My Gear for this Tour

I think the most important part of my gear is my bike, of course, and it served me well. I was riding a 2013 Surly Long Haul Trucker Disk, a bicycle intended for touring. It came as a 48/36/26 triple, but I changed the small chain ring to a 24, more on that later. The rear cogs are 9 speed 11-34. The 2014 model is nearly the same, except the rear cog is 11-32. Connecticut convinced the 24 in the front was the right move, and I am glad I had the 34 in the back. The only problem with the small 24 in the front was the diameter was slightly smaller than the 26, and if I shifted down too quickly, there was enough gap between the front derailleur and the ring that sometimes I would throw the chain beyond the ring and onto the bottom bracket and then I would be free wheeling when I really needed to be climbing steep. I learned to shift smoothly and this was not a problem. Also, the Surly LHTD comes with 37 mm tires and I changed to 28 mm Schwalbe Marathon Plus, and I have been very happy with those tires. I also installed Planet Bike front and rear fenders. I attempted a different manufacturer first, but the fender supports would not work around the disk brakes.

I had an Arkel front rack and Arkel front panniers, but for less wind resistance, I took the front rack off, kept the Arkel front panniers but mounted them on a light Blackburn rear rack. I also had an Arkel trunk bag on top of the rear rack. In the cockpit, I had a Revelate frame bag that I was very happy with, and a top tube bag from Revelate that I would not recommend. The Arkel gear was very water resistant, but not water proof. When I expected rain, I put all my gear in a white trash bag inside my panniers, and everything stayed dry. The Revelate material was not very water resistant so I kept stuff in the frame bag that did not matter if it got wet or I put stuff in zip lock bags. 

For safety, I had a 1W, red 2 bulb flasher in the rear and a pair of white LED strobes in the front. Except for busy roads without a shoulder, my most dangerous issue is the car approaching on the right from a side road, who appears to be looking right at you, but can only see cars, not bikes or motorcycles, and they pull out in front of you or they T bone you. I have NOT had that problem since I put the white LED strobes in the front, and I keep them on during the day. I highly recommend white LED strobes in the front, especially if you are a single bike, not with a group. In addition, I always dressed bright; my day glow  green jackets or my bright yellow Corn Pops jersey.

My frame pump was a Topeak Turbo Morph G, supposedly optimized for mountain biking. Originally I had bought a highly recommended smaller, lighter pump and the handle was in line with the pump, and the tube for the valve was inside the handle and needed to be screwed into the head of the pump when you used it, and then removed and stored again when finished. I used it a few times and figured out it was a good, small, light weight emergency pump for my road bike, but not something I was going to use every morning to air my tires. The Topeak pump had a much higher volume pump cylinder which means fewer strokes. The handle pivoted to become a T handle for better ergonomics. It had an inline gauge and a foot lever to secure the pump while I was pumping. And though it said it was optimized for MTB, I had no problem getting to 105 psi in my rear tire. And I never had a problem getting a good, locked fit on the Presta valves.

My other tool was the Topeak Alien III, which is 25 tools on a small multi tool. This was invaluable when my chain broke. I also brought 4 Allen wrenches and one small open ended wrench. What I found out I was missing, when my chain broke, was SRAM power links or chain pins. I never used my tire patch kit.

I also kept a few rags in a zip lock bag and a couple pair of thin neoprene gloves to keep my hands cleaner whenever I was working on the rear tire or chain.

As far as attire, 2 pair of riding shorts (not bibs), 2 Underarmour undershirts, 1 shirtsleeved jersey, arm warmers, leg warmers, one hi-vis windbreaker, one hi-vis rain jacket and a pair of rain pants, two pair of fingerless riding gloves and one pair of full finger insulated riding gloves was sufficient. Plus head cover for cold or wet weather.

I also can get a sore throat easily, so in addition to all my vitamins, I found a Smartwool neck gaiter to indispensable and very flexible. I would just leave it loose around my neck to keep the chill off of my neck, or I would pull it up over my ears and under my chin for a little more warmth, or pull it up over my mouth and nose if it was the coldest. This is one of my very necessary items that one might not think of.

As far as non-riding clothes, I had one pair of levi's, one long sleeve under shirt, one riding sweater that I mostly wore when I was not riding, two T shirts and two pair of underwear. I was barred from any black tie events.

