I’ve been off the wagon for a few but have cleared the plate and I’m ramping the site back up, so don’t fret ADV bike riding hasn’t gone any where.

Yesterday at the National Bike Summit in Washington D.C. Google announced a new addition to  Google Maps,  biking directions.  This is a big step towards organizing and collecting  cycling routes all over the country.  Google Maps is not only using known municipal cycling routes, but also rail trail routes, designated state routes and county cycling routes.  As with other types of transportation methods the Google Maps bike option has customizable routes, but with some added features such as highlighted dashed and solid green routes in Urban centers.  Google biking directions is still in a beta version and Google is encouraging feedback,  Utility Cycling has  raised some interesting questions about the new Google Maps bike directions.

The introduction of Google Maps bike directions is a step forward in bringing cycling to the forefront of alternative transportation in the U.S.  Google is welcoming feedback on routes as it will most likely take sometime to perfect the route planning of the system.  Urban commuters should be the first to see the benefits of using Google Maps bike.  With a greater number of people riding the same routes, awareness and advocacy should increase.  Designated Google urban routes have the potential to become more of a staple in city commuting.

Google Maps bike is no doubt a positive step forward in the world of bike mapping, but what affect will it have on bike touring and adventure touring?  I have been playing around with some longer remote routes, and some of the choices that the Google Maps system has chosen are not the routes that I would have chosen, but that doesn’t mean the routes are wrong.  Some questions I have are what is the average speed that Google maps is using to route time, are the travel speeds constant or do they change with the type of roads and elevation? for example climbing a dirt road will produce a significantly different time then riding on flat pavement for the same distance.  I think with time the Google Maps bike direction will turn into a great resource.  The system has a lot of potential to map different types of cycling routes from urban commuting  routes, off road bike touring, and everything in between, go Google!

Photo courtesy of Epic Ride Reasearch

Ever get tired of taking your hydration pack off over and over to use your camera? Or need a place to put your Clif Bar™ after you opened it and only wanted a couple of bites? The Mountain Feed Bag solves these needs and offers many more solutions to others. The Feed Bag is made by Epic Ride Research (www.epicrideresearch.com) in Oakridge, OR and is a MUST for every endurance cyclist.

It kind of looks like a chalk bag that rock climbers would use but with a couple of velcro straps to attach it to your stem and handlebar. It has a mesh pocket on the outside to catch things like wrappers, candy, or lip balm. I even like to keep a bottle of chain lube in this outer mesh pocket. The main compartment is an 80 cubic inch pocket with a drawstring closure that can be opened or closed with only one hand. One hand grabs what you need, the other stays on the grips. Genius!

The Mountain Feed Bag has become a permanent fixture on my bike. I use it for multi-day bike tours, ultralight overnight rides, daily trail rides from home and even road bike rides. It takes up very little space and keeps every thing I need right at my finger tips. I have even been known to carry a beer or a fountain drink in it as well. Makes a great cup holder!

These wonderful little gems cost $30.00 and are available in royal blue or titanium colors. Order online at www.epicrideresearch.com.

Here are some photos of how to use the drawstring closure on my bike:

]]> http://adventurebikeriding.com/2010/03/mountain-feed-bag/feed/ 0 http://adventurebikeriding.com/2010/03/our-favorite-nahbs-pic/ http://adventurebikeriding.com/2010/03/our-favorite-nahbs-pic/#comments Fri, 05 Mar 2010 03:35:36 +0000 The Edge http://adventurebikeriding.com/?p=108

At the end of February the North American Hand Made bike show was held in Richmond, Virginia.  Make no mistake this is no Interbike, this is more like bike art.  The countries finest custom bike builders gather once a year to show off their latest and greatest creations. This year was no exception, there were many entries that will take your breath away.  It is hard to imagine that a bike can literally be a work of art, but what makes these works of art so great is their functionality.  So many of these bikes not only look good but ride great as well.

