Why No Touring Topic??

[Skierchickie]

I'm fascinated by the whole idea, in a "wow I don't think I would want to do that" kind of way.

Hee hee! I know what you mean. I sort of got bitten by the bug, thinking how cool it would be to see Alaska that way. Then my friend was talking about how cool it would be to ride to Ely MN, when we went to the Boundary Waters last summer. Reality check: just putting my clothes, shoes & lunch in my panniers to ride to work slows me down by about 2 mph average. And it feels like more work. Now I'll have a tent, etc.

Barbara: Thanks! That would be considered a supported tour - still counts. From what I've read on Bike Forums, a lot of people "credit card tour", eating in restaurants and sleeping in motels. I'm just intrigued by the whole brute-strength aspect of carrying everything - however much I may find I hate it in practice!
I've thought about the walky-dog thing. I'm concerned though - she isn't real leash-trained (we live in the country, and she doesn't get regular walks - when I run with her I use a leash that attaches around my waist if we're near the road, and otherwise she runs free in the woods. My DH uses a regular leash on the road, but doesn't try to keep her by his side, however much I nag him). We skijor with her sometimes, and so she's learned to pull. I tried riding down our gravel (extremely lightly traveled) road Friday, to get to some two-tracks about 1/2 mile away, on my MTB. Couldn't get her to stop pulling, so I rode the brakes a lot while yelling. Once it smoothed out and I was positive there were no cars, I let her go a little, and she just kept running faster and faster. Fun, but not going to work on tour. Practice, practice, practice, I guess. Maybe I should get a walky-dog to ride short stretches with, and see if she acts differently. I wonder how much harder a 50lb dog in a trailer would be to pull, in addition to the full load? So many what-ifs. Like what if we couldn't pull her and our stuff up some monster hill, and needed her to walk, but there was traffic? I fret about things like that.

[Skierchickie]

Yeah, I need to figure out this light issue. I do have front and rear blinkies - it's just the light I got for seeing where I'm going if I get caught out too late or something. The front blinkie I think I can move to the fork with no problem - I haven't checked that out yet. The handlebar bag doesn't appear to have anything to hook to in front. I'm going to need to find another location for the rear blinkie, too - the seat bag will be blocked by the tent and stuff. Odd - it seems like rear panniers would have a blinkie mount, pretty standard.

The helmet light might be the best solution. I got the Cateye thinking it was the standard mounting location, not too expensive, etc. I don't want to spend buku $$ for something I'll almost never use. I know there are some really nice ones out there. Hmmm - I do have a headlight (literally - straps to my head) for skiing at night. Better than nothing.

[bikerHen]

Yep. Add me to thoses who have been bit by the touring bug. We did a kinda sorta tour in Western Washington's Skagit Valley and San Juan Island (Lopez) in April. I/we had a great time. We are planning multiple mini tours and overnighters to get the kinks worked out and see if we really can spending day after day on a bike.

We have decided to go with BOB trailers instead of Panniers. My husband got me a trailer for christmas and I returned the favor and got him one after pulling all our stuff around Lopez Island. We WAAAY over packed. I use my trailer every week for groceries and to haul stuff to work. So far I really like it. Our first overnighter is going to be in two weeks. We're going down to the local state park and camp. No epic mileage but will be the first time hauling and using all the camping gear. bikerHen

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Not that I'm currently a multi-day touring cyclist, but I've always thought there should be a Touring forum on TE. Right now, the closest thing is "Adventure Stories", where some have posted their epic rides. But it's not the same- we should be able to discuss practical touring details without having to recount 'adventures'. It's at least as relevant and distinct as Cyclocross or Race Results. And it's different in so many ways from commuting.
Touring is gaining in popularity.

[bounceswoosh]

I also kind of wonder why there is no "road riding" topic. Is that just the assumed default?

[BarbaraAlys]

From what my friend has said, pulling is not an issue with the walkie-dog. odd are low that your dog can go faster than you on the bike for very long, and leaps to the side are mitigated by the design of the walkie-dog.

Just a though.

Maybe the dog needs some professional training.

Barbara