For riding shoes, the Keene Commuter III's with MTB SPD cleats worked great. I rode, walked and hiked in them. I wondered how they would fare in wet weather and rain, when they were soaking wet because they are sandals. But it was not a problem, even when I was deluged the day the heavens opened up. I believe that is because even though they are sandals, they are close toed, so there is not a forward facing opening performing as an air scoop. And the sole is firm and solid enough that it was a great riding shoe. I have a tendency to get "hot foot" when I endure a sustained pressure point on a long ride. But on this ride, even when I was riding 60-70 miles a day, pushing my 30# Surly and nearly 40#'s of gear, I never had foot problems. I was very impressed with the Keene Commuter III's.

As far as electronics, I am probably more demanding and needy than most riders. I was using a Garmin 810 with Bluetooth so it could communicate with my Android smartphone and broadcast my route and position nearly real time every day. My wife and brother knew where I was at all times. My phone could also be a wifi hotspot, so I always had wifi capability. My 'computer' was an iPad. At the end of the day I could upload and post my route on FB, I could download, edit and post my pictures on FB. I could do a bit of email. I could arrange my lodging for the next night. And if I had time, I could update my blog. Also, in the event of a long ride when my phone might have a low battery and I needed the phone email and navigation app to direct me to my lodging, I had a rechargeable 10,000 maH Anker battery.

And lastly, my camera. My camera is a small form factor Panasonic Lumix TS-4, that replaced my old TS-1 that I lost overboard on a white water rafting trip in Costa Rica. The TS series is waterproof to 10 meters, and I used to snorkel with my TS-1 many times. I even lost the TS-1 on a reef in Belize overnight one time, and my boys and I found it the next day, and it continued to work even though it had overnighted through two tidal changes in salt water. So I swear by the Lumix TS series. Rain will not affect it at all. And it is also shock resistant. And last of all, and most important, it takes very reasonable pictures for a trip like this.

I think that is all me gear comments. If you have a question, or want to join me on a trip, send me a comment.

What!? The End?

So today was my last day of riding on this wonderful journey. Tomorrow I don't get up and pack the bike, air the tires and roll out, and I already kind of miss it. Was it worth it? Heck, yeah! Would it have been better with someone along to share the experience? Yes, it would have better to share it with someone. but I am so glad I did it anyway, even by myself. It was definitely worth it and I am so glad I did not postpone the trip. There are some advantages being alone. I can stop any time I want and shoot a picture and I shoot eighty to a hundred pictures each day. It was a tremendous experience. It was fun, it was a challenge, it was an accomplishment, and it was so beautiful so much of the time. 

So, what did I learn? What did I observe? Now that I have done the west coast and part of the east coast, how would I compare each coast? I, of course, learned that I am independent and self sufficient enough to accomplish a challenge like this by myself. I acknowledge and am thankful that God has blessed me with health, strength and stamina enough to do this at my elderly age :-)  I also found out that I am a bit more social than I thought. When Jim, Bill and I did the west coast, with Dennie and her mom driving SAG (support and gear in the car), we saw a number of other cyclists doing the west coast also. I expected to see the same number on the east coast. But that was not the case. In the little over the three weeks I was cycling from Maine to Philadelphia, I saw two other couples and two other singles touring. I chatted with three of them and one of the singles went zooming by, going north, and never even slowed down. So, I thought there was a possibility I would occasionally ride with other touring cyclists and that never came close to happening. So occasionally, when I was not pedaling, I would get a bit lonely. I really appreciated it when Tony and Barbara, friends from Albuquerque visiting New York/New Jersey, found me en route and took me out to dinner. I also used to find it a bit awkward to go into a restaurant and have a meal by myself. That is no longer a problem. I just walk in, smile at the hostess and say, "One for dinner, thank you".

Somewhat related to being alone on the road, I very much appreciated being connected to my virtual and global circle of friends all over the USA, in Belize, in Malaysia, in the Philippines, in Guatemala, in the UK, in Switzerland, and in Georgia. Oh, I guess Georgia is part of the USA. I really enjoyed what I was getting to see and experience. I would take a picture and sometimes only roll forty feet and stop again because I like the angle better. I could take a hundred pictures in a day, but I would limit my self to only posting about sixteen of them in FaceBook or my blog. And I very, very much appreciated the likes and comments I received. It was fun having everyone along with me on the ride. Your comments were my company while I was in my room by myself at night.