There were a myriad of amazing bikes, including touring bikes, commuters, MTB’s, road bikes and so on. Our particular favorite was one of the featured touring bikes made by Coho bikes ,  a very traditional styled bike, but with all the extras that make a great touring bike.  The design of this bike is very interesting, notice the distance between the rear wheel and the seat tube, enough to fit a forth water bottle.  Not haven been able to personally ride this bike makes it hard to judge, but I would be very interested to feel how a wheel base of this length would affect the ride.   Most likely the bike is super stable even with a weighted load and 26″ wheels.  It kinda has a road bike with small wheels feel to it, alot like the Surly Long Haul Trucker. I would love to go on any bike tour with a Coho bike.

Here are a few pics from some of the other bikes that really caught our eyes.  If you want to check out a full gallery of what was at the show, Dirt Rag has a full NAHBS photo album.

Here’s a quick ride tip, if your in Sedona don’t ride the Turkey Butte Trail unless you have plenty of time to kill, love epic rubbly climbs and  gnarly baby head descents.  If you like that stuff go for it, if not, Sedona has plenty of  other great single track to offer.

This week we will have a review of the Ergon BA-1 and more great bike touring and adventure riding information.  I leave you with one of my favorite cycling parody videos.  I’m sure many of you have seen this already, but some how it never gets old.  Every ride is an adventure.

We just received our first Dahon BioLogic bike mount for the iPhone .  We are really stoked to give this a test as it seems to be the best waterproof  iPhone case made for either a bike or a motorcycle.  We first got to put our fingers on one of these at Interbike last year, and they certainly looked promising.

So far, many of the iPhone mounting cases have been sub-par at best, either they have a good interface but aren’t water resistant or weather proof, or they are sealed up tight with a poor interface.  We are hoping the Dahon breaks the mold and performs well in both categories. Things look promising with a welded water proof touch membrane,  a 360 pivot handlebar mount and protected weather resistant openings for head phones and the data/charging port, MSRP about 60.00.

Bukwyld will be putting it through its paces, if anyone can break it Bukwyld can.  Give us a couple of weeks and we will be back with a thorough user review.

For many of us across the country who ride, winter is a time spent staring out the window wondering when spring is going to arrive.  The cold and gray seems to push on for ever.  Its hard not to get stir crazy, our poor lonely bikes are just sitting in the garage, depressed and underused.  Our minds and bodies start to feel the same way our bikes do, melancholy and in need of activity.  Well don’t fret any longer. Although winter is plagued with short cold days there are ways to get out and have fun while still getting a work out that wont make that first bike tour or race of the season hurt so bad.

Many winter time activities are dictated by what part of the country you live in.  I would say that those who live in the mid-west probably have been delt the hardest hand, having grown up there, I sympathize.  Your options are limited, you can bundle up to the hilt and brave the cold and gray on a road bike or hit the trails that have remained open, or go for a run, a less than ideal compromise, even though lately I have even resorted to running, still a great workout and you stay warmer than being on a bike. Going to the gym, hey its better than nothing and there’s always eye candy for both sexes.  And riding the trainer, I have vowed never to step foot on a trainer or set of roller again, having spent far to much time on one during the winter months back in my youth when I was trying to compete at an elite level. But those of you with the will power to put in a movie and do a two hour ride I take my hat off to you, for you are stronger than I.  I  knew a couple of guys in Wisconsin that would actually line up together in a designated basement each weekend and have a computrainer road race, sometimes for five hours, now that’s just craziness.

So If you are lucky enough to live in a place where you can actually do something with the winter consider yourself lucky.  The snow can offer many enjoyable activities.  If your really lucky you live near a ski resort or nordic center, being able to alpine or tele-ski is almost as good as riding a bike. I know some that consider bike riding as mearly occupying the time until winter comes back around.  Personally I enjoy going to the nordic center for some skate skiing.  Both classic and skate skiing are great workouts and probably the closest things there are to cycling from an aerobic stand point, in fact nordic skiing is probably the best overall workout that exists.  The advantages of classic skiing is the ability to use both groomed track at the nordic center and to be able to ski back country allowing you winter time access where ever you want.  Personally I don’t know how to nordic ski, or at least I have never tried; I prefer to skate.  Skate skiing is probably the hardest single sport I have ever tried except for a team time trial.  Its fast, it requires focus and the ability to suffer, but when you and a friend have a good rhythm going through the woods there is nothing better. Skate requires a wider groomed track unlike classic skiing, so it is a little bit more specific to a nordic center thats does a good job grooming.

