downtube42

Oh thanks, just what I needed - another thing to put on my list

Machka 

A lot of towns have "big things" ... there's a huge rock with a smiley face in Gladstone, Manitoba (the Happy Rock). There's a beautiful Ukrainian easter egg in Vegreville, Alberta. There's the corresponding kubasa in Mundare near Vegreville (and that has to be one of the stranger "big things" I've seen). A person could do quite a lengthy tour just visiting all the "big things".


For example ...

Saskatchewan's Big Things: https://daleannepotter.com/10-big-thi...-saskatchewan/

New Zealand's Big Things: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...9;s_big_things

Australia's Big Things: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...9;s_big_things

alexaschwanden

Teach your self a new language.

bikenh

To put it in simple terms, since August 2011, I haven't had a month less than 1500 miles. May-August 2012 was nothing less than 2000 miles. Everything started as a joke, little did I realize the joke was on me. Giving up driving meant the only way, feasible for me at least to get back and see family, mother/brother/sister etc, that I hadn't seen since 2004 was to do it by bike. I had the crazy notion, being a woos as well, that I would have to ride 100 miles consistently day in day out. The first goal came up joking/seriously to see if I could do a 100 miler each week for 52 consecutive weeks. I knew I had had nothing less than 3 days a week on the bike all winter long '10/'11 and figured if I reconfigured the way I was running errands I could end up quite possibly pulling it off.

From my recollection back to 1994(7-7,500 miles that year) I don't think I ever did back to back 50 mile days. I was just out riding every day. I had 3 days I didn't ride that year from Valentines to Thanksgiving. I knew I need to get some higher mileage days back to back, at least that is what I thinking. I knew I was wanting/needing to do the 800 mile trip, each way, pretty much mid/late-August-mid/late September. I wanted to avoid tornado season in the midwest, the heat of summer in the midwest, and the oncoming cold in the northeast on the way home. That gave me pretty much a one month time window. Hence why I knew if I wanted any kind of time with family I had to do bigger miles. I wasn't even considering the idea of getting in shape on the road.

As July 2011 lead into August I started doing some further back to back days. In early to mid September, after Hurricane Irene forceably canned the trip for 2011, I looked back at the training Excel file I had been keeping and started to see I was putting in some miles. I add them up for August and saw I had just somehow did 1500+ miles. I figured it was a fluke, I wouldn't ever see anything like that again. Then I noticed I was getting close to a 60 day average of 50 miles a day, I was at 47 mpd at the time. I thought why not try to hit the 50 mile average. I knew I would only have it for a few days, July 27th I rode 202 miles and August 3rd I rode another 206 miles. To make a long story short I caught the 50 mile a day average and kept it thanks to doing 3 120+ mile days spaced 3 days apart September 21-27. I knew I had nothing else big mileage wise that would keep me from keeping ahold of the 50 mpd average, only winter could possibly kill it. September I ended up with over 1700 miles. Yeah, two more challenges had formed. Now I had three things, all working hand in hand, that I was trying to accomplish.

I figured winter would bring it all to a finale. It didn't. I just kept riding. Spring arrived early in NH this year thanks to the strong La Nina. March came, saw and then I refused to ride 1800 miles in March. I put my foot down and said "I won't do it". I ended up with something like 1789 for March. April was a bit weak kneed and dropped back down into the 1500+ range.

May came and so did spring. I ended up riding 4 200+ milers in May, and had my first, unthinkable 2000+ mile month. By this time I was involved in yet another crazy challenge trying to ride all the state highway miles west of I-93 in NH in the first 6 months of 2012. Yeah, again, my dumb idea. So far everything has been my own crazy stupid ideas. Again, everything was feeding off everything else. No goal was by itself, they were all intertwined.

June started fine and then I got an email invite for a free trip to a hang gliding competition down in Big Spring, TX in mid July, right at the end of the 52 consecutive weeks, also right at the end of 12 consecutive months of at least 1500 miles.. I jumped on the opportunity to go down and help out. I knew I needed to get the 1500 miles in by the 16th or 17th of July. I knew I needed to be doing constant big miles everyday. Then another email came from ridewithgps about there Tour de France competition they were going to have. See who could be the first person to ride 2172.9 miles(length of this years TDF), who could ride the most mile during the TDF, who could have the highest average feet per mile, who could have the highest average speed, etc. I knew I wanted the 1500 miles and I figured why not go for 2000 for what was starting to look like it would be the 3rd month in a row. I entered.

June 30th I rode 165.35 miles. Pretty much I now only needed 2000 miles and a little change before I left for TX. I didn't know my limitations at the time and didn't understand my limitations were all directly related to good nutrition/hydration and not about anything else. I now understand I could have been doing 200 milers each day and not thinking about it as long as I was eating/drinking right.

