My fellow adventurous delica owners. Anyone a cycle tourer?

[Adrock]

I'm making a trip. I'm headed to kimberley BC. I am only buying food on the way, to cook myself, no motels, no restaurants, camping off the highway, the crowsnest to be exact.

here is my equipment list

Pump
Spare tube
Food
Bags
Fenders
Computer
Helmet
Stirrups

My Gear:
Stove
Fuel
Tent
Sleeping Pad
Sleeping bag
Gloves
Camelback
Nalgenes
Chain Tool
C wrench
Allen Keys
Lights
Ipod
Phone
Camera
Chargers

Clothes:
3 pairs of shorts
T shirts
One piece long johns.
Long johns
Fleece shirt
Under armor
Rain gear
Gloves
Toques
Socks
Shoes
Flip flops
Towel
Swim shorts

any suggestions? Tips? Tricks?

I'm leaving tuesday, hoping to get 100-150km out of each day, I know its optimistic, but I really dont want to camp west of hope the first night. alright, thanks guys. Have a good one.

[Breadman]

i'm not a expert but my wife and i cycled for 6 months around nz and oz. the best piece of advice we learned and received from long time cycle tourists was "just do it". if you see a nice river to swim in "just do it" etc... you get the idea. don't have a plan or focus on distance. sleep in, start late, ride late, don't ride at all. soon you'll find you cover the same distance and enjoy it a lot more. always be on the look out for a good bakery. a good book, a good hat, lots of different places to put your hands on the handle bars.
enjoy
paul

[BCDelica]

Bug Dope
2 lighters
Tiny tube of lube (for the bike, not like your sig says :LOL: )
Basic first aid kit
Little anti friction feet sticker thingys
Telescoping fishing rod (Well, I would)

Have a blast.

[Nisseman]

I don't see a Delica and a bike rack on your list?!?!?!?
Just kidding, sounds like a great trip. Our friends pedaled across Canada, coast to coast and they said the same thing, don't focus too much on distance or a detailed plan. Some days you get more than you expect and others you just blow off as a slow day. Of course you can probably layout your time table a little more tightly on a trip like yours.
You might want to carry a small cheap patch kit if you're only bringing one spare tube, just in case, and I didn't see tire spoons on your list but imagine you've got those already. A small roll of duct tape never hurt, sounds silly but it's so damn versatile. I've also found a small pair of needle nose pliers handy on quite a few rides.

[mitch]

Hey adam,

Im making a trip like that in the next month or so.. not as far as kimberly, but busting a left hander at keremeos and heading north thru the okanagan..

If we had the same time line, id love to do a portion of the ride with you.

Pm me for more details.

Mitch

[DavePhotos]

A small roll of duct tape never hurt, sounds silly but it's so damn versatile.

Duct tape is never silly
Tire levers, Patch kit, and maybe 2 tubes, flat tires suck and they can happen in pairs.
Some extra bits for your chain, bike shops usually have extra pieces that will match your chain.
just my 2 cents.
lots of up & down on that route!
Sounds like fun!

[scott]

yeah, if you can't duct it.....f*%$ it!
i second what everyone else has said, and i'd add baby powder. that much time in the saddle will chafe the bits like no other.

and b/c weight sucks when you're human powered, i'd trim your clothing down substantially. one set for riding, and one for camp. one pair of shorts for everything - when they get stinky, jump in a lake. leave the one piece long john's at home, then you can change your top and bottom layers as needed. if you have a headband - one of those goofy lycra things, they're really good for the long windy downhills through the passes when it's cold, saves the earache.

take this with a grain of salt, i really don't like weight, if i think it's not going to rain, i'll sleep in my backpack instead of carrying a tent.
sounds like an adventure, that highway goes through some beautiful places - enjoy it!!
s

[Adrock]

Thanks for all t he awesome tips.

I really am not too focused on time, aside from the first day. I will take as long as it takes. If I do 30 km a day, thats cool, becasue t he rest of the day will obviously be awesome.

I have driven the road more times than I can remember, or at least been a passenger. Ever since I was about 10 years old I wondered if I could bike it. Now I am going to see if its true.

Lots of good advice. I think I will cut the clothing down, I am just a little paranoid about having one w et as set of clothes, but I guess if they are made of the right material they will still warm up nice and quick once I get pedaling.

Mitch what kind of bike are you riding? Did I mention i'm doing this on an apollo sport 10 that is older than me?

