Planning a brief bike trip. What else to pack?

[Jesda]

I was going to leave this morning but it took me forever to get the parcel carrier installed. Leaving too late means prolonged exposure to 95-degree temps and high humidity.


Its 37 miles one way. I'd like to ride back if I can, otherwise its $21 for Amtrak back into town. An overnight stay would probably be $50-$75 at Super 8. I've never gone this far before. Furthest so far has been 25 miles round trip when I was in much worse shape (but before the car accident, so my knees were better).



Packed/installed so far:
Netbook
Phone
USB tethering/charge cable for Blackberry (so I can Priceline hotels or d!ck around online by the river)
Parcel carrier
Flashing LED headlight
Helmet
80 oz of water (3-4 hour trip, 20 oz per hour)
Small first aid pack
Extra socks, underwear, shorts, t-shirt
Deodorant
Toothpaste
Sonicare
1000mg ibuprofen
Printed map
Tire pump
Additional seat cushion
Allen wrenches



Today I intend to buy:
AM/FM bike radio (to avoid draining the Blackberry battery)


The trail wanders through the woods with a smattering of little towns in between, and wireless coverage is spotty between towns so I'm basically on my own.

What else am I missing or not thinking of?

[ProudNissanFreak]

Camera.

[MinisterofDOOM]

Valve gut remover and tube repair kit (including a bead lever...though you might not need one depending on your tires). Pick up a valve cap/gut remover combo and leave it on the bike.

[Bubba1]

I was going to leave this morning but it took me forever to get the parcel carrier installed. Leaving too late means prolonged exposure to 95-degree temps and high humidity.


Its 37 miles one way. I'd like to ride back if I can, otherwise its $21 for Amtrak back into town. An overnight stay would probably be $50-$75 at Super 8. I've never gone this far before. Furthest so far has been 25 miles round trip when I was in much worse shape (but before the car accident, so my knees were better).



Packed/installed so far:
Netbook
Phone
USB tethering/charge cable for Blackberry (so I can Priceline hotels or d!ck around online by the river)
Parcel carrier
Flashing LED headlight
Helmet
80 oz of water (3-4 hour trip, 20 oz per hour)
Small first aid pack
Extra socks, underwear, shorts, t-shirt
Deodorant
Toothpaste
Sonicare
1000mg ibuprofen
Printed map
Tire pump
Additional seat cushion
Allen wrenches



Today I intend to buy:
AM/FM bike radio (to avoid draining the Blackberry battery)


The trail wanders through the woods with a smattering of little towns in between, and wireless coverage is spotty between towns so I'm basically on my own.

What else am I missing or not thinking of?

a few ideas:
a bike lock? If you want to go into a restaurant (many won't permit you to bring it inside)
a flat repair kit is a good idea if you know how to change a tire. the kits are very small
gloves (they make special bike ones), would be more comfortable, less likely to blister.

Bike trips are fun. I did a few of them when I was younger. Have a great time.

[BusyBadger]

Spandex shorts

[Bubba1]

Spandex shorts

Jesda in Spandex????

[Otto.]

Bike trips are a lot of fun. Just be careful and don't make yourself do something that you don't want to do (like riding back or something).

Just get yourself a tire/tube repair kit and some first aid of some sort and you will be good to go.

[ADDirishboy]

A dead hooker?

[Bubba1]

A dead hooker?

how about a portable mammogram tester....?

[Mr1der]

detailed information about how you came into possession of said bike.

[Jesda]

detailed information about how you came into possession of said bike.

It was a dark and humid night. I had just completed a hectic semester with a 4.0 GPA and the most challenging final projects I'd ever completed now behind me. With this newly acquired and sudden free time I became quite bored. I filled my entire region in Simcity 4 and there was nothing worth seeing in theaters. Road trips weren't planned either due to being tied down to the book store, so I was left idle for a couple weeks, going insane with inactivity.

