Rene: Others have covered the pannier, gear, training, etc. issues well so nothing to add there. How about doing a few S24Os before your trip? Load up all the stuff you think you may need for the long trip & see how it is to ride. You may ID things that aren't so important or remember things you should have brought. A bike with 4 bags is a different animal than a commuter load.
+1 for the comment about getting off the bike frequenlty. I'm a bit older than you & find that a short (5-10 minute max) break after a couple of hours in the morning, followed by hourly breaks the rest of the day, is revitalizing. dougP On Feb 24, 9:11 pm, Kelly Sleeper <[email protected]> wrote: > Here is a great site for > information..http://www.bicycletouring101.com/index.html > > Enjoy your Arkels. I've been touring with mine for the last 5 years and can > state without reservation that they perform as well as anything out there. > Weight is way over rated, especially when touring. > > I'm not saying over pack, but there is comfort a good book brings to the > campsite, or comfort for me a computer / email / connectivity brings. We > are all different but comfort is key to me. So pack smart for what you are > doing, but keep comfort and enjoyment as the top priority. Then room. > Worry about weight later. Leave space for expansion along the way. My > last trip I ended up with 10 shot glasses, a new coat, t shirts, ball caps > and such from tourist traps. > > A larger tent adds a pound or two but leaves room for me to sit up in and > have all my gear inside the tent wtih me. Great for packing up on those > rainy windy days. Also nice for card games at night. > > Speaking of tents.. make sure it's easy to put up and take down since you do > it daily. > > Test before you leave. Even heavy loads work great on hills if you have the > gearing. > > I'm jealous and can't wait to hear how it goes. > > Kelly > > On Thu, Feb 24, 2011 at 10:21 PM, Rene Sterental <[email protected]>wrote: > > > > > Thanks Dave. You make some good points too. I already have the Arkel > > panniers. I know some peep think they're heavy, but I just fell in love with > > them. I'll make it a point to try to pack as efficiently as possible. I'm > > not planning on carrying a laptop or long cords on that tour, but want to > > bring my iPhone and my Garmin 800, so I've purchased the watchamacallit to > > recharge them from the Son 28 hub. I think I'll have to also get adapter to > > make sjre current flows steadily to the devices when the Son isn't moving; > > I'm still figuring out how the whole thing works. > > > All of this advice is great > > > Thanks to all who have submitted it via the list and privately as well. > > > René > > > Sent from my iPad > > > On Feb 24, 2011, at 7:46 PM, Dave Craig <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > Awesome, René! > > > > I did the ACA tour leader training and I found it to be a lot of fun. > > > The leaders were very knowledgeable, yet humble, and I really enjoyed > > > learning more about the ACA. > > > > As a counterpoint to Kelly, I think the most important thing is to > > > pack light. To me, the extra comforts mean that I might think twice > > > about enticing side roads or stopping at a fruit stand to stock up on > > > the way to camp. Everything I pack fits inside my Ortlieb front and > > > rear panniers. I don't usually have anything on top of my racks and I > > > don't often use a handlebar bag. > > > > Your rack set up seems fine to me. Unless you already have them, the > > > Arkel panniers you mention are heavy and a little complex for my > > > tastes - to each his own. It seems that whenever I see someone with > > > that particular pannier set, they are carrying far more than I would. > > > > As for training, go with your body. Ride as much as possible, but not > > > to the point of pain. The ACA folks are used to dealing with middle- > > > aged folks who aren't super athletes - you'll do fine if you just ride > > > as much as possible. In prepping for a tour, I seldom have the time to > > > ride as much as I'd like, so I substitute fast commuting with the > > > occasional long, slow ride to add mileage and time in the saddle. > > > Funny, I've never, ever trained with my panniers on before any tour - > > > that seems like a good idea, but my butt is always the limiting factor > > > at the beginning of a tour, not my endurance. > > > > Dave > > > (also 51) > > > > On Feb 24, 3:22 pm, Rene Sterental <[email protected]> wrote: > > >> I have signed up with the Adventure Cycling Association to do their > > >> Introduction to Bike Touring course in May in Eugene, OR. > >http://www.adventurecycling.org/tours/tourdetail.cfm?t=EDU11&id=249&p=1 > > > >> I am going to do it on my Atlantis, so it's Riv related, and thought > > that > > >> there might perhaps be some other people in this group who would be > > >> interested in joining. Not that you can't just do it on your own, but I > > >> figured it would be worth for me to get some formal education/training > > and > > >> support to go on this adventure. I also got my wife in a "weak" moment > > to > > >> agree that this was going to be my 51st birthday present. Birthday was > > in > > >> January, and I'm really looking forward to this experience. > > > >> Any advise or suggestions from the touring experts in this group > > regarding > > >> stuff to take/leave, packing suggestions, etc., will be much > > appreciated. > > >> For now, my plan is to use the Nitto Big Rear Rack and my Tubus Nova low > > >> rider that allows me to keep the Nitto Mini front rack on the Atlantis. > > I > > >> also have a Nitto Big Front rack, but am not sure it would be superior > > to > > >> the Mini/Nova combo. A set of rear GT-54 and front GT-42 would complete > > the > > >> setup, in addition to the Acorn Boxy Rando Bag on the Nitto Mini. > > > >> The area where I'm mostly clueless about, but will learn during this > > course, > > >> is how much clothes, bike shorts, underwear, etc. to bring. I know it's > > very > > >> easy to overpack. > > > >> I've started training for this event where I'll be biking about 50 miles > > per > > >> day for four consecutive days. At this time my longest rides have been > > 20 > > >> milers since my body ailments result in pain that doesn't allow me to > > ride > > >> for longer. Still, I'm pushing slowly and trying to get those problems > > fixed > > >> with fit tweaks and chiropractic work. I'm basically trying to design > > daily > > >> commutes via Caltrain and bike to accomodate this training plan, but > > there > > >> are always business trips and other issues that disrupt it. If anyone > > has > > >> any good suggestions for a structured training plan to reach my goal of > > >> being able to do the four day 50 mile rides, I'd be interested. As it > > >> currently stands, my average speed with my commuting load is around 10 > > mph. > > >> With the fully loaded bike, I don't even want to know yet. All I do is > > >> figure that I'll have to be on the saddle for about 6 hours every day > > for > > >> four days... and my body starts hurting! Yet, I remain very optimistic > > and > > >> my new diet plan has been working so I've been losing some weight. I > > believe > > >> that my best chances to improve are tied to how much weight I can lose > > >> before the tour starts, as that will allow me to ride faster (less > > saddle > > >> hours) and also fit better on the bike. > > > >> René > > > > -- > > > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > > "RBW Owners Bunch" group. > > > To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. > > > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > > [email protected]. > > > For more options, visit this group at > >http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en. > > > -- > > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > > "RBW Owners Bunch" group. > > To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. > > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > > [email protected]. > > For more options, visit this group at > >http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en.- Hide quoted text - > > - Show quoted text - -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en.
