Seeking Advice: First 1000+ miler

chipmonkey

There are probably answers for this pinned somewhere, but I'm going to open the box up again just to make sure to get the latest info, but please point me to previous discussions I may have missed (I did search a bit).

I'm planning my first 1000+ miler, at the moment looking at about 1200 miles mostly along the middle part of Adventure Cycling's TransAmerica trail. I could be talked into more, or into doing an out-and-back (so 2400 miles) or something similar.

I'm not a super fast rider, but I can plod long enough distances. I've never done a century in one day, but I've done some multi-day pack-ins -- 75 miles, camp overnight, bike 50 miles in circles, camp over night, 75 miles home... that sort of thing. I'm also comfortable packing for multi-day hike-in camping, but I'm sure this is a new level of pain, so I want to be prepared. Here's what's on my mind:

• What cycling-related electronics to pack? I suspect this changes the most frequently. Are people using their phones to track long rides (I've liked Strava and RunKeeper)? Dedicated GPS?...

• Front and rear cameras? Is there anything with a long enough charge to make these long runs worth recording? Most of what I see bombs out at two to four hours; I can easily see riding longer per day. I both want to edit some footage for posterity in the evenings as well as, sadly, be prepared for irate drivers and other such menaces. What features exist on what cameras specifically for long-distance, long-duration filming? (i.e. Time Lapse, crash detection, loop overwriting, external battery operation)... is there one camera to rule them all SPECIFIC to long distance rides (I don't want to turn this into a general camera thread -- this way madness lies)?

• Relatedly: if I'm planning on camping more than couchsurfing or hotelling, do I just pack in a bunch of batteries? Would anyone seriously recommend a bike powered generator (the horror), or maybe more realistically a solar charger? [Does this fix the camera life issue?] In practice do people stop a lot and just borrow outlets from gas stations or restaurants for breaks?

• What's a reasonable estimate of distance to cover day-after-day. I could probably finish a century but I'd be useless the next day. Is there a rule of thumb... like 40% of your longest single day max would be maintainable daily? In practice, for those of you who have actually done this, how many days did you NOT ride, due to weather, resting/recovery or just leisure? I want to power through, but not kill myself and not waste the enjoyment.

• And the open ended... what other good web resources are there for this? Tyler Metcalfe's blog was well publicized, and Adventure Cycling has good resources... do you have a favorite packing list? Another blogger who has done these trails? Lists of things to pack, avoid, fear...? ;-)

And, you know... any other advice you have!

mea00csf

I did the full TransAm last summer, fantastic experience. You say you're planning on doing the middle part of the TransAm, personally the bit from Kentucky to Pueblo Colorado gets dull very quickly. It's awesome being in that classic Kansas road stretching on for miles environment, but after a day you'll be done with it. My recommendation would be to look at anything west of Pueblo (whatever suits your logistics.)

What cycling-related electronics to pack? I suspect this changes the most frequently. Are people using their phones to track long rides (I've liked Strava and RunKeeper)? Dedicated GPS?...

I didn't take a GPS, I did discover that if you have a dyno hub you should be able to keep your phone charged up and use it for GPS tracking. I would also really reccomend getting a bluetooth speaker, it can be lonely out there, and the climbs are long, occasionally blasting out some tunes from your phone via a bluetooth speaker can be a good motivator.

Front and rear cameras?

I wouldn't worry about the traffic, there's so much shoulder it wasn't an issue for me (except for once for me, i won't go into it!)

Relatedly: if I'm planning on camping more than couchsurfing or hotelling, do I just pack in a bunch of batteries? Would anyone seriously recommend a bike powered generator (the horror), or maybe more realistically a solar charger? [Does this fix the camera life issue?] In practice do people stop a lot and just borrow outlets from gas stations or restaurants for breaks?

Loved my dyno hub and charger! cost about £130 for a new wheel built on a SP dynamo hub. The AC/DC convertor i used was the Sinewave which was about £100. For the peace of mind it was well worth it for me. If you're sleeping in town parks (fairly normal, lots on the AC maps) there are surprisingly plenty of plugs in the shelters in the parks which anyone can use. Whether or not you go down the dyno hub route, i'd recommend buying an american USB plug, a usb to micro/mini cable, and taking a few small usb batteries. This means you can leave them charging unattended, and if they happen to get stolen it's not a big deal. Across the whole US, we only lost one plug/cable/battery which had been left charging unattended. Only take electrical stuff that charges from USB mini/micro.

Don't couchsurf, use Warmshowers!

What's a reasonable estimate of distance to cover day-after-day. I could probably finish a century but I'd be useless the next day. Is there a rule of thumb... like 40% of your longest single day max would be maintainable daily? In practice, for those of you who have actually done this, how many days did you NOT ride, due to weather, resting/recovery or just leisure? I want to power through, but not kill myself and not waste the enjoyment.

I'm not an amazing cyclist, i wouldn't usually go out for a weekend ride longer than 40 miles. I averaged 50 miles a day for 3 months. Towards the end i was probably averaging closer to 75 miles per day, earlier on at the start it was more like 40 miles per day. Longest day was 102 miles, shortest day was about 20 miles. The 20 mile day was supposed to be a 70 mile day, but the next 50 miles had no services and the wind was a 35mph headwind and we were averaging less than 10mph, you've got to be flexible.

I probably only had 6 or 7 complete days off the bike the whole time. You toughen up pretty quickly, and the small towns aren't usually too interesting to spend a lot of time in. Days off can be really busy sorting stuff out (laundry, picking up items you need, cleaning bike up etc...

My blog:http://bicycletourist.weebly.com/transamerica.html
I would suggest looking at bikepacking packing lists, not TransAm packing lists. Bikepacking lists will tell you what you need to take, then add anything you can't live without. TransAm lists will have you taking the kitchen sink! Take some spare bolts, my saddle bolt snapped and i had no spare, it was a nightmare sourcing another!

Any specific questions, just PM me!

chipmonkey

mea00csf wrote:

I did the full TransAm last summer, fantastic experience.

Awesome, thank you so much for the reply!

You say you're planning on doing the middle part of the TransAm, personally the bit from Kentucky to Pueblo Colorado gets dull very quickly.

That figures... I live in Kentucky, and specifically wanted to head to Colorado, so my endpoints are actually what made me look at cycling as an option. But I'll keep that in mind; I suppose it could be worth driving somewhere just to get a different start.

I did discover that if you have a dyno hub you should be able to keep your phone charged up and use it for GPS tracking.

This was worth it just to learn about dyno hubs! I didn't know those existed. :-) The last bike generator I used rubbed that little grooved thing on the bike wheel!

Don't couchsurf, use Warmshowers!

Got it!
...

Thank you so much! I'll totally check out your blog, and I appreciate all of the information. I may just take you up on direct questions as they come up, too.

Much obliged!

---Chip