Another big learning was lodging. Maybe lodging was easier on the west coast because we had a car, but I don't think that was it. We always seemed to be able to pick a target destination and there was always reasonable lodging (with the exception of Big Sur) at that target destination. On this trip, once I got out of Maine, lodging was always a problem. It either did not exist or the cost was prohibitive. My next days riding distance was not a function of how far I wanted to ride, it was usually a function of where I could find a room. So sometimes I found myself riding sixty, or once even seventy miles, when I would have been happy to ride forty. Also, staying in a motel every night and not splitting the costs gets very expensive. So now I am beginning to wonder if camping could be an option. It is much easier to find a place to pitch a tent than find an affordable room. Prior to this trip I had convinced myself that I could not recover enough for the next days ride by sleeping on the ground, plus the penalty of extra weight, but now I am reconsidering. I tried warmshowers.com once, unsuccessfully, and did not try again.

What are some of my observations? These are general observations with exceptions, but I observed that SUV's and compacts usually went over the yellow line and gave me a lot of room when they passed me from behind. Also, four out five large trucks and eighteen wheelers would go over the middle line and give me a lot of room when they passed, but that fifth one that passed me close made me forget the other four. Pickup trucks going or returning from a job site, especially if they had ladders on a roof rack, seemed to always pass me close; maybe it was envy. The distance a large sedan passed me seemed to be inversely proportional to the the age of the driver unless the first digit in their age was a '1'. There was no predicting how close a minivan would pass be. That might have been a function of what was going on inside the minivan and what mom might have been dealing with.

Also, in one of my blogs, when I crossed the border between New Hampshire and Massachusetts, I wrote about my pretty poor opinion of Massachusetts drivers. I need to correct that observation. The drivers on Highway 3A at 4PM are terrible. The rest of my experience with Massachusetts drivers was pretty good, sometimes even exceptional.

I observed the predominant road kill in Maine was porcupine. In New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Connecticut it was opossum. In New Jersey and Pennsylvania it was squirrel. I did not see enough road kill in Rhode Island to make a statistical observation. Just in case you wanted to know.

I learned that riding shorts are much better than bibs when you need to make a quick roadside stop. Also, I brought three riding changes but was able to manage my washes such that I only used two. I also brought protein powder for a recovery drink after my ride and only used it twice; that was unnecessary weight. 

Today I learned that I can ride in sustained rain. Two days ago I learned I cannot ride in a severe deluge. The pictures in this blog are from today's rain ride.

My next blog will probably be about my gear, most of which I was very happy about.

My Rain Insurance Expired After 14 Days, and How!!

Yesterday, Monday, my ride was to be from Matamoros, PA to East Stroudsburg, PA. It was supposed to be almost 45 miles with some weather alerts. It was supposed to rain around 10AM and then at 2PM there were severe thunderstorms and heavy rain forecast at my destination. Given it was only 45 miles, I was sure I could beat the storm. So, I got up at 6AM, an hour earlier than normal, had a big breakfast, packed everything, loaded up the bike, aired the tires and was rolling a little before 8AM. A few miles down the road, I crossed over the Delaware River, and I was in New Jersey, another state to add to my collection of states on this tour. Almost immediately after entering New Jersey, I was routed into the Delaware Water Gap National Park. It was a beautiful national park, and I seemed to have it to myself. Maybe I had it to myself because the national parks are closed right now, but there was no one around to tell me that. When the road, more like a lane, was close to the Delaware river, it was a few minor climbs and descents. But occasionally it would cut away from the river, and always up a steep hill. But it was usually a very pretty, very steep hill. I confess I did not enjoy the scenery nor did I take pictures while I was climbing. Almost exactly at 10AM, the rain started. I guess the rain insurance I bought in Freeport, Maine at LL Beans, expired after 14 days. So I put my rain gear on and rode in the rain. It was not too bad and after about 45 minutes, the rain tailed off. I was pretty impressed that the weather forecast said rain at 10AM, and it rained at 10AM. 

