Gear: Leatherman Squirt PS4
By Russ | April 12, 2012
A quick video review of the Leatherman Squirt PS4 which has quickly become my favorite EDC and bike touring multi-tool. Super small and super useful.
Pros:
-Small
-Good fit and finish, positive feel
-Good selection of most often used tools (pliers, scissors, small blade, bottle opener, screwdrivers)
-relatively inexpensive
-can access most tools without opening
Cons:
-doesn’t come in orange
If you liked the review and want to get your very own. Consider buying it from our Amazon link!
Topics: Gear | 2 Comments »
A Portland S24O – Ainsworth State Park
By Russ | April 9, 2012
This weekend we did a S24O with CycleWild, a local non-profit group that organizes monthly trips. The trip they had planned was out to Ainsworth State Park in the Columbia River Gorge. It is a scenic ride that runs along the historic Columbia highway which has multiple points of interests and great views. When we heard that there was an actual chance we’d see the sun, we dusted off the Surlys and strapped on our camping gear.
We took the MAX line out to Gresham to the start of the ride. Many Cyclewild trips offer the option of either riding the entire length from the Portland city center or taking transit to the start. Feeling a little lazy in the morning we opt to take the light rail. When we arrived there was already a good group gathered at the Gresham stop. One of the things we enjoy about short bike tours is that you can do it with very little and in a myriad of configurations. Laura was trying out a front-biased load with front panniers and a Carradice, I had an Acorn handlebar bag and two rear panniers. A reader we met was using using a Burley Travoy Trailer, which we had once contemplated pairing with the Brompton.
From Gresham we made our way down to the Sandy River, crossed a bridge and began the slow gradual climb to Women’s Forum, the highest point of the trip. From there you can see the ponderous stone Vista House and the Columbia River Gorge. All the riding is on a small rural roads which alternated between having a small shoulder to none. Although there was a fair amount of traffic (it was Easter weekend and the sun was out!) most of the drivers were fairly well-behaved. This route is one of the more popular road rides in the Portland area so cars tend to be aware of bikes.
After a windy break on Vista House, we descended down a series of switchbacks to the river. Once in the gorge, we passed a series of waterfalls which had viewing platforms. Perhaps the most popular was Multnomah Falls which has a cafe, bathroom and was crowded with tourists. After Multnomah Falls, there is a noticeable drop in traffic since most drivers tend to leave the historic highway for the modern freeway at that point. This meant a few quiet miles into Ainsworth State Park.
Ainsworth is a small campground but has full facilities with drinking water and a bathroom with some really nice showers. The best sites are the walk-in sites just to the left of the entrance of the park. There are 6 sites tucked in the woods that offer a nice forested camping experience. There are train tracks not too far away though, so on occasion the illusion of being out in the woods is broken with the rumbling of a passing freight train.
My favorite part about riding to Ainsworth is the ride back. Starting out early in the morning, there is hardly any traffic and you get a significant tailwind that sometimes feels like its blowing you up the hill. The slow gradual climb from the Sandy to Women’s Forum becomes a glorious coasting descent in the other direction. Of all the close bike camping options from Portland, Ainsworth is one of our favorites. It offers lots of opportunities to stop and take in the scenery as well as a pleasant camp experience. Its only downside is the traffic on the weekends. If you have the time, it makes a great mid-week getaway!
Gear
We got to try out and handle some new gear on this trip. We borrowed a friends Marmot Haven 2 Tent. It is single pole design and is closer to a tarp tent than a dome tent. It requires staking out to hold its structure. It has an open floor design with an optional footprint (which we used since the ground was a little damp). Its biggest asset was its size! It offers 56 square feet of room for about 4lbs of weight. If you were a solo tourist you could literally park your bike inside as you slept. If we had brought the Bromptons we could have parked them folded with plenty of room to spare. The initial setup was fairly easy but required some fine-tuning to get the pitch just right. Because of its open floor design it also has no mesh, so it probably wouldn’t be our first choice for camping in really buggy areas.
Another bit of gear we got to play with was the Leatherman Squirt, a small light-weight multi-tool which stores commonly used tools in a tiny package. Notably, it had a small pair of scissors, pliers, bottle opener, blade and screwdriver. It is even smaller and lighter than the Leatherman Juice that I really love. And speaking of blades, I also tried out a CRKT Ringed Razel which is a beauty of a knife. It has a chisel style blade at its tip which is great for push cuts and scraping. The knife is really well balanced and beautifully constructed and would make the short list for a fixed EDC knife.