Let me know more about your trip. If i'm back in time, and alive I wouldn't mind tagging along for a bit and making another trip around. We might not last the first day together because of pace, i doubt i'm the fastest around, but hey, it would be awesome. I'll PM you about it.

Thanks guys, for some reason I had a feeling there would be a lot of people here with this kind of knowledge.

Oh, and once I get a bit more money its hammock and a bivy. No more tent, but my tent weighs 3 pounds anyways so i'll make this trip with it. I may never want to see a bicycle again after this, I really just want to see if I can do it.

[Green1]

I'm not a cyclist myself... however every year I help out working as a support truck driver for a 3 day, 300km, 350person bike tour through the rocky mountains...

what I can tell you is bring the right clothes for EVERY type of weather...
and flat tires come in 2s... 3s... 4s... I'd recommend 2 spare tubes, a good pump, tools, and a patch kit (if you kill the 2nd spare you'll be glad to still be able to patch one...) this is especially important if you run road tires as opposed to mountain bike tires, (they just aren't as resilient)

I also don't see toilet paper on there... and from experience... not every "facility" has any...

[sean]

Sounds great Adam,
My wife and I biked through Switzerland and through to Southern Italy one summer. The ups are just as great as the downs. In the Alps, some up hills took two days but the 3.5 hour downhill was absolutely amazing. No pedalling, just a scenic ride with the wind in your face. I always felt sory for all the people in their cars racing by at 120km/hr. We would stop in a mountain pass and listen to the silence, watch a butterfly float by whatever. Those people in the cars did not know what they were missing. I guess that is why I am drawn to a Delica, speed in a car has never been important. You miss all the good stuff.
My piece of advice would be stop and talk to as many people along the way. People love chatting and wondering where you are going. The people are what I remember the most. I guess with a Delica chatting is all part of life.

In Italy, men would stop us and ask me where I was headed, how far I had biked etc. The would listen with interest and congradulate me for the trip. Then they would look at my wife and ask her the same questions. When she would tell the same answer they would look at her with astonishment and say "No, really stop joking, how far have you gone"

Anyway, enjoy you trip.
Sean

[Adrock]

whats toilet paper?

[prospero]

Hey there,

I don't know why you are bringing all that electronic gear. I'd stick with the camera and phone, and keep them turned off most of the time so you don't need the rechargers. That'll save you 8-10 pounds right there. And with the gear ratios you have, you want to save wieght! That is, unless you are using the Deli as a Sag wagon. Is this a self-contained tour where you carry everything on the bike? If so, here are my other rec's

-Use front panniers. It will make the bike way easier to control. It will keep you from putting all the wieght on the back wheel, making spoke failure less likely. Here's the big caveat to that : MAKE SURE YOUR FRONT RACK IS ROBUST AND THE BAGS CAN'T COME OFF. Very easy to take a header down a big ole hill otherwise. Happened to my buddy last year, and we are luck to be in two pieces ( I was behind him )

-Take spare spokes and nipples of the proper length for the drive and non-drive side of your rear wheel. If it's an old Apollo 10 it's probably riding on galvanized spokes - probably the only thing on that level of bike that was weaker in the old days than it is now!

-Keep it light

-I recommend a light wool T-Shirt from MEC. It doesn't reek like synthetic, it won't get you hypothermic like cotton can, and it works better for a wider range of temperatures than anything else I've tried, from BC Heat to Northern Ireland wet and cold to Alberta dry and cool.

-Leather-palmed cotton crochetted backed cycling gloves.

Have an awesome ride!

[Adrock]

The ipod is for transferring photos to. I will be taking some high res pictures, and it may very well be over the 200 mark that my mem card can hold. I will at least need the camera charger too.

Thanks though, all the advice is awesome.

[Adrock]

well, I failed.

I made it to hope. I went too far on the first day, it was pissing after about 80 km (which was about as far as I should have gone)

I don't know, there are a bunch of reasons that added to the decision. I am fairly confident that I could do it, but I wasn't enjoying myself at the time. The largest factor was that I really jsut wanted to make it to my destination, and chose the trip as am eans to get there, which I think was the biggest mistake. One day when I don't have a specific destination I wil definitely do something like this again. It is definitely a neat experience.

Thanks for all the info I will definitely use it in the future.

And mitch thanks for stopping to say Hi on the road, that was awesome.

Oh yeah, the gearing on an apollo sport 10 is not quite what is desired for hill climbs. Just a little tidbit of info.

No excuses, i chose to quit, but i'm in kimberley now after 11 hours of quality time with the delica.

Yeah, thanks again guys. talk soon.