[xerces]

Hi all,

I've been regularly training on my used mountain bike for the last 4 months. At this point, I can do 35 miles on the bike every other day. My longest single day record has been 48 miles, or 1.5 times around the Island of Manhattan.

I have a week long vacation coming up next week. I'm thinking of doing a solo bike trip from the heart of downtown Manhattan to the eastern tip of Long Island. To my understanding, it's roughly 140 miles one way. So the round trip(which circumscribes long island) will be close to 300 miles.

Am I seasoned enough for this? If so, what kind of kit and supplies should I bring? Where and how often should I stop?

[dunewalker]

Great idea! Are you going to camp out, or hotel it? Hard to imagine camping in that "country". You ought to be able to do 50 to 75 miles per day comfortably, w/o heavy camping gear. So, 2 days over, 2 days back, a day or so to hang out/explore. If you're fully loaded, 3 days each way should do it.

[taizy8]

.....much easier on a road bike, unless you really are going on rough terrain (pot holes) and rough paths and trails. Maybe get smoother, thinner tires.

I'm very out of date on long bike trips, but did some as a teenager, cycled from Paris to Rome with a group... taking around 12 days. Our equipment was carried in a van. We prepared by cycling 30 - 60 mile trips at weekends from 6 months beforehand. We would start very early (6 -7 am) in the morning and get as much ground covered, then break for lunch and a long siesta in the heat of the day.....then refreshed to finish the day's journey. We camped mostly and slept soundly on all sorts of ground.

great idea Xerces...all the best

[drew]

If you're doing near fifty in a day you're ready. Go for it!

The century is a big deal to the cyclist, it marks a milestone of sorts doesn't it.

I did a century and a bit (110 miles) in about 8 hours of riding on a MTB with slicks and camping gear back in my thirties.

Being crazy, I decided to join someone's 24 hr team when I arrived at the race course. I raced the next day and was a little on the slow side.

I originally rode to the course for moral support for a friend who was racing 24 hrs solo. Initially I had absolutely no intention to race, but the guys I camped with were short a body.

Enjoy your venture, you won't regret it.

Drew

[xerces]

I'm thinking of stopping along the little townships across Long Island. I was browsing over the island terrain on google earth, and it's rather diverse. Basically, riding eastwards, I would be going from

dense urban => sparse urban => suburban => private estates => farmlands => state park land.

The Eastern tip of the island at Montauk is basically a state park with some farms and a few fisheries. I think I may camp out for a night in Montauk. But other than that, I'll have to find an inn or motel to sleep in.

Any suggestions for equipment?

I'm bringing my GPS embedded 3G smart-phone with me. That should help with directions, distance tracking, and connectivity with civilization. Besides that I was just going to bring along 20 energy bars, 2 liters of water, a spare set of undies, a bike repair kit, and my hunting knife. All of the above added together weighs roughly 5 lbs.

Do I need anything additional?

[TreeFarmer]

Are you thinking of doing more of a credit card tour where you just buy your meals and get a motel room each night?

You might want to take something like a thin raincoat. Other than that I can't think of anything since you seem to want to travel very light.

TF

Edit: Go ahead and buy a mid size pannier for your bike and take some casual shorts for walking around and an extra shirt and some extra socks for sure.

[xerces]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('TreeFarmer', 'A')re you thinking of doing more of a credit card tour where you just buy your meals and get a motel room each night?

You might want to take something like a thin raincoat. Other than that I can't think of anything since you seem to want to travel very light.

TF

Edit: Go ahead and buy a mid size pannier for your bike and take some casual shorts for walking around and an extra shirt and some extra socks for sure.

[SolarDave]

Take the time to install "Mr Tuffy" or equivalent tire liners.

Mr Tuffy Google Search

Sun block!

Fingerless gloves with padded palms - comfortable and they protect your hands a little in a fall.

It's nice if the panniers can be quickly removed from the bike and carried with you. Locking the bike does not protect your "stuff."

A couple of dozen "moist towlettes" are nice to have for everything from claning hands after putting a chain back on to wiping off a sticky forehead and neck just before you turn in. They are light and don't take up much space.

I don't know abount your weather but if there is any chance it could get cold a knit cap can be worn under a helmet and your ears and sinusus will thank you. Very light and small.

I drink electrolyte drinks (low calorie verions) on my long rides rather than just plain water.

It soulds like a great trip!

SolarDave

[errorist]

If your mountain bike tires have pure offroad tread pattern then think about going to combination style tread pattern or pure pavement pattern if you are riding mainly on paved roads.

A Leatherman or similar multitool.
Some tools to maintenance your bike and change inner tubes. Strong stainless-steel spoon. Some oil for chain. Spare inner tubes (at least 2 of them, even if your bike tires have kevlar woven in it). When used a spare tube replace it as soon as possible. Some strong duct-tape and montage wire.

Some cash.

Extra sets of underwear and socks. Spare shoes. Light sweater, jeans or equivalent long pants and raincoat. Small towel. Roll of toilet paper.

Good sunglasses. Cap. Gloves!

Some sunblock if you have tendency to get sunburns.

Flashlight.

Cellphone+charger.

Candy bars/chocolate and beef jerky for fast food. Do not forget to add some fiber-containing food to your diet while on trip. One of your bottles fill with mineral water, the other with some sports drink.

Small first-aid kit for curing bruises and like. Basic sewing kit (needle + thread)

For camping outside a good sleeping bag, towel, compact solid fuel burner, some fuel and small pot fot it, tea/coffee, sugar and some quicknoodles and bread. Matches/cigarette lighter (be extremely careful while making fire, forest fire is not a good thing to start, learn how to not start it).

Think about hygiene.