And of course, I can’t seem to go on an S24O without nerding out on some coffee geekery. On this trip, I brought along our trusty Hario Slim Mill, insulated Klean Kanteens and a Hario V60. The Hario has been my choice of single cup brewing at home paired with a Bonvita kettle. It worked great in camp though I didn’t have as much pour control with our GSI kettle. Shawn, the ride leader on this trip, showed me his really cool Esbit coffee maker. It packs down into the size of a coffee mug, but contains a Moka pot style brewer, complete with its own Esbit stove and flame extinguisher! It really is a nifty and elegant setup.
Topics: Gear, Riding Days, Route | 4 Comments »
Bicycle Tourism Interview: Kevin Hague
By Russ | April 3, 2012
While in New Zealand we had the pleasure to talk to a few members of parliament. Perhaps one of the most vocal champions of bicycling is Kevin Hague, who also happens to be a keen bicycle tourist himself. We visited Kevin at his home in Greymouth and talked to him about his role and vision of the New Zealand Cycle Trail network. A few things emerge from the interview, the importance of making cycling cross party lines, the importance of cycling to local economies and some unexpected benefits outside of tourism that the new cycle trails are creating.
Topics: stories | 1 Comment »
Gear: Russ’ Fly Fishing / Bike Touring Kit
By Russ | March 27, 2012
Combining interests with bicycle touring is a great way to keep bicycle touring fresh and attracting others who may not identify themselves purely as hardcore touring cyclists. One of the activities I’ve most enjoyed while touring (this is no big surprise to long-time readers) is fly fishing. I actually learned how to fly fish WHILE on tour. On our first 15 month ramble around the United States we were constantly camping by idyllic streams, rivers and lakes. I would look longingly at people fishing and thought that would be a great way to relax after a day of riding. It would also provide a different way to interact with the environment, rather than just pedaling through and pushing on. I ended up taking a class in Fortworth, TX about 6 months into our first big tour and have been fishing ever since!
A Good Starter Kit
Fly fishing, like bicycle touring, can be a slippery slope of expensive purchases in search for the “perfect gear.” Fortunately for us, fish can’t read and a $100 rod is just as likely to catch some fish as an $800 one. The fish don’t care about brands, but how you present and get the fly to them. To this end, it’s worth it to get less expensive tackle but take a beginners fly-fishing/casting class to speed up learning.
My recommendation for a good starter kit for fly fishing that is optimized for bike touring is a 9ft 5wt 6pc rod like this Reddington kit. This kit has almost everything you’ll need, except for tippet (3x tippet is a good all-rounder tippet unless the fish are super spooky) and some flies.
What I Use - Reddington 5wt 9ft 6pc
Not the flashiest of fly rods out there, but a lot of value for the money. You can’t really find much fault in a travel rod at this price point. It is lightweight, packs down small, has alignment dots on the segments for quick setup and a decent cork grip. If you’re rough with it, you’re not out a $1000 dollars and Redington has a lifetime warrantee. If there’s any criticism it’s that it probably has a little stiffer and faster action than a rod with less segments, but the stiffness can come in handy when chucking heavier flies (or using sinking lines). In all my touring and fishing, the 5wt seems to be the best choice. It’s just the right weight to cast a variety of flies (from delicate dries to heavier streamers and nymphs) with enough spine to bring in big fish but thin enough to even make small fish fun on the line.
Reel
The reel I use is a Lampson Konic 2 which I found used at a little fly shop in North Carolina. About 90% of the time, the reel is just there to hold line. Most fish I’ve caught I can just bring in by stripping the line in with my hand. The Lampson really showed off its stuff when I got into some big trout in New Zealand and I had to adjust the drag to play the fish without breaking them off. Another good but inexpensive reel is the venerable Pfluger Medalist. Get it with the “RC” designation which stands for rim control. Like the name suggests, the drag is adjusted by the friction you apply with the palm of your hand.
Flies
It’s difficult to anticipate every conceivable hatch you’ll encounter while on tour. What I do is carry some reliable patterns I’m comfortable with and pick up patterns specific to the region along the way. If there’s a fly shop in the area, I’ll talk to the people behind the counter to see what’s working. Generally, I’ll carry some Elk Hair Caddis and some Parachute Adams in a range of sizes and that’s it for my dries. For nymphs, I like Prince Nymphs and Hare and Coppers in various sizes with weights and without. For streamers, Woolly Buggers in a few colors with weights and without weight. That’s it. I’m not an expert, but I think fish are fish and as long as what you throw at them looks reasonably buggy and is presented nicely, they’ll bite.
