Frontage Roads » Trips

Banff!

Errin — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 13:54:25 +0000

Damn. I’m in Banff! So weird seeing people that you’ve seen on the Internet in person. Recognizing buildings from blog posts. Kinda strange. We are staying at the Y with most of the other racers. Wait, am I a racer now? I guess so. I seem to be anyways. My bike looks similar, gear looks similar.

Yesterday my bike was at the local shop Soul Ski getting serviced. The rear derailleur wasn’t working properly and the tires were still not holding air. They are installed some Stan’s for me and that seems to be working now.

My camera died, so I had to get a new one. The Lumix TS3 for you camera fans.

Highlight of the day though was hanging out with Scott of PorcelainRocket.com and making a small toptube bag from scratch. That was really eye opening for me. Totally custom and I even got to do some of the sewing. You can tell if you look for the crooked lines! Huge thanks Scott!

Oh yeah, we also rode the first 6 miles of the trail. To say it’s beautiful just isn’t enough. Glad I have a working camera to capture it, just hope I don’t stop to often to soak it all in!

We may leave this afternoon. We haven’t decided yet, but we are leaning that way. Keep an eye on the SPOT tracker. If it’s moving south, it has begun!

Checkin’ My Cues

Errin — Tue, 24 May 2011 05:51:01 +0000

I’ve finally finished typing them up. Now I’m going through and double-checking my cues. I’ve found a couple typos so far. Letters not bolded etc. So far they are looking pretty good though. One less thing to do. Stoked.

Customizin’ Cues

Errin — Fri, 06 May 2011 15:00:27 +0000

Taking the published ACA Great Divide Route cues and reformatting them takes time, but it’s time well spent. Losing the kilometer notes and anything extra tightens them up.

I’ve formatted them to fit in the small pocket of my map case. The mileage is bold for easy spotting and I can make additional notes on the top. This is only half of the first map. 11 more maps to go!

Navigation

Errin — Thu, 05 May 2011 15:12:02 +0000

I’m a GPS geek through and through. I use them all the time. However, on the trip to Carmel the GPS let me down. Not once but twice. We had many discussions on that trip about using GPSes and whether they are to be trusted or not. Even though I think they are great, for the Great Divide, I think I’ll be leaving mine at home.

I'm going to go back to a simpler time. Paper maps, compass and a bike computer. Less to go wrong. No batteries to too!

I'll be using the VDO X2 which has a resettable trip odometer. In case I get lost and need to backtrack I can reset my mileage at a known location. I've been using one of these for brevets and I've been pretty happy with it.

Will I regret not having a GPS? I don’t know. Damn, I may even change my mind and throw in the backpack at the last minute! But for now I’m going simple. To simply enjoy the ride.

Salsa Fargo Bikepacking Santa Catalina Island Pt.3

Errin — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 16:01:26 +0000

We awoke to clear skies on Sunday morning. After the steep climb out of camp we enjoyed a long descent down to Middle Ranch. Along the way we finally saw one. A real life Bison! In 1924 fourteen bison were brought to the island for the filming of a movie. After production ended, they were left on the island. Seeing one of them was one of the highlights of the trip.

Parts of this ride reminded me of motorcycling through Baja. Dirt roads, few people and amazing vistas. The only thing missing were the taco carts. The road started to climb again and before long we were granted the view of the far side of the island. We spotted a hawk, or an eagle maybe, sitting alone on a rock overlooking the ocean. This was a special place and we were lucky to be here.

We eventually made it to Little Harbor and stopped for some snacks. We had a boat to catch in Two Harbors for the return home, but we had to climb back to the other side of the island. We arrived with time to spare and after lunch we relaxed on the beach, listening to the waves and enjoying a (strong!) beer. We couldn’t have timed it better as the skies grayed as the storm moved in. What a weekend.

Salsa Fargo Bikepacking Santa Catalina Island Pt.2

Errin — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 17:57:18 +0000

A slight drizzle had been keeping things interesting all morning. However, once the climbing was over we were greeted by the sun and blue skies. Around every corner was a photo op and it was hard to keep the camera holstered.