I ended up crossing the finish line in Paris on July 17th...okay I was actually in Carlisle, MA ready to drive down to TX leaving out the next morning but I had managed to ride the whole distance in the first 18 days of the TDF. The last three days were 491.12 miles...roughly 160 miles each day. That last week I saw 923 miles, my biggest week thus far. I vowed after doing 712 miles in March that I would never again do 700 miles in a week as long as I was riding all week in NH...then changed it to as long as I was riding in New England. If I got out of New England, sure I would go for a 1000 mile week, but not here around home. I guess I kinda lied to myself in July.

I knew this really set me up for the trip back to Ohio in mid-August. The trip had earlier in the year already been decided that if I did manage to get to Ohio I would also go onto the Mississippi River. During the trip to TX I decided my MS River focus point would be St. Louis instead of Quad Cities. I got back from TX and after starting a painting project for one of the guys I ride with I took off and headed to the midwest for the month long trip. St. Louis found me just standing there shaking my head going, "You are crazy. Ride your bike from NH to St. Louis...you have fallen off your rocker."

After getting as much of the painting done this fall as I was going to be able to get done, the rest is next springs project, I went back to biking as long as the weather was holding up. Admittedly, I have started to get lax. I finally get fed up with hang around home on a rainy/snowy day and head out anyways. Hopefully with winter coming I don't pay for that attitude.

I'm 39 years old and have been unemployeed a little over 3 years now. I have spare income from a family farm that keeps me going. I've managed to keep my expenses under $10K each of the past 5 years now. If it wouldn't have been for the darn high mileage biking this year my expenses would probably have been around $4K or less. As it is it looks like this year will be around $7K, everything included. This is also one of the reason I want to limit my mileage next year. To ride the long days you have to eat. My typical food expenses for the year, prior to high mileage biking, was $1200-1300 annually. So far this year it's over $2K. I'm planning on cooking my own meals on the trip next year instead of eating out. It's FAR cheaper. Normally I always eat at home unless I go into Pizza Hut for the lunch buffet. Sometimes I'm in there twice a week. They just point and tell me to seat myself and they will bring me my water...they know me that well anymore.'

When I was growing up I ran into one simple problem...society. For some reason...that I have never figured out, I never had much in way of friends after 3rd grade. By 7th grade I was totally on my own. No friends whatsoever. Their was several of the kids that wanted to use me as their punching bag. I was bullied bad. As a result my mind came to the understanding...stay away from people. Late in high school, shortly thereafter I developed a rather unusual situation. The skin on face would peel madly around the nose, mouth, beard area, and when it got bad enough even up around the eyebrows and sideburn areas. This lasted for years. It would start and continue for three weeks or so before pausing for a week or so and then starting right back up. About the time it stop the teeth were rotting out. Once I got the teeth pulled the peely skin started up again, not as bad as it used to be but it still happens. The only place it attacks is my face...the first place you look when you meet someone...first impressions are lasting impressions. I understand the situation quite well...hence why I don't fight it and why I don't even bother trying to get dentures...I'm not that stupid. I had a quite similiar situation in competitive environments and it's the number one reason why I avoid competitive environments anymore. If I don't talk myself out of a competitive situation all I end up doing is choking anymore. I was a great swimmer as a kid, but I was punching bag of the kids that had the yuppy pig parents and they couldn't beat me...as least not in the water where it counted.

Right now, I have very little free time, between biking, getting online and sleeping that is about all I do. I have been working on a bike rack/camera mount for this winter/next summer. Pretty much everything I do is centered around biking. I have come to look at life in a little different perspective than most. Ask yourself this question "If I was the last person left alive on the planet would I continue to do/own/want/etc what I do/own/want/etc right now" For me what I'm doing right now...biking, eating, sleeping...ABSOLUTELY. By the time I get home from being here in McDonalds online this evening I will pulled off the double metric for December. I will have ridden around 133 miles today...GORGEOUS DAY windwise for it...kinda reminds me of the first day winter last year.

Yes, I'm single, never been on a date...again avoid human contact for the most part even though I will get out and talk with people and will talk with people when they approach me but I don't go out of my way, unless lost while on the bike, to ever stop and talk with people.

For a look at this year:
https://www.ultramidwest.net/main/bdmileagestats.aspx Ryan Crawford
I always have to post a day late because of not having internet access at home and only have a bike to get me to any wifi location.

downtube42

Have you ever seen the Devil's Boots Machka, in Golden Bay? And somewhere nearby we had a lamp-lit tour of a cave, then there was a walk across a swing-bridge. I need to get back to NZ!

Machka 

No, but I have seen the big boot in Tully, Queensland, AU.

Doug64

An amazing feat! Best wishes to you on meeting next year's goals. Ride safe.

valygrl

Wow, this is the best idea I have seen. Thank you!

