Here there be magic!

In long distance hiking there is a term that describes getting help from a total stranger to help you along your journey...It's called --

Trail magic...

The wind was blowing from the west hard -- quite typical for the desert setting -- so hard that I had to really lean into it...Big trucks would pass in the opposite direction and the draft would almost blow me off the road...It was late afternoon in New Mexico on the Southern Tier trail and I was looking for camp. I was west bound, I had been having rubber issues all day and I was cranky because of it. The wind really wasn't helping my demeanor in the least...It had been a typically hot day for the first week of September, 2001, when I came upon a road side diner. Food! Food that didn't come out of my panniers. I stopped and parked the bike and stepped in for dinner with a handful of maps.

It was a small place with a few tables crammed along the walls. Quite typical of your middle of nowhere western road side diner. There were only a couple of couples there having diner, I was happy simply to get out of the howling wind. I found a table near the window that over looked the parking lot and grabbed a chair. I ordered coffee and perused the menu -- the odd thing to remember about middle of nowhere road side diners is that sometimes the food is a crap shoot as to whether it's crap or not -- wondering if the food was good. A couple a table or two over were eating already and the food looked pretty good. They wore biker leather and obviously they were riding the Harley Davidson that was parked outside. Little did I know that magic was about to be cast!

I ordered, I can no longer remember what it was I ordered and I sat gazing out the window drinking my coffee and watching traffic whiz by. I paid little attention to the people in the place, but I did step out to make sure the last repair I had done to the tube was holding, true to form for the day, it wasn't...Damn...I was sick of flats, this being the third or fourth one today...Nothing to do now but eat, fix the tire and trudge on...I ate and drank my coffee, paid the tab and went back outside in a gloomy state. I hadn't even bothered to look at the maps to see if there was any place near by to camp...The destination I had been planning for -- the Gila National Forest -- was out of the question due to slow time because of wind and flats...I resigned to fixing the flat yet again and started to remove the panniers when the couple wearing leather came out of the diner...

They were both in their late 50's, I would guess...He had flowing silver hair and a mustache and she was well on her way to a silver mane herself...He asked if I needed any help...I told him no, but if he new of any places near by to camp, I would be appreciative...Thats when it erupted! He stated that he and his wife were here on vacation and they had a little house on land a couple of miles up the road, I was free to camp on their property for the night...Music to my tired and worn out soul...I gladly accepted and they asked if I wanted them to come back with their truck and pick me up. I said no, that I would fix the bike and pedal down to where they were directly. They gave me directions, mounted their Bike and road on down the road.

It is absolutely amazing what the prospects of sleeping -- even on a porch -- some place other then the side of the road will do to your spirit...I think I fixed that flat in record time. I pedaled on down the road, it was less distance then they said it was -- always is...The house was a stereotypical western single room shack, it was white, had a couple of windows and nestled almost to the base of a sizable and steep hill...I found them, sitting on the porch which faced east and looked across a valley to a mountain range some 30 or so miles away. They were pleased to see that I had made it alright...We spent the better part of that evening drinking whiskey and talking, about many things. After a time, they excused themselves and retired to bed, but their welcome was always warm and continually looked to see that I was comfortable...The porch was a welcome respite...

I awoke the next morning at the crack of dawn, stars were almost visible as the red of the sunrise washed all of the stars away...As the light grew, so did the singing of the birds and thats when I noticed the first one -- a humming bird! Out here in the middle of the vast desert, a humming bird! There were two humming bird feeders hanging from awning of the porch and a humming bird came to feed...Then another showed up to run it off...After awhile two or three would flit around and fights would ensue...Humming birds are territorial and greedy as hell! The sun just hadn't quite discovered the top of the mountain when my fabulous hosts appeared from inside with a percolator for coffee...They produced a multi burner camping stove from a nook and started to brew coffee...

They inquired as to my night and I had to admit, it was very restful indeed...We talked and asked if I wanted breakfast...That tends to be a no brainer at this point! They made eggs and bacon, but no bread...I cannot remember which, but it was a diet restriction placed on one of them...but eggs and bacon for breakfast worked just fine for me! We spent a couple of hours over coffee and food continuing to talk and as we did, the humming birds continued their morning entertainment for us! The sun was also turning up the thermostat and it was quickly becoming time to say our farewells and offer many thanks...

I was asked if I wanted a ride up the road to where the trail turned west to start it's first climb of the morning, it was only a few miles and I accepted...Figured, why not? So, My bike and myself were loaded into the back of their pick up with an open invitation to come back the following year if time permitted -- it unfortunately never did...I was taken up the road maybe 5 or 6 miles and dropped off at the start of the climb that would carry me into Arizona, said my final good byes and saddled up...The magic had expended itself...