Salsa Fargo Bikepacking Santa Catalina Island Pt. 1

Errin — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 19:58:31 +0000

I hadn’t been there since I was young. So when Bruce asked if I’d join him for an overnighter on Santa Catalina Island I jumped at the chance. I needed to try out my bikepacking setup so this was a perfect chance.

Happening the same weekend was the Red Bull Catalina GP. They used to have motorcycle races on the island, but 1958 was the last year it was held. We met a racer from the last race in ’58 on our boat ride. Everyone seemed pretty excited to see the motos race on the island again. We decided we’d check out some racing before heading for the inland part of the island.

After we’d seen enough of the motos we decided it was time to start our trip by getting out of Avalon. Our plan was to cycle from Avalon to Two Harbors where we’d board our return boat. The island isn’t very long, but it’s hilly, so we had some climbing ahead of us.

The toughest climb is the road out of Avalon. There are grades up to 12% and with the load on our bikes it didn’t take long before we were shedding layers and catching our breath. However, around every corner was another photo op so it was a good excuse to pull over. At the intersection of a couple of roads we heard some voices and then saw some people flying across a Zip Line.

As I go through these pics I realize that there are just too many to share in one post. So I’m going to split them up over a few days. If you have any questions about the bikes, gear or island post ‘em up. I’ll answer them here or include the info in the following days post. Thanks for reading.

Adventure Monkey Issue #3!

Errin — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 07:28:02 +0000

I’ve got a ton of pics to upload from this weekend’s trip. I’m going through them as fast as I can, but work is getting in the way. You know how that goes. In the meantime, go get the new issue of Adventure Monkey Magazine. This is issue #3 and it covers bike touring. Plus, there’s an article by me! Please support Eric and this homegrown magazine. If you like reading this blog, you’ll like this magazine. You can download it here, or buy your own paper copy here. So grab your copy of Adventure Monkey and sit tight. Here’s a teaser pic to hold you over.

Topanga Creek Bicycles Campout

Errin — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 15:01:45 +0000

It’s taken a long time, 2 years in fact, but I’ve finally popped my bike camping cherry. A couple of weeks ago Chris from Topanga Creek Bicycles asked if I’d be up for a campout near the shop. I immediately said yes, knowing that I’d work out the details later. It turns out that there’s a campground very close to the shop up a very steep hill. The idea being that anyone could come out and try out their camping setup before attempting a longer ride or tour. I guess a lot of people were excited about it, but only three non-employees showed up. Hopefully next time it will be bigger.

I told Bruce about the campout and he was in, so we planned a route that would include a dirt climb in true Rough Riders style. We both were on our road bikes, Bruce on his Rivendell Bleriot and me on my trusty Surly Long Haul Trucker. We got a couple of weird looks from people, but that made it all the better. Here’s our route.

My goal was to pack as light as possible and it worked out well. The LHT with my overnight gear weighed about the same as when it’s in full commute mode. I only packed a bivy, sleeping bag, sleeping pad, shorts, trail mix, toiletries and a windbreaker. Pretty simple. Everything except the sleeping pad fit in the 2 small panniers on the back. The panniers that I used are really front panniers, and I have a set of the larger rear panniers. I can’t even imagine how much stuff you could carry if you used those.

I’ll just post a few of my favorite pics, but you can see all of them here.

The man with the plan, Chris from Topanga Creek Bicycles

Past being replaced with the future.

The weekend was a great success, and we’ve already started discussing future trips. My LHT performed flawlessly and my gear selection worked out well. I’m looking forward to getting out again, hopefully after the temps drop. It’ll be nice to have a fire and a cup of tea to relax with. Thanks to Chris, Scott and Eric for setting up this campout.

Great weekend, so tired.

Errin — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 15:01:56 +0000

This weekend I did my first ever bike overnighter. I had a great time, took a ton of pics and I’m beat. I’ve got some pics to sift through and post, but I’m too tired to get them done tonight. Here’s just one to whet your appetite. Hope you had a great weekend.