When I started with my gastric bypass, I made the pledge that I would ride a 1000 mile bike trip to celebrate making my weight goal. Well, I’ve settled on a slightly smaller trip: Jacksonvile FL to Portsmouth VA, 650 miles. Right now I’m thinking of early or mid May of next year.
What do I need for gear? Assume I have the bike (I do) and bags (currently shopping). I’m planning on this being a credit card trip (hotels at night vs. camping). I’m assuming a small tool kit, tubes, extra spokes, some clothes, toiletries, rain gear, etc.
Camelbak! Sunglasses! Cell phone! Maps or GPS! Don’t wear cotton, wear synthetic fabrics that wick away moisture and can be rinsed out in the hotel sink & will dry overnight on the shower rod.
Well, you won’t be doing this without some (at least semi-serious) training before the actual ride, so it’s safe to say that you’ll figure out what bike specific tools and supplies you’ll need during the training period. BF’s list looks like a good list for the other things you’ll need for several day tour.
Heavy Duty Sunblock. (Don’t forget to put it on the backs of your ears! I’m speaking from experience!)
Saddle sore cream. No matter how much you train, it still doesn’t equal sitting on your bicycle all day every day. Your nethers will thank you.
Good maps - you’ll probably buy these as you go along. Many highways are off-limits to bicyclists and you won’t find the alternate route on anything but a local map. When my friend and I did our trip (Berkeley to Boulder) we bought a new map for each area as we needed it. It really came in handy in the Sierras and going through Reno and Salt Lake City. I think it’s safe to assume that a GPS unit can do the same, provided you have downloaded a detailed enough map.
Keep a trip diary. State the route you used, note any interesting sights or occurrences, etc. You’ll be glad you did in a few years. Also a disposable camera.
Take a good close look at your rims and spokeholes. The #1 cause of flats for our first week or so was spokeholes. They may seem fine with just your weight, but once you get all your gear on there, they can be sharp little edges. I ended up sanding mine to get rid of the sharp edges and using rim tape.
Bring along a little first aid kit for scrapes and such.
If there’s anyone you want to call, get yourself a phone card if you don’t already have one. And if you can get voicemail that you can check from the road, that comes in handy too.
I’m very excited for you! I loved my trip (~1500 miles) and would do anything to do it again. Have a great time!
It’s a good idea to take your bike to you local bike store and have them service it before the trip (assuming you aren’t an experienced bike fixer). They can iron out any small faults/replace worn parts/grese them bits that needs it/etc. Much easier than having to fix stuff on the road. Once you’ve got all your kit together, take a one or two day shake down ride (with all your bits fixed to the bike) to make sure nothing falls off.
And you should be able to get away with a manual dog-polisher on any reasonable bike tour.
Sounds fun. I wish I had the time for a 1000 mile trip - the longest I’ve done is about 500 miles on organized bike trips.
You probably know this already, but the most important thing you need is training. On those organized rides, they recommended ramping up your mileage to at least 100 miles per week, over several months leading up to the actual trip. Also start riding century rides and other organized rides in your area. During this process you’ll get a good idea of what gear and accessories you’ll need.
Also I’d only attempt such a trip on a recumbent bike, but that’s just me…
I’m going to repeat this. With extra weight on, it is very easy to get flats from the spokes poking the inside of the tube. A good quality rim tape will prevent this.
Go to Crazyguyonabike and read a bunch of journals for similar trips to get an idea of what other people have brought/left behind. Reading the journals is addicting, you should keep one. I’d like to do a ride like that someday.
Definitely a cell phone, maybe one with a camera so you can take pictures on your trip, best if it can connect to the net, so you can look up maps if you need to, and post to update us? Reaffirming sunblock! I’d also make some sort of back up financial plan, in case your credit card gets lost or stolen. Something like a debit card, but stored in a different place than your credit card, so it’s likely to still be around if the other goes missing. Some actual emergency cash too, unless you know the whole route by heart and know for a fact that every place takes credit cards. (Lest you get stuck hungry and thirsty with no ATM in sight.)
Don’t make the tool kit too small, bring enough tools that you could break down your whole bike and reassemble it if you need to. They make compact, light kits that fit under your saddle that have that cabability. (Advice from a relative who is an avid bicycle racer, in his prime he raced 110 mile races, and did things like taking a bicyle tour of the Alps, and racing the Goretex race.) Ask your bicycle shop what kind of spare parts you should take with you, and get fresh brake lines/parts put on. A first aid kit, have saddle sore cream, moleskin, and aloe gel in it. A pocket knife, or small knife of some kind, or foldable scissors for cutting patches, bandages, or moleskin. Are you likely to meet up with poisonous snakes at the side of the road? Might want to consider snake bite provisions in that kit.
Do you have the lined biking shorts, which help prevent chafing? (Last I knew the leather lined were the best.) What about padded biking gloves? (For long distances, these are needful. Your hands can get remarkably sore while biking for long periods with no padding.) Remember to drink before you feel thirsty, and if you feel hungry, to drink some first because for some reason your body will interpret extreme thirst as hunger. I’ve personally experienced this biking with my relative on a hot day.
Thanks for all of the advice so far. Just so everyone knows:
I’m an experienced urban commuter, although I don’t ride in foul or cold weather.
60 miles a week was typical. (Past tense because I changed jobs, and I can no longer ride to work for reasons of geography [a 5 mile ling bridge and tunnel that is motorized vehicles only])
I’m now 100 lbs lighter than I was when I started commuting. I don’t think adding 50 lbs of gear will stress my bike.
I also have fairly decent bicycle repair skills and experience. My planned tool kit would be enough to do a field repair that gets me to the nearest shop.
No fancy togs yet, because my size is still changing by the month. They’re on the short list, along with the bags.
Pro tune up is in the plan already.
I have good gloves and a helmet now.
I have kevlar liners now, but I’ll probably go to kevlar tires for the trip.
As far as maps, I’m planning on using the Atlantic Trail set from Adventure Cycling.
Unless you spend $100s on really waterproof bags, you might want to invest 100¢ on some ziplock bags - they weigh nothing and will keep your cellphone/spare underwear/etc. nice and dry.
Reaffirming sunblock! I’d also make some sort of back up financial plan, in case your credit card gets lost or stolen. Something like a debit card, but stored in a different place than your credit card, so it’s likely to still be around if the other goes missing. Some actual emergency cash too, unless you know the whole route by heart and know for a fact that every place takes credit cards. (Lest you get stuck hungry and thirsty with no ATM in sight.)