Time has washed the names of these two wonderful people from my mind, but I still remember their faces as clearly as though it had been yesterday...It is moments like these -- that are always looked for but never known when or where they will manifest -- that make all those endless miles of sweat and pain worth while...Encountering the people that admire so much what you are doing that they will open their hearts, homes and even wallets in order to be a part of the grand adventure...Their means to connect and be a part of it, if even for a little bit...

When it happens, there be magic here!

“I see my path, but I don't know where it leads. Not knowing where I'm going is what inspires me to travel it.” Rosalia de Castro

Tip jar...

Finding a place to pitch camp in the great south west, or the desert in general, can pose a problem if you would rather not be seen by passers by...Heres the solution for you and you ride over them every day without even giving them a thought...Box culverts! They are out of the way, secure and have plenty of shade...Box culverts are very common all over the country but not recommended in this capacity except in the desert setting...The next time you are looking for camp, look for a box culvert...Many are just tall enough to slip your bike into, while others are tall enough to stand in...So, relax, have a hearty meal and a good nights sleep, you're covered...

A sheltered life

Shelter is one of the three basic necessities any human being must have to survive, the other two being food and warmth...Unless you are planning on going from motel room to motel room, you need a tent!

What do you need in a tent, other then not flogging your wallet into submission?

A tent should keep you dry when it rains, be able to stand up to the wind, should keep the creepy crawlies off of you and give you a comfortable place to call home when you take those zero days (days you don't ride anywhere). I have used a number of different tent manufacturers over the years, from Kelty to Sierra Designs and all performed extremely well...

As you wander the endless isles of tents and manufacturers wondering if this tent or that is best for you, lets look at the types of tents you will encounter, as this will help you in the decision making process...There are two classes of tents -- free standing and stake down. The difference between them is a "free standing" tent is just that, a tent that doesn't need to be staked down to erect it. Non free standing tents need to be staked down to stand. Not always an issue, but I like a free standing tent as it can be erected any where, a stake down tent makes where it is erected more selective. If you cannot drive the stake into the ground, then you won't be able to erect the tent...

There are also two types of tents, the single wall and the double wall...The single walled tent is just as the name implies, it has a single water proof wall. The double wall has a removable rain fly...The major problem that is encountered with the single walled type of tent is that it cannot breath adequately. Therefore there is no way for condensation to escape. It will all collect on the wall and as soon as you tap the wall, you get a little rain shower in the tent...No big deal, simply annoying. It also means that you will always be packing up a wet tent on the inside if you don't give it time to air out, this creates the possibility of mold being able to grow, mold will quickly destroy a tent...Also, because a single wall cannot breath adequately, it tends to be very uncomfortable during the day when the sun is out. There really is no reason to use a single walled tent as they are primarily designed for back packing where weight is a constant issue...

A tent retains heat much in the same fashion as your car does. Ultraviolet rays penetrate the glass of your car and are absorbed by the materials inside. A chemical reaction occurs and the material releases inferred that cannot escape the glass and builds up. The tent does the same thing except in this case the material releases the inferred into the tent...A tent will also keep the ambient air temperature 10F to 15F (5.5C to 8C) warmer then the outside air as the nylon has a good R-factor to it (The R-factor is the thermal efficiency of a material)...Always keep your tent out of the sun for prolonged periods of time as ultraviolet rays are harmful to the material your tent is made out of and will cause the material to fade and become prone to ripping...

The last thing to consider is how big of a tent do you want. I personally like a tent I can sprawl out in a bit, so I pack a 2 man tent, but you may also want to consider a single man tent as well. A tent will have a pack size in inches that will tell you how big it is. I carry a Sierra Designs Electron that has a pack size of 24 in. x 6 in. (60cm x 15cm). This tent is far to big to be carried inside the pannier and must be strapped to the top of the rack...This is further complicated by rain, putting up a wet tent for the night is a drag, so you must look into further protection with a dry sack, which is a water proof stuff sack. Depending on if you have a trailer or panniers will dictate whether you need to make this extra weatherizing for the tent. When I used panniers, I carried a Sierra Designs Light Year CD single man tent and loved it! It fit well into my pannier and I could sit up in it...In comparison to the Electron, the Light Years pack size is 19 in. x 5 in. (47.5cm x 12.5cm), which is 5 inches (12.5cm) shorter and 1 inch (2.5cm) smaller in diameter. So, as you can see, it is considerably smaller...

