Commentary on The Bike and Equipment

Everyone I encounter is curious to know what bike I am riding and what equipment I am carrying.

I am riding a Surly Long Haul Trucker bicycle with heavy duty 26" x 1.5" tires. It is a heavy, steel bike specifically designed for long trips such as this. The steel frame is much more comfortable going over dirt roads, bumps and rumble strips than light weight carbon frames.

The LHT's heavy, steel frame is strong enough to support the 70-80 pounds of gear that I am carrying in my front and rear panniers and racks. If I were riding a lighter road bike I would have to carry my gear in a one or two wheel trailer, which would create safety and maneuverability issues.

With all that weight and the not-so-aerodynamic racks and panniers it is hard to go very fast. In wind neutral, flat terrain with decent road conditions I tend to average 12-14 mph over long distances.

The bike with all that heavy gear does carry its speed very well on the downhills where I have routinely reached speeds of 35-40 mph. I must admit that traveling 40 mph fully loaded is pretty exhilirating and commands your full attention! I have to be aware and adjust for the many things that could happen when you are going that fast: animals can and have suddenly jumped out on the road in front of me; holes, loose gravel and objects in the road are common and present increased hazards at fast speeds; and a sudden gust of wind from the side can catch the panniers and cause you to have to lean into the wind to control the bike.

Since I am camping a lot, I carry a tent, sleeping bag, inflatable air mattress, food, stove and cooking and eating utensils. And since I am traveling in multiple climate zones in variable autumn weather I need to bring a lot of different types of clothing to accommodate a wide variety of rainy, windy, hot, and cold weather conditions. I also carry spare tire tubes and basic tools, and my bike is equipped with a pump, pepper spray, and a headlight and tail light. I always wear a helmet, bicycling shorts, bicyling shoes with cleats, bicycling shirt, and smart wool socks, and layer other clothing over this apparel depending on weather conditions.

I also have a Kindle, maps and my Droid smartphone, on which I heavily rely for GPS, telephone, blogging, photography and other things. So I am a pretty self sufficient traveling unit except when my cell phone batter dies.