If you don’t have a nordic center near by or a ski resort then go get yourself some snow shoes.  Snow shoeing may not be as glamorous as alpine skiing or as Olympic as cross country but there’s no place you can’t go with a pair of snowshoes.  Snowshoes are pretty affordable and you can go right out your door.  Don’t worry about getting your workout in, if your breaking trail you’ll realize real quick that its not just a walk in the snow.  If all else fails, well there’s always running, I know, but its probably the cheapest most time effective workout you can get away with, but it still sucks. Everytime I go for a run I wish I was on my bike, but hey, its better than nothing.

Its hard during the winter, by the time you get home it almost dark and its always cold.  If you put a little effort into it, and some thought, you can keep your self from going crazy and keep your body from turning into a rust bucket.  So don’t fret. Many are in the same situations you are.  Except for those in southern Arizona, paying for it in the hot summers. Be a little creative and get out their and do something, even if it means bundling up and grabbing a head lamp.  Mountain Bike Riding has some good advice for the winter as well as the Bike Shop Hub.  Hang tough it will be spring soon.

What is the most efficient way to carry booze on a bike tour?  Ok, so the question is, how do you take liquor along on your bike tour, no one really wants to carry a twelve pack, or a six pack for that matter, very far on a bike tour, its just not practical. So what do you do, no one in there right mind should be denied a relaxing beverage after a long day in the saddle.

I have found that like all things in bike and moto touring, life is a compromise.  Nothing tastes better then a cold beer after an epic day of touring, but unless you have a gas station or store stop towards the end or your day your chances of a non-foamy cold beer a slim at best.  I’ve tried to carry beer with me for the whole day once, just once, we carried a 12 pack of Tecate all day in a BOB Yak, its was an awkward weight in the BOb which was a pain to haul around, but the most disappointing point was that at the end of the day the beer is warm and  shaken to all hell.

But just because you cant carry beer with you or get it at the end of the day doesn’t mean you have to go without the nectar of the gods.  For those of you that are more man then I, the answer is simple, whiskey.  It is the drink of the frontiersman, easy to carry, you get a good bang for your buck and actually tastes good to some.  So if your that sort of person then congratulations you don’t have to suffer the burden or bourbon, of adding noticeable weight to your bike with booze.

I have found the best answer for me is boxed wine, I know right, not what you were expecting, allow me to explain.  If you like wine then you are good to go.  If you don’t like wine then this probably wont help, so bring some liqueur, or other entertainments.  Wine, in general, tastes good, and delivers a balanced fluid weight to smile ratio.  Now I’m not saying by any means that great wine comes out of a box, but in recent years boxed wine has significantly improved in quality.  One box of wine is the equivalent of four bottles.

Here’s the kicker, boxed wine is great for bike touring because all you need to do is remove the wine bladder from the box and you have a pre-made dromedary of wine, ready to roll.  It works perfectly.  At first I was seriously concerned about the integrity of these wine bladders, so the first tour I went on I made sure to protect it in my pannier.  Well by the time I was three or four days in and a little bit of packing apathy had set in i didn’t really take the effort into packing the wine bladder with care. Never had a failure,  even after eight days of hard off road touring the boxed wine bladders held up and have on every tour since.  Every bladder that I have bought has had a double lined design, amazingly enough, so even if you have a failure of one of the layer you are still all good.

People used to give me a strange look when I told them the same thing I am telling you, but then they give it a try and realize how well it works.  These days you should be able to find boxed wine in just about any major grocery store, so on your next bike tour, if you can do your self a favor and hit up a store or gas station before you camp for the night, but if you can’t and your deep in the woods, bring along a bladder or two of boxed wine, its comes in red and white now, enjoy! Oh ya, my personal favorite is the Black Box.

Welcome to Adventure Bike Riding.  The experts in adventure riding.  What is adventure riding you ask?  Any ride can be an adventure or turn into one, but more specifically we are focused on rides such as bike touring, epic MTB and road rides,  endurance racing, and just spending all day on the bike and having a great time.  We are working as fast as we can to get the site up and running, so bare with us.  We will soon have gear reviews and links, guides and tips, maps, expert advice, new rides and much much more, so stay tuned.