If you are more of the daring type, there is an alternative to a tent and thats a tarp...A fine tarp example is Keltys Noahs Tarp 9. This form of shelter does require poles to erect like a tent, but it's packed size is considerably smaller then that of a tent. The major drawback here is simply you are exposed to insects, snakes and other things...A tarp can also be strung with only a single tree or even a picnic bench...You can string a tarp pretty much anywhere if you are creative...Tarps are not by any means for every one, but they are something to consider as an addition to your tent as well...If you string the tarp and erect your tent at one end, you will have a small porch for your tent...Great for festivals you find along the way!

So, lets say you have found the tent you like, that you can afford and hey, it's even in a color you like! What needs to be done as far as care for your new home away from home? The first thing to look at is a "Foot print." Yes, a foot print...A foot print is a ground cloth that sits between the ground and the floor of the tent. As you move around in your tent, the floor of your tent rubs against the ground, this will damage the floor of your tent. The foot print acts like the sole of your shoe against your foot and takes that punishment instead of the tent floor...It also stops condensation from the ground making your tents floor wet...You can buy the foot print for your tent from the manufacturer and can run as high as $40 or $50...But if you don't have that kind of cash in your gear budget, go to your local hardware store and buy a blue 8x8 tarp and make a foot print! Simply lay the tent on the ground as though you were going to set it up and slide it over the tarp...With a sharp pair off scissors, cut the tarp about 2 inches (5cm) smaller then the edge of the tent being careful not to cut the tent. If you let any of the edges show and it rains, rain can seep between the foot print and the floor of the tent. If the tent floor is not a material that is water proof you will wake up in a puddle, and trust me, that be no fun! The foot print need only cover the areas in the tent that takes the highest wear. And "never" wear shoes inside your tent, that is the surest and fastest way to damage the floor of your new and expensive condominium...

When your tent arrives (if you ordered it online), go through it and make sure it is all there...You will find that you will need to purchase some extra stakes...Your tent will only come with the minimum number of stakes required to erect it. Then erect your tent in the back yard if it's the stake down type or in the living room if it's free standing. When you attach the rain fly to the tent, don't wrench down on the straps as this will place too much tension on the fly, simply snug the straps up to remove excess slack.There are points on the tent you will want to go over with "seam sealer," which is a weatherizing sealant...Along the stitched seams there are little holes and thread through them that can and will wick water through the fly. The seams may have been sealed on the back side of the fly with a weatherizing tape at the factory. To check, simply look at the seam on the inside of the fly and see if there is a sealing tape that runs the seam. If there isn't you need to seal those seams...Also seal the seams on the corners where the join the floor, I have had tents leak like a sieve from there...The layer of sealant doesn't need to be thick and can be done in an afternoon...

When you are done, store the tent in it's stuff sack in a cool, dry and dark place...The poles, on the other hand, should be stored connected and fully extended if possible...What happens is the elastic nylon cord that holds the lengths of the pole together weakens after so long from being stretched out from the poles being folded up for too long...To avoid that, store extended...When you tour, carry a tent repair kit with you as well as an unopened tube of seam sealer...Accidents happen, thats why they are called accidents!

“A home is not a mere transient shelter: its essence lies in the personalities of the people who live in it” Henry Louis Mencken

Calories not included...

Now that we have addressed the first most important thing on your trip, it's time to discuss the second most important thing...

Food!

As you more then likely already know, your caloric intake is going to go up, way up...But before we discuss the types of foods you can pack or the kitchen stuff like stoves and what not -- what is a "calorie" anyway? There are two types of calories, a large and a small calorie...The calorie for food is a "large calorie" and is a chemistry term that measures heat. A calorie is the amount of heat energy required to raise the temperature of 1kg (2.2lbs) of water 1C (1.8F)...According to the second law of thermodynamics, you can neither create or destroy energy, you can only change it from on form to another. Your body converts the stored energy in food into heat making it operate on that law...Simple, right? The more calories you burn, the higher the internal temperature of your body gets, thus your body begins to sweat in an attempt to cool it down. So, the more you work the more food your body will require.

