Thanks Kelly. I know how important comfort is and I'll take it into account. It's just that having never toured before, I'm sort of clueless about what to bring and how many.
On my only S24O on Angel Island I "discovered" that aside from shorts, I could wear all my wool stuff on both days and didn't need the extras I brought. Do I need to bring one pair of shorts for each day? Just two to alternate and somehow find a way to wash them and drp pants or similar + travel underwear? My wife bought me two pairs of Ex-Officio Give-N-Go boxer briefs that supposedly dry very quickly and pack very small. Haven't tried them yet, in fact, haven't ridden unpadded as I am just now starting to fit in the Musa XXL knickers but still need them to be a bit looser for comfort. Needless to say, I'm very excited and eager. When I get to Eugene, I'm planning a visit to Bike Friday as I'm interested in a foldable bike to take with me when I travel. Thanks again! René Sent from my iPhone 4 On Feb 24, 2011, at 9:11 PM, Kelly Sleeper <tkslee...@gmail.com> 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 <orthie...@gmail.com>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 <dcr...@prescott.edu> 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 <orthie...@gmail.com> 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 rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. > > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. > > 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 rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. > 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. 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