Gear Notes Pt. 2 - Wool and Wet

Some more bits of gear that I tested out on the last trip...

REI Wool Hiking Socks
This sock isn't going to win any awards for their looks. Plain-ish. I brought two pairs, one greenish and one blue. Typically not what you would consider cycling socks because of their thickness and length. I wore them with my Keens and they kept my feet warmish and padded while riding and at camp. The loose knit allows plenty of layering opportunities (smaller sock(s) underneath). At $11 (even less sometimes when they go on sale), it's a pretty good deal. Recommend.

Rivendell Wool Semi-Tights
As advertised, these are semi-tight, meaning to say that they're not exactly skin tight, but nor are they saggy Hammer pants. I originally purchased these with the thought that I would ride in them, but ultimately used them as part of my sleeping clothes. I found that I preferred the IBEX leg warmers in the conditions I was riding in, because once we crossed the mountains from the coast, it got warm and I could remove them easily without much fuss. These, however, would be great if it was really cold all the time where you were riding. They allow for great freedom of movement. Recommend.

Rivendell ORANGE Rain Peak Cycling Cap
I have a lot of cycling caps. Some, would say too many. I have some made by Pace, many made by Walz, a few by Swrve, Bicycle Fixation, Kucharik and a Deller cap. I like caps, what can I say. I can't tell you how excited I was when I saw this orange, wool one from Riv (made by Rain Peak). This cap is really nicely made. The wool feels as lush and soft as the wool from Walz (my standing favorite). The orange is a deep reddish orange for orange aficionados. The construction looks top-notch with an 8-panel design that makes for a slightly more Euro looking cap. The bill is shortish and stiffer than the Walz so it looks more natural (as far as hats go) to flip the bill up. To top it all off, there's the sweet Rivendell Bicycle Works logo embroidered on it in a nice contrasting blue. Understated. Classy. But a wink to those in "the know," you know? Recommend.

Kucharik Wool Ear Warmers
I have a love-hate relationship with Kucharik. They've been making wool products for years and are well respected. For me, however, I find they make some things I really like (jerseys!) and a lot of things I don't (caps). It's like shopping at Trader Joes. Those dark chocolate covered ginger snaps sound great in theory, but are a train wreck in your mouth. I admit, I bought it mostly because it was orange. It's a bright orange, more neon-y than red (think brand new traffic cone). It fit over my head just fine, but if you have long-ish hair (as a guy), you will look like a character from Dragonball Z. But, it's meant more for function and not fashion so it works best under a helmet. At first, I was a little irked because the wool seemed pretty thin for the money, but after riding I understood why. Standing still my ears were still cold, but after about ten minutes of riding, everything was nice and toasty. Not having a cap on the crown helped with cooling things off. It also acted, somewhat, as sweatband. So, this makes a great riding ear warmer and not a standing around waiting for the bus looking like an anime character ear warmer. Kinda Recommend.

Campmor Rain Cape (as of this writing it seems to be out of stock)
After a quick ride in the rain, with my friend Chris, we compared relative dryness. He had a Carradice Duxback rain poncho and I had a Jackson Gibbs jacket. Needless to say, he was much drier overall from the waist down. The Carradice stuff is nice, expensive and seems to be out of stock everywhere on this side of the pond. So, I decided to get my feet wet, so to speak, with bicycle rain capes with the Duxback's less expensive, more brightly colored cousin -- the Campmor Rain Cape (Log House Designs). On our trip we got some rain for a few hours so we excitedly stopped under a parking garage to throw our capes on (OK, I was excited, Laura was mortified). The capes come in their own little duffle that is about the size of a large-ish hot dog. The construction is good for something that only costs $30. It's not a particularly complex design, it's more or less a regular rain poncho with loops for your thumbs and this questionable two leg harness in the back. Putting it on, I noticed the hole for the head was a little tight (maybe I just have a big head), so it would have been nice to maybe have some sort of zipper there. The thumb loops worked well. My main problem was the darn leg loops. What a pain to get into since you can't see what you're doing. I plan to modify mine by shortening the loops and putting a small caribiner on one end of the loop and attaching the other to a the belt strap on my pants. This should accomplish the task of keeping the cape from flapping around without the indignity of trying to harness yourself in.