After the rain, I started getting 'Tornado Watch' alerts on my Garmin. I was not aware there were ever tornados in this part of the US. Maybe I was getting alerts from the 505 because that was how my Garmin was set up. Not much I could do anyway, I needed to keep on riding ... and keep on taking pictures. I figured out that taking pictures can add about two hours to my ride. If someone else was riding with me, I don't think they would put up with all my photo stops. So, the road I was on cut back away from the Delaware again, and was actually on the park boundary for a number of miles. Then when it cut back in, there was a park gate, and there was a park ranger in a vehicle blocking the gate. And the ranger called me over to his vehicle and proceeded to let me know the park was closed, and by the way, "there is a tornado watch in effect". I told him I knew about the tornado watch, but I had no alternatives. "I am riding from Bar Harbor, Maine to Philadelphia and my route goes right through this park and I have no alternative route, and I need to get to East Stroudburg to beat the storm that was coming in". He let me know there was an alternative route, but it was much longer. In the end, he let me proceed. He was dealing with a Vietnam veteran, and although we are not as revered as the WW2 veterans that stormed the monument in DC that was shut down, we might be bit crazier, so maybe that is why he let me go through. It was beautiful. I had more than fifteen more miles of the park (the park is 40 miles long) absolutely to myself. And, of course, I shot more pictures, because I would get in to East Stroudburg just at 2PM. 

At 1:30 it happened! I was nearing the southern end of the park and the heavens opened up. Monsoon, deluge, torrents; pick your word. I got my rain pants on again (I was already wearing my rain jacket) and I started looking for cover. After exiting the park, the road I was on crossed under Interstate 80 and I took refuge under the overpass. I was having trouble getting my phone working because my fingers were wet and the touch screen was not responding. Dennie had just texted me about a computer problem she needed my help with. I was kind of in survival mode. I got fingers dry and my touch screen dry and replied, "can't help now, I'm dealing with MAJOR rain". I was on the New Jersey side and I had to get over to the Pennsylvania side where my lodging was and the only bridge was the I80 bridge. About this time, a hatchback with three ladies stops and wanted to know if I was OK. They are in a little car with no room for my bike, so I have no alternative but to be OK. "Yes, I am OK". I am just your normal lunatic,riding a bike in a deluge, trying to figure out how to get across this river on I80 and find lodging. I started riding again looking for an on ramp but I only saw the off ramp that I passed just before taking shelter under the over pass. After riding a mile on the frontage road, looking for an on ramp, I turned around and decided I would have to go up the off ramp against traffic, walking my bike, to get on I80 and across the river. Then, after I made my U turn, I spotted a cement pedestrian path going up to I80, it was so small, it was not  visible when I was riding in the other direction in the rain. So I took the path and found it to be safely separated from traffic by a concrete fence. I crossed over the Delaware on I80 in a deluge. My brother, in Philadelphia, is watching my real time route broadcast by my Garmin, and he is saying, "OMG, he's on I80! This is not good!" He was not aware of the pedestrian ramp. Once I am on the other side of the Delaware, I do not care where I have reservations. I just want the closest lodging. So I find a porch to get under and I use my Local app on my phone to find closest lodging. It turns out to be a Hampton Inn 3.7 miles away (with a 2 mile 8% hill included, I was to find out) in Stroudburg. The heck with East Stroudburg reservations, I headed for the Hampton. Less than 45 minutes later, was checked in and standing in a hot shower. And everyone lived happily ever after. And if you are ever in Stroudburg, PA, the Sarah Street Bar and Grill is a fantastic place to have dinner. And the Hampton has a laundry facility, so I was able to dry everything out. Today was a dry, sunny ride.

The day before my Ride of Rain, was supposed to be a rest day. I found the motel, checked in for two nights. But during the first night, the entire water system failed in the motel. I "knew" I was going to be there for two nights, so I washed everything and had it laying out around my room for a two night dry. Next morning I got up and went down for breakfast. The juice machine was not working and they only had decaf coffee, barely warm decaf coffee (probably because it was left over from the previous day). I asked for regular coffee and was told they could not make any. Huh? Then I found out from a guest all the water is off. Hmmm, that means that flush was the last flush for my bathroom until the water comes back on and not one of the hotel staff could estimate when it would come back on. Finally, at 2PM, I could wait no longer. I made reservations in the next town, and got a credit for the night I was not staying in my present location. Then I packed, loaded the bike and pedaled to the next town, unpacked and settled in again. That was my rest day and that was not much of a rest day.  There's one huge bright spot though. Tony and Barbara, friends from New Mexico, were  visiting in the NJ/NY area. And they found out where I was staying, and then where I moved to, and they came all the way out to Matamoros, Pennsylvania, and took me to dinner. I am not sure how much they knew I needed that. And at the end of the evening, I tried to convey to Tony how much their little visit meant, and he said, "You have been out here a long time by yourself. And I know you can make friends easily, but I figured you might be getting lonely". He and Barbara came by just at the right time. Thanks Tony and Barbara!

