just the bladder (saving a bit of weight). I melt two holes (with a heated awl at home) through the extra plastic at the bottom of Platypus water bags. I then tie off looped reflectorized spectra utility cord through the holes. Makes for a simple handle, as well as a nifty hanger for hanging the bladder off of a branch etc. Super handy for using the bladder for a sponge bath/rinsing dinner ware/filling bottles. Triple/quadruple looping the spectra cord allows for a couple yards of it, with a shorter handle-but then bits of the cord can later be used to repair stuff if needed.

Try not to ask car drivers/shopkeepers/random pedestrians for directions. It's always "five minutes" but that's five minutes in a large chunk of metal that takes no extra effort to go up a hill. In fact these guys don't seem to realise that hills exist.

Isn't it funny how non-cyclists often don't have a clue as to their immediate topography?

As we're on the topic, the absolutely best way of clearing up is water. I live in Thailand and every toilet has a tub of water for flushing and washing. You do your business and then use a bowl (some places have a hose) to run water down your bum and use your other hand to aid the washing. For cleanliness it's the business - no more skid marks on your shreddies. Try it and you'll never look back again! (so to speak)

(Thai toilet paper is no good for wiping as it's only designed to dab dry.)

When I go home (UK) I take a water bottle with me so I can use this technique in more "primitive" conditions. It's the red one - at least I think it's the red one! I keep this one on the bottom of my 3 water cages that I can't get access to unless I stop.

Saves on carrying paper and cleaner too. Want to dry off? Pull up your pants.

I cut an old inner tube into thick sections (0.75cm-1cm) and use these instead of rubber bands - they don't degrade as fast and are free. I use 1.5 or 1.75 size tyres. The sections fit snuggly round the handbars and stay in place for when you need them.

When someone tells me my destination is X minutes away, I ask, "by car?" If they answer "yes," I multiply by 6 to 10 to arrive at the time to cycle. (The fudge factor varies according to the distance, road conditions, hilliness, how tired I am, and how anxious I am to get there!)

I suppose you could shine them up using the space blanket, but why? Is there going to be a contest or something?

hook bunge cord to spoke slow down grab and run theft

half the time i forget to unhook it and i'm wondering whats going on