Neil_B

Or just look for the little things. Every American town, for instance, is "known" for something or other, even if its as obscure as being the birthplace of the man who wrote "All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth." (Portland, PA.) Find those little things.....

Rowan

Another thought -- get a dog, and carry it in a trailer. That will slow you down, give you non-human company, lift your spirits when you are down, and give you a companion that will need some level of care and attention in camp and elsewhere.

A guy called Airwick used to post here a long time ago, and he toured a lot with Jack Russells, I think. Look up his name in the Search function for the many posts he wrote about his adventures.

Bekologist

... thoroughly perplexing. A person kills massive amounts of time on a bike trip either riding the bike, or doing stuff off it. Kind of like how the OP is already living, but without a fixed address.

sitting in mcdonalds several times a day trying to reroute shorter distances between two fixed points sounds like a real downer to me. I think it could cause me to start overthinking my mileages, and limit my enjoyment of the physical and cultural landscape i'd find myself in.

andrewclaus

And that can be expensive. A motorist I met on tour last summer, when gasoline prices were touching $4 per gallon, said it must be nice, getting around without buying gas. When I told her how much I was eating and how much it cost, she chuckled and said she never thought of that.

My biggest mileage years are in the 10,000 range, and I spend quite a bit on replacement bike parts and food. When I was your age, I didn't think about the health aspects, but now, looking at my 60s and seeing most of my contemporaries, all that money was very well spent.

bikenh

Actually I've already been contemplating, quite seriously, saving a nice chunk of money and heading south for the winter next year. I already had things set up for up here this winter with food, canned food, already bought otherwise I would probably be down south right now not spending money on heating my house.

I'm really looking at spending December/January in GA/FL and then get across tonado alley before tornado season can really take hold and wait out tornado season in west TX/NM/AZ area before heading back east come mid April.

Doing that would quite literally be living without a fixed address for an extended period of time.

DropBarFan

Well it's not too original of an idea but one could spend some time reading at local libraries. BTW good idea of using Google Earth to check out camping sites. Reminds me of the new reality tv show "Moonshiners"--those guys are always looking for secluded sites to set up stills--unfortunately the local cops know where the ideal locations are too!

Newspaperguy

Instead of stopping at McDonalds, check out the coffee shops, bakeries and small restaurants along the way. Almost every small town has its own quirky coffee shop and some also do their own coffee roasting, which means you'll get an exceptionally good drink. I find the atmosphere in such places is relaxing, especially if I've put in some hard riding earlier.

For myself, I'd use that time not to plan out the next part of the route but to make some notes about where I've been and what I've seen.

Rowan

Just a slight clarification as I understand it, bikenh uses the internet access at McDonalds to communicate to the rest of the world. He's not eating there.

I think he has to use his money wisely to eat high-energy foods at home, and his limited income means cafes and restaurants aren't necessarily on his list of places to visit... unless they provide free internet access.

Machka 

Tourist Information Centres have free internet access, as do many community leisure centres and libraries. They might be more interesting places to tap into the internet.

Regarding reading at the library, that's a good place to browse a local newspaper (and also a variety of magazines). There are also often community information boards. Through the newspaper and community information boards, a person can find out about local activities, like community BBQs, talks at the library, local concerts, etc. etc.

For example, the library in the community where Rowan and I lived had lunchtime concerts on the last Friday of every month with local artists. I attended several of those concerts, and they were pretty good. It's a nice way to hear what's happening in a community.

paintplongo

What really is the point of the thread? It seems like boasting one's ability to ride a bike all day rather then work and how many miles they can put up in a year(s).

KirkBeiser

Perhaps but I think the problem with bikenh's question is that he doesn't have any hobbies and doesn't like human interaction. I'm not surprised that he gets bored if he takes a break. The answer to his question is finding out what he enjoys doing and find a way to incorporate that into his touring. Perhaps he's an antique tractor enthusiast and he could plot a route that zigzagged across the country finding auctions/shows/events.

I'm headed to Hokkaido next year and I will spend 2+ months zigzagging around finding its waterfalls and photographing them. I'm not superhuman so I'll only be riding 80 km/day but I'll be busy between the hiking/photography/blogging/research. I'll also have a tablet with a dozen ebooks, several years of various emags and some Chinese/Japanese lessons. There is no way that I will have enough time in a day.

Bekologist

not sure how old/young the OP is? but pouring through the great books reading list is a great time killer, and can garner an individual one heck of an educational foundation increasingly overlooked in this day and age.

how should a person kill massive amounts of time on a bike trip? I'd recommend simply being a tourist, but reading thru the great books curriculum is one of the better ways to do it as well, and can waste years of ones' free time.

bikenh

Being someone that has never been a fan of coffee and someone that realizes their is a lot more to life than drinking beer, absolutely worthless calories, I have never had a fancy for coffee shop or bars.