In use, they worked pretty well (again, I didn't have that long to evaluate). They kept the saddles covered when we were at stops. My legs were dry. We were highly visible, perhaps too visible. Laura thought we looked two giant yellow gum drops ambling up the street. Another problem that I hadn't considered was the fact that you couldn't see your front wheel. For Laura that took some getting use to. Also the cape obscures your view of your cycling computer and any handlebar mounted light (fortunately both our lights were mounted to mini front racks). Jury is still out on this one.

PTD and the siren song of the road...

I enjoyed myself so thoroughly on my last trip that I've been feeling a bit down. That's one of the problems of a short tour (or a long tour for that matter). They always seem to end too soon.



For me, I get my "hill climbing" legs after about Day 3 of a trip. The first few days are about learning to ride with the weight and getting the flow of camp. This last outing, we went home on Day 4, just as my body was breaking into the rhythm of riding every day. That last afternoon I was stomping up hills with confidence and I was throwing the loaded bike around on standing climbs...and then we had to go home.

Just not fair.

I've spoken to other travelers and this "thing" has a name. PTD. Post-trip Depression.

I remember when I first got struck with it was after backpacking through Spain after graduating from college. I came home busting at the seams with excitement, but that quickly gave way to a mild depression. It was my mind catching up with the fact that I was no longer moving.

What's the cure?

I doubt that there is one.

For me, what I enjoy about touring is that I feel engaged every second. I'm thinking about pedaling, about food, about where I'm going to spend the night. The needs and thoughts are immediate. I feel completely and utterly present. As much as I struggle up hills, there is nothing quite like a steep grade and a loaded bike to put you into a state of pure being.

In retrospect, coming home feels so alien. The day after we got back I did some groceries at Trader Joes. What a strange experience after being on country roads for a few days and living out of two bags attached to your bike. It felt so odd and removed, like I was underwater, moving in slow motion marveling at the spectacle of all these people standing in line.

Of course, this passes. And I'm sure that soon enough, I'll be re-integrated into the ebb and flow of "normal" life. But this transition period is strange. Half my mind is in a dream life the other in my waking life. But I wonder if that's how things have to be. I wonder if I couldn't pull the stakes on this tent and hit the road tomorrow. It feels close to doing that, but not quite yet.

I've always heard the road sing out, but this time the song sounds particularly sweet.

Encyclopedia of Bike Touring Tips

Admittedly, not the prettiest website but chock full of some useful information. Check out BikeTouringTips.com (pretty easy URL to remember right?). Just a quick cursory glance led me to some great pages such as a link to ALL the national forest maps in California! How about a list of 17 great rides around San Luis Obispo, one of my favorite places to ride.

You can do a text search by topic or search for tips by geographical location. Definitely a great resource.

Knotledge...(excuse the bad pun)

I was never a Boy Scout and to be honest, wasn't really into camping until I started bike touring. If you dropped me in the middle of the woods with a knife and three matches, I probably wouldn't be able to start a proper fire to save my life. But hey, I'm learning. I think the great genius of man is that we can constantly re-invent ourselves.

I grew up with the typical urban childhood (for my generation). We feared the Night Stalker, said No to Drugs, played Nintendo and didn't really learn a lot of practical stuff in school. By practical, I mean if humanity as we knew it broke down tomorrow would we be able to survive.

So, I'm bent on teaching myself some skills that will come in handy around 2012 :) One of them is how to tie a knot. I picked this book up recently at REI.



Rope and knots are pretty fascinating. They are an old and one of the simplest forms of technology. Different ropes have their different properties, different knots can be used to fasten things, or act as a pulley. I don't think the knots will be used directly on the bicycle, but they will come in handy while camping.

I even found a website that shows some animated knots and no doubt, there are YouTube videos about knot tying.

So far, I've got the hang of the bowline, clove hitch around a post and the trucker's hitch. Can anyone else recommend a good one?

Gear Notes Pt 1.

I purchased some new gear to bring on this last trip to help with the weather. While we didn't face any seriously terrible weather, it was cold-ish (definitely cold for a Los Angelean). Mornings were brisk in the 40s, nights may have dipped into the 30s and daytime highs were probably in the 50s-60s. So here's what I thought of the new stuff.