Now, you won't jump on your bike and immediately your food intake jumps to 5,000+ calories a day. Your body has fat stores it needs to burn and there is an order of things the body will use. 1lbs (.45kg) of human body fat contains approximately 2,500 calories. The body burns glucose (sugar) that it converts from fat. Your body will burn the fat first, followed by the carbohydrates that it must convert into fat before it can burned. That would make carbohydrates "long term" energy foods, with the last thing being protein . As with any unused energy from food, what your body doesn't need it converts back into fat and stores for later use. So, that means your body has to learn to burn the fat it has already before it will use more energy from food you eat. Which means that one day you will wake up and do nothing but eat, when that happens you have what is called in the long distance hiking world as "The through hikers appetite." Your body has burned out all of it's fat reserves and is now starving for energy...Until then, I wouldn't look for your appetite to change a great deal.

Now, what it comes down to is your budget for your trip. Preprepared food is expensive, for the cost of a single lunch at a restaurant, I can eat for at least a day out of the trailer, if not more. But a lot of foods need to be cooked, so lets look at stoves! For that, we need to leave the realm of cycling and head into the realm of back packing....The most popular and versatile stoves are "multi-fuel" stoves...The two most popular brands are the MSR Whisperlite and the Coleman Multi-fuel. The chief difference between them is the Coleman can simmer, a nice feature. Both stoves can use white gas, gasoline or kerosene. I would avoid compressed gas stoves like Butane and Propane as the canisters may not be available everywhere and outfitters for back packing, although they can order the canisters, makes it not worth the hassles. If you don't want to carry a fuel bottle with you, you can carry an Esbit pocket stove, Esbits are pellet stoves. They use a single pellet of solid fuel in a small aluminum tray that will boil water, but not much else. That would make the Esbit great for morning coffee or anything requiring only hot water to prepare. The pellets are also expensive, about 50 cents each! From here you can assemble your kitchen as you see fit. I carry two pots, an MSR Whisperlite, a cutting board, a knife, a calender, a French press, spices, and so on...Sounds like a lot, but it all fits into one another...I would recommend Campmor for all your shopping needs!

Lastly, there is a need for water when you are at camp...I have found that I need around a gallon for dinner and coffee the next morning...But I can also wiggle out a breakfast if it looks like I can't afford or get to a place that serves breakfast that morning...What ever you choose as your water container, make sure you can pack it full of water when you are planning on ending the day and look for a place to camp...

We still haven't as yet discussed what kind of foods you can carry, have we? Well then, to start with, go look into your own kitchen cupboards! Theres pasta, rice, mashed potatoes for dinner bases...Canned stew, chili, soups and so many other canned goods...Theres grits, oatmeal, mixed fruit, granola and cold cereal with powdered milk...Theres peanut butter and bagels, jelly, soy sauce, spices...Look in the refrigerator and see all the things you can get during the day at local markets and road side stands on the route...Tomatoes, peppers, onions, theres apples and oranges and so many other fruits and vegetables that you don't need to carry! Theres coffee, tea, lemon aid and other drink mixes...Your over all diet so does not need to suffer...In fact, more often then not, I eat better on a trail then I do at home!

Now, how much of these food stuffs you actually carry is based on the amount of room you have...I tend to carry enough food where I don't have to restock the trailer except for every third day or so...A trailer tends to have a better amount of space to utilize for my food stuffs and kitchen. I did run panniers for years and could pack 2 - 3 days of food at a shot, but you have to be creative with space...I usually only carry lunches, dinners and snacks, leaving a fresh breakfast somewhere down the road. I like fresh breakfast as it is the cheapest meal of the day and gives you an opportunity to stop and meet the locals in, at times, wonderful settings! I do, however, carry breakfast stuffs with me, just in case I need it...Oat meal and mixed fruit make a great starter, with a little squeeze margarine for a fat supplement and you're set!

There are many things that you can carry that do last well without refrigeration...As you will be burning far more fat then anything else, Parmesan and Asiago cheeses, or any other "low oil" cheeses keep very well...I carry squeeze margarine as well, it tends to keep well for a many days after opening without refrigeration...Oils, especially Olive oil is a very good source of a fat supplement...Pack your perishables like oils and cheese between clothes and sleeping bag stuff sacks as insulation, it will help hold a constant temperature and ward off the heat the sun and road will generate! Also wrap your liquids like margarine and oils in a plastic bag, theres nothing worse then a leak during the day that you have to clean up before you can cook...

For lunches and snacks you don't want to have to cook if you don't need to...I use things like bagels, peanut butter and margarine for a serious energy boost..Peanut butter is on of the best energy foods around, if your not allergic to peanuts...Soy products keep and are a good source of protein and are a good substitute for peanuts, but doesn't have the fat that peanut butter does...I like bagels and sardines in sauces, it's quick and packed with natural fats and plenty of protein, the bagels top it off with the carbohydrates. Sprinkle some Parmesan cheese on it and you have a solid meal...Have a sweet tooth? Not to worry! Try a Snickers bar slathered in peanut butter for a good dose of rocket fuel! Of course there are always those large array of energy bars, they tend to be expensive in the long run. If your budget can absorb the cost, eat away...Word to the wise, Energy bars are high in carbohydrates, so drink a lot of water with them when you eat them. It will help digest the bars and unlock the power potential...