The last full day when I was spending the most time rerouting was after missing a turn by 15 miles or so. I had down on the trip tik that I was suppose to make the turn but wasn't paying enough attention and by the time I had hopped off the bike to run into McDonalds to go to the bathroom and fill up the water bottles I pulled the trip tik out of the handlebar bag and saw I had missed the turn. I knew I was already around 15 miles north of there and knew I could probably reroute and end up making more far more ground/time than to go back and catch the original planned route. So I went in to do the rerouting. Normally I was only spending the evening, around/after sunset and then again in the morning doing any route planning.

Other than just a few days along the trip I never had any set daily finish points set up ahead of time. I had target goals that I was hoping to get to since I was 'stealth camping' and didn't have to make a specific campground/hotel in the evening. I had a general route idea ahead of time but the longer the trip went the more the route changed. By the time the last several days of the trip came it was changing everyday and sometimes even throughout the day it was changing. I was planning originally to come home through Hartford. CT and Springfield, MA. I never ended up seeing light of day in CT or MA. I was just trying to get home before the rain and strong winds were forecasted to arrived on Tuesday. If I was going to have to take a day off I would rather take it off at home then in the middle of nowhere, especially when I'm that close to home to start with.

Everything depends on one simple thing...having something around that is available as a side interest. If you are in the middle of nowhere there isn't much else of an option. From what I heard, imagine riding US50 through NV. I see the route I'm somewhat looking at for next year putting me for several days in an environment like that. Their won't be much available, even much in the way of towns. Once I'm out of that stretch it shouldn't be hard. It will be like what quite a few people say, not enough hours in the day to get everything done...too much to do/see, too little time.

I'm talking having towns, populations probably 5-6000 being 50-60 miles apart, 69 miles apart in one case, for 300+ miles. Not only will I relearn the idea of making sure to keep water bottles full but plenty else as well.

I figure if I'm going to be going, mid August(I believe), from west TX to SD and then back to NH and hopefully get back up this way by late September than pretty much I'll end up, looking at a real rough outline, looking at over 3500 miles in a little over a month. The first stretch being the only stretch where towns are sparse for grabbing food, diners, cafes, libraries, museums, etc. Yeah, I see it would take me through two National Grasslands that could be interesting, but who knows...haven't been there before so I'm not sure what to expect in the scenic picture taking concept.

Looking at the map to get from west TX to SD is pretty much a straight south to north shot. The main route is US385. It goes from Big Bend NP to Lead, SD. I figure if I'm going to end up riding 90% of a US highway, I would be leaving from Big Spring just, roughly 40 miles east of US385, why not drop down to Big Beng and do the whole thing. Much north of I-40 you are in the middle of nowhere for miles on end, no matter where you are at, US385 or any other highway around. They are all in the same scenario, towns are far and few in between, and they are pretty much all small towns.

Thus far for the trip this is the only part of the trip this is fairly fixed in the routing simply because of its the main route between the general locations I'm trying to hook up together. The trip to TX and back home from SD are very flexible as there are many different routes to choose from and plenty of bigger locations along the way as well. Once north of I-70 everything gets easy, Alliance(Carhenge), Chadron, NE, then the Black Hills, plenty. SD that most think would could be difficult...I know of a three spots through SD on the way home that I already am planning on stopping and they are each around a day apart and have plenty to do around them.

The hard part is where there is nothing for miles on end in any direction. Heck even keeping the laptop charged up may be difficult, probably not but you can never tell for sure when you the towns are nothing more than highway crossings. There may be more there than what I'm expecting to be there but I'm not holding my breath.

Machka 

A snippet from his bio on the previous page ...

fietsbob

the more dependent on entertainment to pass the time, people are, the slower time moves
when forced to be weaned off them..

before the computer, I'd stop in used book shops and pick up a couple paperbacks.


Gave one to the guy that was welcome door opener, working the curb, in front of a Hotel
in Warsaw Poland.
Trying to improve his English, it was appreciated..

Machka 

The town Rowan and I lived in when we were in Australia had a population of 2500. It was the largest town in about a 70 km radius. But even though it was small, and all the surrounding towns were even smaller, there were still things going on. As mentioned, the library had various programs, and so did the libraries in a couple other towns. Depending on the time of year, there were other events. The town where we lived had quite a large truck show each year on a particular long weekend. Around Christmas pretty much every town around had some sort of event. And there were concerts of various sorts now and then. There was also the movie theatre ... it didn't have a huge selection, in fact, it has a very limited selection, but going to a movie could be entertaining.

Just because a town is small, don't assume there's nothing going on or nothing to see.

Rowan

These things are always useful reads, even if you don't think the OP has gleaned much information or is just telling everyone how far he has ridden.

valygrl has picked up on the learn-a-language idea for one.

A comment by another poster may have piqued someone's interest in something they might not have considered on a bicycle tour before.