IBEX Leg Warmers
Construction-wise, these leg warmers are top notch. The grippers are fairly grippy, the wool is thin enough for free movement but definitely has some thickness in it to keep you warm. There are zippers around the ankle area to facilitate removal. The wool is smooth and non-itchy.

Now, I'm not a spandex wearing kind of person usually, so when I first rode with these on without bike shorts I was a bit disappointed. They worked themselves loose and after a few miles the thighs were around my ankles. I was bummed. Then, I tried them with bike shorts, which I am assuming is how these things were intended to be used. I wore them so they were layered beneath the shorts and they didn't fall down. So with shorts they're great, without shorts (for me) they didn't work so hot. Highly recommend (with shorts).

North Face Apex Glove
I purchased these after a week of rain here in LA. I wanted something waterproof and wind proof to keep my hands dry and warm. Perusing through my local REI, these seemed to fit the bill. They were waterproof and not overly bulky. They have a thin fleece lining in them for warmth.

In use, I'm having mixed feelings. They seem to be waterproof and windproof, but don't provide much warmth. My hands are still cold (though not as cold without of course) and I think that is due to the fleece. I'm going to try to combine it with some wool glove liners to see if this improves its performance. Not quite sure what I think yet.

Marmot Zeus Down Jacket
I didn't have too much of problem keeping warm when climbing hills, but at camp...brrrr. That is when this jacket came in handy. I purchased this during an REI member sale knocking off a few dollars. Down jackets are said to have the highest warmth to weight ratio. The trade off being their complete failure if they get wet.

This particular one is said to have a water-resistant covering, which probably more or less translates to "don't get it wet," which I didn't. One neat feature of this jacket is that the left pocket doubles as a stuff sack! You turn it inside out and stuff the jacket into itself (sort of like its own personal vortex) and it turns into a neat squarish down pillow of warmth which fit easily into a pannier.

In practice, the jacket worked as advertised and provided good warmth. While I wouldn't wear this to the arctic, it did keep me from shivering when combined with a few wool layers underneath. Recommend.

Power Grips
Purchased off the Riv site, I wanted something that provided some foot retention but could be used with regular shoes. I've tried toe-clips and half toe-clips and they work well with regular shoes, they don't work well with Keen sandals. Keens just have big honking toe boxes. Unfortunately, Keens are my footwear of choice for touring.

So I ordered some PGs. Installation was fairly straight forward and hardware seemed OK. I'd carry some spare hardware and maybe an extra strap if I were going on an extended tour in remote country.

With the Keens, the straps are nearly attached to its end to accommodate the large toe box. So if you have Keens and want to try PGs, get the extra long version! This shortness made it a bit tricky to get into. To be honest, I was getting pretty frustrated the first few days of use. However, by the third day I was able to get in and out with more regularity.

They provided good retention and I got to test them in the rain a little, where they were invaluable. Overall, I'm pleased with them, but I do plan on ordering an extra long version to work with my Keens. I won't say anything conclusive about these, but they feel like they're on the right track. Recommend.

Slideshow of images

Ok, I uploaded a bunch more photos and decided to just post a Flickr slideshow so I can get them up on the site sooner than later. Enjoy!

I'm Back...some snaps...

Well, I'm back. Just got off the Amtrak bus a few hours ago, downloaded my photos and picked a few that jumped out right away. We're pretty beat. Today was a long day of Amtrak travel that seems to be almost as tiring as bicycling (and sometimes not as much fun).




Anyway, the trip was a blast. We rode some beautiful roads and I learned a few lessons about planning and humanity as a whole.



At one point we were tired, hungry and still had to go over a pretty good climb and it was getting dark. We were in Lompoc on New Years day. No buses were running and there are no taxis in Lompoc. We had booked a room in Santa Maria which was still a good 15 hilly miles away. Not knowing what to do we just stopped to eat at a diner. Somehow it worked out that the manager of the restaurant called her son who had a pickup truck and he drove us over the pass. I'll never lump pick-up drivers again.



We had good weather for almost the whole trip though we had some foggy mornings and got a little sprinkled on in SLO (but hey, we got test out our CampMor rain capes!).



Overall, it was an amazing trip and we really wanted to keep going, but it's not yet quite THAT time, but it's close.