Other Tools
Since I’m touring, I try to bring as few tools as possible. I use Plain Jane nail clippers to cut the tippet and leader, a Fast Tyer for nail knots and some Stream Works hemostats to ease in removing a hook from a fish. A good wide-brim hat is another indispensable thing to have while fishing. It acts two fold: to keep you from getting sunburned and to keep you from hooking your ear on a bad cast.
Wet Wading
Carrying chest waders is just not feasible on a long tour. The bulk and the weight don’t justify hauling it all across the country. I typically try to fish from the bank when possible. If I do have to wade in, I’ll wet wade with just my Keen sandals and some shorts (be sure to empty your pockets of all electronic devices). Because Keens don’t have fishing specific soles, I never wander off into very technical or deep water. If the water is really cold, I’ll wear some neoprene socks with them and that lets me wade in some colder water.
How to Carry it All
There’s a variety of ways to carry all your tackle. If you’re a traditionalist, you can use a vest. Chest packs and waist packs seem to be all the rage these days. I like to use a BW Fly Pouch which tends to be hard to find, but it’s essentially an accordion style wallet that hangs from your neck on a lanyard. It’s pretty minimal with a few pockets and some clips to hang a nail clipper or hemostat. You could probably even do without that and just use a little fly box and a ziplock bag for everything else, but if you fish enough, getting convenient access to tools and flies becomes a more important priority.
Fly fishing is a great pairing with bicycle touring because all the gear is relatively lightweight. While I wouldn’t count on fishing as a means to feed yourself on tour (I never seem to catch fish when its purposefully for a meal), but it is a fun and relaxing activity off the bike. Not only do you experience the environment you’re riding through in a completely different way, but it gives you a chance to meet some locals. If there’s one thing that fisherman like to do more than fishing, it’s talk about fishing. On that note, I’m going to end this post : )
Other Links:
PathLessPedaled Amazon Store: Russ’ Fishing Gear
(Keep our adventures going and the site growing! If you’ve enjoyed our stories, videos and photos over the years, consider buying our ebook Panniers and Peanut Butter, or our 2012 2012 calendar or some of the fun bike-themed t-shirts we’re designing.)
Topics: Gear, Route | 6 Comments »
More Bikey Shirts!
By Russ | March 25, 2012
As we’re slowly settling back into Portland, we’re working on some projects to keep the website and other bike travel plans going. One of them is selling bicycle themed shirts. I dreampt up tons of ideas as we pedaled through New Zealand but haven’t had the chance to flesh them out on the computer because of the constant movement. If you haven’t checked out our shirt shop lately, there are quite a few new designs. I will be experimenting with hand-drawn and linocut designs on shirts in the near future. Check out our shirt shop today and pick up a great new bikey shirt to wear around town! Also, if you are a bike shop or cafe that would be interested in selling the shirts, email us. I’m trying to gauge if there is enough interest to do wholesale orders instead of print-on-demand.
Topics: Riding Days | 3 Comments »
Gear: Reflecting about Cycling Mirrors
By Russ | March 21, 2012
There was recently a flurry about mirrors on our Facebook Page after I posted an Amazon link to the Take-A-Look mirror. Opinions on mirrors are varied. Some swear by them, others think they are the epitome of Fred-om and a fashion abomination. Say what you will, we think they’re infinitely useful and are an underrated safety tool.
Why would you want a mirror? Looking back to when we were novice cyclists riding on the roads, one of the most unnerving things is not knowing whats going on behind you. This is presumably why some people ride in the wrong direction in traffic. A much safer and legal solution would be to just get a mirror. With a mirror, you can judge the speed of approaching traffic, how wide the vehicle is and their general behavior.
Many people will say, “just look over your shoulder.” You could do that, but some people simply can’t hold a straight line while doing a shoulder check. Not to mention when you turn your head to look behind you, you’re completely blind to what is happening in front of you (where most causes of bicycle accidents will occur). A mirror allows you to look behind you with minimal of effort and still be aware of what is going in front of you.
A mirror is infinitely useful in making left turns in heavy traffic and twisty mountain roads. You’re constantly being updated about what traffic conditions to your rear. While on tour, you can use it to check on your touring partner riding behind you as well.
All this being said, not all mirrors are equal. After several years of touring and commuting we’ve developed some fairly strong opinions about what make a good cycling mirror. Two of the most important ones are that head mounted mirrors are more useful than handlebar mounted mirrors and horizontally oriented mirrors are better than vertically oriented ones.