Hit Start and Repeat

Writer's cramp? I don't know. I see it has been a week since I blogged. Today is a rest day, so I am going to try to muse a bit about the trip. I have developed a few routines. In the mornings I check the weather on Accuweather. Do I need to prepare for rain and bag everything, or does it look dry? Then I get dressed and hope what I washed in the shower the night before is dry. Sometimes I use the hair dryer to finish the drying. Then I get dressed for my ride and pack my panniers. Electronics, chargers, vitamins, tubes, miscellaneous in one pannier and my riding clothes and T-shirts in the other pannier. My Levi's, sweater, tools and a few other things in my trunk bag. My rain gear and maps in the frame bag. Then I look around my room to see what is still out and what I might have missed. That has not been totally successful. I am missing one charger and a camera battery, which means I have to charge my one remaking camera battery every night and be strategic charging my phone and my remote charger; no problem. And now I refill my water bottles and usually remember to pump the tires up, or many times I remember to air the tires a few miles down the road. I am not sure why I have not got the tire part consistent every morning. Then, if the motel I am staying at has a complimentary breakfast, I take advantage of that feature ... or not. The quality can vary widely. My experience has been the Days Inn have the worst breakfasts, and bed and breakfast inns have the best, of course. If my lodging does not have a complimentary breakfast, then I get on the bike and look for a diner that has a table near a window where I can keep an eye on the bike while I eat.

After the engine is fueled, it is time to get back on route. If my lodging is on or near the route, that is easy. But sometimes I have cycled almost ten miles off route to find lodging, and in the morning I need to find the best route back to the Adventure Cycling route. While I am getting back on route, I am also looking for a service station with a convenience store where I can get a Gatorade, a Payday candy bar, and a couple of packs of peanut butter and crackers. These are my electrolyte, energy boost pops for the day. Now I am rolling. My Garmin GPS has my route marked, so I can always tell if I am on route. But periodically, I have to stop and pull out the maps so I can get a bigger picture of where I am and what is ahead. If I have a long day planned, I tell myself I have to not stop all the time and shoot pictures or it will be dark by the time I get to my destination, but that never works. If I see a potential picture, the other little voice in my head says, "You will never see that view again. Put on the brakes", and I stop, over and over again. Taking pictures can add two hours to a ride some days. 

Once I start getting close to my end of day destination, I pull out my phone, check my email and get the address of the inn or motel I will be staying at. I Google map the address, and then use my navigation app with voice directions to guide me to the motel or inn. On a long day, my phone could be running out of battery, so I will pull out my remote charger (a small 12,000 ma rechargeable battery) and keep a charge on the phone while it directs me to where I will be staying.

Once I get to my destination, check in and get to my room, I start charging my accessories, my remote charger, my phone, my GPS, my camera and my iPad. The first communication I do is text Dennie and my brother and let them know I am in my room. Then I download my days route to the Garmin site and upload that to FaceBook. Next I take my SD chip from my camera and download my pictures for the day to my iPad. Then it is time to get out of my bike clothes and take a shower. I take my bike clothes with me into the shower and do a hand wash. Finish my shower and wash, hang up my laundry, and get dressed for dinner. I take my iPad with me, go down to the front desk, and inquire where I can walk for dinner. While I am at dinner, I review the days pictures and select the ones I am going to post to FaceBook. I limit myself to posting 16 or less pictures otherwise I could be posting 50 pictures of the same thing ... boring. And when I shoot a 100 pictures in a day, but only post 16, people think I am a good photographer. They don't see the bad stuff.

After dinner, I finish editing, titling and posting days pictures on Facebook.  Usually by this time, it is late enough and I am tired enough, that I don't blog. I take a couple of Tylenol PM and hit the pillow. Today is a rest day in Port Jervis, NY, so I have time to blog. Next morning I get up and repeat the routine.