Noticing that I was also quite fat, I went to Wal-Mart and bought a generic bicycle for $89. Then, I gradually spent $200 on a new seat, seat pad, car carrier, two tire pumps, pouch, water bottle, bottle cage, radio, softer handles, lock, parcel carrier, LED headlight, batteries, and a pack of plain white cotton t-shirts. The gear shifts are clunky and the brakes are noisy, but it gets the job done. I've been circling the lake every day with it for the past month.

I really wanted this Jeep bike that was on Craigslist for $75 but it sold too quickly.

I used to have a nice Cannondale back in high school but I rammed into it with the minivan by mistake. I tried riding it anyway but the wheel fell off and sent me flying into the pavement.

[PapaSmurf2k3]

Yeah I was going to say... you're probably going to want a better bike. "NEXT"/huffy aren't known for their quality. Is it mostly on-road or light trails? If so, you might want to get a different set of tires. Those big knobby suckers will really take it out of you after a while.

Try to go somewhere other than wal mart to get your accessories... a bike specific shop is going to have the best stuff as well as the sales staff with the knowledge that you will appreciate.

Spandex shorts

If you get the bike specific set, your taint will thank you. I've been on bike trips that were in the tripple digits of miles long. The bike shorts make a HUGE difference. Wear them under your regular shorts if you want. They also make non-spandex style bike shorts now, but honestly, they aren't as good.

[PapaSmurf2k3]

Also, if you're looking at getting into this sport a little more, you might want to invest in a camelback type of watering system. Having water available right there in front of your face really makes you drink more... which is good. If you wait until you are thirsty to drink, its already too late.

Jesda- give me a call if you run into any problems. I was a bike mechanic for a few years and can probably guide you through fixing your brakes/gears over the phone.

[Otto.]

Jesda, try to hold off on buying 73 netbooks this month and save up for a better bike. Getcho self a Giant. Great bikes for the money.

I suggest the Yukon. I have a 2008 model and it will handle everything from riding on the road all the way to dirt jumps. It's a great all-around bike.The Rincon is good too. Not quite the same quality of components as the Yukon but is $150 less.

You won't regret buying a better bike. It will probably be less tiring than your full suspension too. Hardtails are a lot better for what you will be doing, in my opinion.

[PapaSmurf2k3]

You won't regret buying a better bike. It will probably be less tiring than your full suspension too. Hardtails are a lot better for what you will be doing, in my opinion.

Agreed. There are some bikes that you could probably steer clear of, such as Canondale. They make a nice bike, but are generally pretty over-priced. Giant, Trek, Specialized- all good bikes with pretty good pricing.

[Bubba1]

You won't regret buying a better bike. It will probably be less tiring than your full suspension too. Hardtails are a lot better for what you will be doing, in my opinion.

Agreed. There are some bikes that you could probably steer clear of, such as Canondale. They make a nice bike, but are generally pretty over-priced. Giant, Trek, Specialized- all good bikes with pretty good pricing.

I bought my son a Gary Fisher a few years ago. He really likes it. Though I had to get over the shock of paying more for a bicycle than I did a car...

[Jesda]

I bought a used Giant a couple years ago and recently gave it away; apparently it was still worth $80 for just the frame. I took it on a 25-mile (round trip) ride in 2007 and was mostly satisfied with it, but time pretty much wore it out to a point where restoring it wouldn't have been cost effective. The weight of this steel frame doesn't bug me, but smoother gear changes would be welcome. I hate going clunk-clunk-thud-clunk every time I approach a ramp or bridge.

Bike shops here like to close at 5-7 pm and are mostly located in the city. You'd think they'd instead be located near the longest and busiest biking trail in the state. I guess since I live among old people, people here only buy golf stuff.

d!ck's had some camelbacks but I don't want anything physically on me if possible. I don't hike, so I might be better off rigging a tube to a large water-filled container in the back.

Not sure what to do about the tires. The trail is partly asphalt and mostly fine gravel, which then gets wet and mud-like on occasion.

[Dattebayo]

Big surprise. The Asian got a 4.0 GPA.

Also, I once biked the C&O canal over a period of 4 days. 180 or so miles. It was fun, but carrying all that crap really gets in the way.

