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Life's too short to be fearful of a two-ton piece of powered metal.
It's not the two-ton piece of metal to be feared--it's the 160 lb moron jabbering on the cell phone or reading a novel when he's supposed to be controlling the two-ton piece of metal. Nothing more than unguided missiles.
Not to change the topic, but if a disease killed as many people as auto-related causes did, there would be a huge grassroots movement to eradicate it. Personally, I think we'd all be better off if all of us either walked or rode a bike. But, as for me, no way am I going to do it in the 'climate' we have on the roads at this point.
For a bike I now plan on getting a Trek FX 7.2 since its cheap, around $500 for a road bike and seems to have very good reviews. Just need to see what type of tent and sleeping back would be needed. Also how to bag it all up. The guy in the link I posted uses 4 bags, 2 in the front and 2 in the back. Just need to know how much wight them bikes can hold. When he first started he said he could not even pick the bike up do to the wight of everything. He had some dishes a propane camp stove or gas in on of the bags. A tent sleeping bag, tons of clothe weeks of canned goods in case bike breaks down in middle of nowhere with 100 miles to go to nearest town.
Like how he finds cheap sleeping areas. In on of his post he went to a pay campsite and found that they don't collect pay till the morning so he woke up early and got out of there before they came to collect. Most times he camps on the side of the road in gravel areas or under a bridge or on the coast line.
For a bike I now plan on getting a Trek FX 7.2 since its cheap, around $500 for a road bike and seems to have very good reviews. Just need to see what type of tent and sleeping back would be needed. Also how to bag it all up. The guy in the link I posted uses 4 bags, 2 in the front and 2 in the back. Just need to know how much wight them bikes can hold. When he first started he said he could not even pick the bike up do to the wight of everything. He had some dishes a propane camp stove or gas in on of the bags. A tent sleeping bag, tons of clothe weeks of canned goods in case bike breaks down in middle of nowhere with 100 miles to go to nearest town.
That sounds like a great bike for what you are planning. Much nicer-rolling on pavement than a clunky old mountain bike.
The "bags" are called panniers. You can mount racks front and rear and the panniers hang off of them. The downside to panniers is that they do affect the weight, balance and handling of the bicycle.
You ~may~ want to consider towing a small trailer instead. Burley and BOB make high-end rugged trailers designed for serious touring. They are not cheap. The BOB has a single-wheel design that can also go off-road on narrow single-track trails. Don't know if that is part of your plan.
Speaking of bicycle mechanical failures. You need to know at least the basics to be self-supporting: how to fix a flat, boot a tire, break (and repair) a chain, convert the bike to a single-speed (in case of derailleur malfunction), and how to respoke and true wheels. You can often learn these basic repair skills by volunteering at a bicycle co-op (just google that plus your location). Sometimes community colleges or local bike shops will offer courses. You may also want to bookmark this site:
Thanks for the links, I am mostly just looking for a job now to pay for this. Will work a few months putting everything into the a bank account and then go off for a few months into the world a free man with no worries.
I'm 19 right now so hope to spent my youth on the road biking it. Then when I'm 21 I will hit the books and go to college with the wisdom that I've learned on the road. Either go to college or become a truck driver, what ever pays the bills :P. Since if what the media says is true, Ice road truck drivers in Alaska make $125,000 for 2-3 months of work while the ice road is up.
Either go to college or become a truck driver, what ever pays the bills :P. Since if what the media says is true, Ice road truck drivers in Alaska make $125,000 for 2-3 months of work while the ice road is up.
If it makes you feel any better, I carried my bicycle in the semi-truck I was once driving and used that to do grocery shopping and sight-seeing during off-time.
This especially helped in areas with Draconian, anti-truck laws.
Don't buy anything for this at walmart! Cheap is nice, but heavy. A sleeping bag in summer should weigh 1 kilo not 3 pounds. I got winter bags that weight 3 pound for below 0.
A light poly tarp and a bivy bag do summer well. The tarp can be made into many things.
One road atlas will get you most any place... Then if you need maps for off road that's another thing. Buy these as you need to, and mail them home when yer done.
Travel light.
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