For some, a head mounted mirror (either one that clips n glasses like the Take-A-Look mirror or one that attaches to your helmet like an EVT mirror) is too distracting, like having a constant picture in picture effect in front of you at all times. We can certainly sympathize. When we first started using a mirror it took some time to get use to filtering the simultaneous visual data and still pedal a straight line. However, in the long run, we feel that a head mounted mirror is better. You can quickly sweep your head (without turning your handlebars) and get a quick lay of the land behind you. Head mounted mirrors are also less prone to vibration since your body and neck act as suspension. While on the subject of head-mounted mirrors, we also find that those use adhesive or velcro will fail in short order. It is better to get something that friction clamps to your glasses and helmet like a Take-A-Look, EVT or Chuck Harris Hubbub Mirror.
Rear view mirrors in automobiles are horizontally oriented because they give you a useful panoramic field of view. However, for some reason, many bicycle mirrors are vertically oriented. I’m not quite sure why that is. Is it some misguided notion of aerodynamics? a fashion statement? A horizontally mounted mirror simply lets you take in more useful traffic information quicker and has less of a “blind spot”.
In New Zealand, my EVT mirror snapped off my helmet when I was trying to get on board a ferry and is now somewhere with the fishes in the tiny settlement of Orapu. The only decent head-mounted mirror I could find was one by Zefal. However it had an odd vertically oriented ovalized mirror and it attached with velcro to the helmet. During a ride, the velcro would shift around and narrow image was damn near useless at times since I had to constantly sweep my head to look at traffic. It drove me bonkers. As soon as we arrived in the US, I tossed it aside and bought another Take-A-Look mirror.
Here are some mirrors that we’ve tried and our thoughts on them:
Take-A-Look Mirror (original size)
This is a solid and inexpensive mirror that you will never break. They friction fit over the arms of your glasses and provide a nice clear horizontal picture. Adjusting the mirror is easy and it stays in place. This is by far one of the best mirrors out there, don’t let the nondescript packaging fool you.
EVT
This mirror provides a giant picture and is very sturdy. It’s Alien-esque looks can be somewhat intimidating for some. It seems to be optimized to mount on vented helmets better than the new style rounded urban helmets that don’t have as many possible mounting points though I have been able to get it on both Nutcase and Bern helmets with some creative zip tying.
Zefal
This was the best mirror I could find in NZ and I wasn’t all that excited about it. The narrow shape was frustrating narrow and the velcro attachment wasn’t very stable.
CycleAware Reflex
This was one of the first mirrors that I used and loved it, but I ultimately began to see some design flaws. The mirror is vertically oriented and the plastic ball join will eventually wear out and it won’t hold its position.
Chuck Harris Hubub Mirror
This mirror has a bit of a cult following. While we haven’t used it personally, it has the characteristics of a good mirror. Large and useful image area, head-mounted and friction fit to a helmet.
(Keep our adventures going and the site growing! If you’ve enjoyed our stories, videos and photos over the years, consider buying our ebook Panniers and Peanut Butter, or our 2012 2012 calendar or some of the fun bike-themed t-shirts we’re designing.)
Topics: Gear, POTW, Preparing to Leave, Riding Days, Route, stories, Uncategorized | 12 Comments »
Home At Last
By Russ | March 20, 2012
How long will we keep traveling? What does home look like? These are questions that have been weighing heavy on our minds for the last few months. Since 2009, when we first sold everything to hit the road, we’ve been mentally on the move, stopping in cities for periods of time but never feeling settled. We gave up on the traditional concept of home as a collection of rooms to store your stuff. Home, for us, became each other -as long as Laura and I were together we were at home. We were happy with that definition and it kept us going even as we camped between sand dunes, froze our tails off, and rambled around the bottom edge of the world.
Today we got off the bus in Portland, the end of the line after three weeks of visiting family and friends after returning from New Zealand. We spent a few days with my family in Los Angeles, a few days in Palm Springs with Laura’s dad, a few days with friends in Santa Monica, a few days in Corvallis with Laura’s mom, and now… here. Home. Definitions are fluid because we change as people. For us, home is also where your community is. It is friends. And it is something we’ve sorely missed.
We’ve decided to put some roots down in Portland. Of all the cities we’ve visited, Portland draws us back every time. It is an exciting city to be a cyclist and we’ve made many great friends here. It is also a hot bed