When you are capable of riding 50 miles a day, you are ready enough for this trip.

[skyemoor]

Contact local biking groups and find out their suggestions for routes, stops, etc.

NYCC.org, 5BBC.org

Take a look at this list of rides to give you some ideas; you might want to do one of these as a 'shakedown cruise'.

And yes, a road bike will give much more distance, though make sure you are comfortable in that position for hours a day. If you are camping, consider renting a touring bike. NY bike rental places

I'm rather thorough when planning a biking excursion (though touring in foreign countries necessitates this), so ask local club members what they think of your idea, especially with your level of touring experience.

[frankthetank]

Make sure your seat is comfortable.

I'd do it on a roadbike. The weight savings alone will allow you to carry a few more items. Unless you have a carbon fiber mountain bike with slicks?

Ditch the mtn tires.

Sounds like fun.

[dunewalker]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('frankthetank', 'M')ake sure your seat is comfortable.

I'd do it on a roadbike. The weight savings alone will allow you to carry a few more items. Unless you have a carbon fiber mountain bike with slicks?

Ditch the mtn tires.

[xerces]

Many good points here guys, I went to bikely.com and downloaded the exact bike path from Penn Station in midtown to Montauk in Eastern Long island. I'm going to load that spread sheet onto my smart phone and basically construct a google earth mapped path with destinations and checkpoints.

Then, I should be able to just follow my phone's GPS instructions to navigate there.

[errorist]

I ride my MTB with combination style full width high profile tires. Suspension is superb, no other suspensionon on my bicycle except my own limbs - efficent this way. Never want to switch back to pure offroad tires. Enough grip on any surface (except wet stone), very good on pure sand. Some percents of pedal power saved mean more joy on tarmac and I like it quiet when possible. I ride in mixed city/offroad conditions, therefore upright position and low mass center/low frame is a survival issue.

Roadbikes suck in city enviroment - too fragile and unstable in mixed surface conditions (road quality in my country sucks also).


$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('dunewalker', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('frankthetank', 'M')ake sure your seat is comfortable.

I'd do it on a roadbike. The weight savings alone will allow you to carry a few more items. Unless you have a carbon fiber mountain bike with slicks?

Ditch the mtn tires.

[uncarve_db_lock]

Quality thread I do say.

Any bike trip, no matter the length is a great thing for sure these days.

I'm sure the length of Long Island will be quite an interesting ride. I would be wary of traffic for sure, always a bikers worst nightmare. I had a three inch or so blow by from an RV as I was touring through the Adirondacks last year, surely a scary moment.

As far as essentials go, a helmet, preferably a mountain bike or bmx style one that allows you place various decals upon. It would be a slick spot for a peak oil sticker or some other such slogan of awareness raising. That or you could do as i do and put the skull of a large bovine animal between thy handle bars and proceed to make all the Harley riders jelous (see avatar)

[xerces]

Hey all,

I took my 50 dollar used bike to the bike shop for a tune-up prior to the trip. And basically my bike mechanic told me that my old mountain bike has little chance of holding up over the 300 mile trip. He said that he would have to put in new breaks, a new gear driller, chains, and hybrid wheels.

So I basically coughed up 300 bucks and bought a new hybrid mountain/road bike. The old used bike, I sold on Craigslist for $100.

[dunewalker]

You were lucky to get rid of that old p.o.s. We used to have contests called "Huffy Tosses" for distance...

[xerces]

Strangely enough, I kind of miss my old mountain bike. I have done hundreds of miles of intra-city biking with it. It occasionally acts up, but usually gets the job done. With this trip however, I do agree with the mechanic that the used bike would break into pieces before I get to Montauk.

[dunewalker]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('xerces', 'S')trangely enough, I kind of miss my old mountain bike. I have done hundreds of miles of intra-city biking with it. It occasionally acts up, but usually gets the job done. With this trip however, I do agree with the mechanic that the used bike would break into pieces before I get to Montauk.

[xerces]

Dear friends,

On Sunday 6/8 at 7am, I will embark upon a solo bicycle journey to circumscribe the entirety of long island. Through this trip, I am going to explore the feasibility of long range personal transport without the use of non-renewable fossil fuels. It is my belief that such sustainable transport systems will be critical to us in this age of depleting fossil fuels and natural resources. And as such, understanding the nature of sustainable transport paradigms is a core goal of Grown UP Permaculture. Thus, relying on muscle power, fueled by locally grown organic foodstuffs, I will be attempting a 300 mile journey from the heart of New York City to the Eastern shores of Montauk and back in 4 days. I will be riding through urban boroughs, suburban districts, farms, gated communities, shoreline towns, forested state parks, and rugged hillsides. My hope is to stop at the small towns and communities dotting long island and gain an understanding of people's grassroots responses to the global food, energy, and environmental crisis that is hitting our society.

This will be the most physically and emotionally demanding trip that I have so far undertaken. As such, I would like everyone to come along with me for moral support. With recent advances in personal networking and mobility technologies, it is now possible to take all of you with me, if only vicariously! :D With this in mind, I have created a mobile data feed from my smart phone to my blog at http://backtowilderness.blogspot.com. During this journey, I will be able to deliver a near real-time stream of photos, commentary, audio clips, gps locations, and videos for everyone to experience. Likewise, your blog responses, facebook messages, emails, ims, and sms text messages will be sent to me in near real-time as well. When I chat with the local people about sustainability actions, everyone here will be able to participate through call conferencing.

So feel free to comment on my blog posts and message me through any digital channel as this journey progresses. Your collective support and commentary will be the spiritual fuel that keeps me going! :D

Cheers,

Xerces

ps...feel free to share this email with anyone interested in participating virtually on this journey