[PapaSmurf2k3]

but smoother gear changes would be welcome. I hate going clunk-clunk-thud-clunk every time I approach a ramp or bridge.

You might be somewhat limited by your budget components on that bike, but you can try adjusting your cable tension to aid your gear shifts. The bike was most likely not set-up properly at wal mart (they make their bike assemblers crank out a ridiculous amount of bikes per day, so they simply don't spend as much time getting them tweaked in). The cables also could have stretched a bit. Technically, this adjustment should be done in a shop, but you should have what are called "barrel adjusters" where the cable meets the shifter (on the handle bars). If you turn them out (counter clockwise... assuming they weren't turned out by the assembler at wal mart), it should add some tension to the cable, and shift smoother.

[Dattebayo]

A simple tune up at a shop is only like $80. I would take it in.

[PapaSmurf2k3]

...that's about what he paid for the entire bike.

[PoorManQ45]

How are you overweight? You seem to ride your bike all the time...

[Dattebayo]

How are you overweight? You seem to ride your bike all the time...

The same way you are a retard yet you continue to live somehow. Darwin fail!

[Dattebayo]

...that's about what he paid for the entire bike.

Well maybe he can find a friend who will help out or something, ya never know.

[PapaSmurf2k3]

The same way you are a retard yet you continue to live somehow. Darwin fail!

Well maybe he can find a friend who will help out or something, ya never know.

Well, I'm fairly confidant that Jesda could do some of the more simple things to the bike with some decent directions. He's turned wrenches before.

I remember when I worked at the bike shop and people would bring in Huffies and stuff and expect us to get it perfect... but half the bikes would come in with bent frames, defective derailleurs, or just uber cheap components that couldn't do their job perfectly. We'd usually tell them that we don't guarantee flawless functionality before we even started working on it. We also had a sticker on our register that said "If Huffy made a plane, would you fly in it?".

I was also pretty appalled by some of the bikes that parents would bring in for their kid. Bikes that the kids had been riding for months that had NO brakes whatsoever. Parents are always bitching about safety and stuff, and then go out and throw their kids on the cheapest POS they could get, and send them on their merry little way.
Remember parents: bikes share the road with cars. Brakes are important.

[PoorManQ45]

I was also pretty appalled by some of the bikes that parents would bring in for their kid. Bikes that the kids had been riding for months that had NO brakes whatsoever. Parents are always bitching about safety and stuff, and then go out and throw their kids on the cheapest POS they could get, and send them on their merry little way.
Remember parents: bikes share the road with cars. Brakes are important.

I had a chepo walmart bike when I was younger. I adjusted the front brake cable too tight. If you squeezed too much you were going over the handlebars

[nissangirl74]

Don't forget bug spray. Not sure if you have a need for sunscreen, but just throwing it out there anyway.

[Looneybomber]

Having done a bit of riding and racing, here's what you need to pack.

Break downs.
Common breakdowns include flat tires, broken chain, bent wheels (usually crash related).
So carry two tubes, pump, patch kit, tire lever, chain tool, spare links, spoke wrench, those emergency cord spokes in case you break a spoke. One spare tire might also be a good idea, but I have never had a tire fail on me, only the tubes.

Food/water.
74 miles at a casual pace of 12mph means a little over 6hrs of riding. (even at a fast 20mph, you're looking at almost 4hrs)
I would prepare for at least 24oz of water per hour, which means around 140-150oz's (exercising hard in warm weather, I've sweat 64oz/hr, so sometimes 24oz/hr is conservative). Also, bring protein bars, snack bars, etc. Easy to digest items.

Clothes
A change of clothes is nice to have if you have room for it. Or even just another T-shirt in case you go in some place to grab some clothes. CamelBacks don't breathe well and backs sweat pretty good. Oh and wear biker shorts, the ones with the padding in them. They're awesome!

Non-bike riding things
Bring whatever you need. I would say camera only, but that's up to you. I'd hate to have a netbook on me and endo. Sunscreen. Shades/glasses. Spare contacts and solution.

[lmarcucci7]

Yeah, not so competitive when you have to shell out a grand to buy one.

[Razi]

Pack a better bike! :P