For dinners I will take things like a can of chicken soup or beef or some kind of soup and boil the pasta into it as a casserole...The advantage to this is you don't need the water to cook with and you can drink it or use it for dishes...Chili mac is also a great standby and you can substitute chili for stew, too...Be creative over the winter, if you know you are going to have 2 pots on the trail, use only them...Limit you water to a gallon or less and experiment with your diet and cleaning up the dishes...Half the fun is discovering your own secret concoctions to make other cyclist you meet drool over it...Spend some time creating your own cook book! Wander the isle of the store and just look at the goods you would not normally gravitate to that don't need refrigeration and are quick and easy to cook...Simply be very careful when choosing items that need refrigeration, Getting sick on the trail sucks and can send you home!

Seafood lover? Check this out -- A favorite dinner for me that requires both pots is take a little olive oil, a packet/can (small) of crab meat (drained), a packet/can (small) of shrimp (drained), a small can of mixed veggies (drained) and sauté it up with lemon pepper, a couple of cloves of chopped, fresh garlic (or garlic powder) and salt...After that is sautéed, remove from heat and let sit, in the other pot boil up some some of your favorite pasta. I like angle hair simply because it's fast, but small shells works as well. Drain the pasta and stir it into the sautéed mixture, top with some Asiago cheese, fresh sliced tomatoes and Enjoy!

It really must suck to eat out of my trailer, eh?

“I cook with wine, sometimes I even add it to the food.” W. C. Fields

Rubber me crazy!

I have an interesting background for tour cycling...I was a certified automotive mechanic, then in 1998 I started a 15 month odyssey that spanned 3,000 miles of the Appalachian Trail. I actually only hiked 9 months of those 15, I found that I am allergic to cold! I tend to turn all blue and stuff, go figure...Anyway, it was around then that I found cycling, I now tell people that I am simply a hiker on a wheel chair...But that experience with the Appalachian Trail, combined with my automotive background taught me a different angle when looking at preparing for cycle touring...Because of that, I am going to address something which might initially be perceived as "off the wall" for you at first...

Tires!

Why am I making the first article of discussion for this trip about tires when there is all this other stuff that needs to be discussed, bought and packed? Simple, the road is a dangerous place for the tires that touch that road, therefor they are the most important aspect of the bike, as well as the most vulnerable...If you were going to get into hiking and came to me for outfitting, I wouldn't show you back packs first, you don't walk on your back, so I am going to outfit your footwear first...Likewise, The top of the bike is not what needs to be considered first, but the most vulnerable point of the whole set up...Those two tires...

First off, you want to know what applications you will be riding in...Strictly road? Dirt? A combination of the two? Do you want to use road tires and carry fold up tires for dirt and swap them out every time you want to switch applications? These questions led to the bike you are now riding for the trip to a large extent. For all intents and purposes, I ride a truck...I ride a Specialized Hardrock Sport. I tell people that I ride a 1976 Dodge 4x4 Power Wagon, feels like it, too! Plus I pull a trailer...But the application that I choose to ride in is a combination of road or dirt on a moments notice, so I take the hit with the amount of rubber that does hit the road...Besides, I don't want to stop and switch out tires every time I want to go ride on dirt, I guess I am lazy like that or I wouldn't ride a dirt bike! Yes, the amount of rubber hitting the road does hold a huge impact for your legs. The less rubber the better simply because of the weight and energy required to get and keep them rolling, it's simple physics at that point...If you do choose to run aggressive tires, I have found very little difference in tire widths beyond the fact that aggressive knobbie tires tend to hum loudly the faster they go. This is due to the tire reacting to the road surface. For an MTB I would recommend 26x1.75 or 26x1.95 as the best sizes, however, anything over 26x1.95 is just too much rubber....But, lets not get into the sticky and boring details, for sticky details, please read Sheldon Browns article on Bicycle Tires and Tubes...For now, lets just talk about "practicality!"

I have seen tires and tire support gear go in really unexpected ways, I have had it go in strange and bizarre ways, too...But the most vulnerable and common for a tire other then a sharp object is the bead where it touches the rim...Unless you are using a spoke less wheel, your wheels are hanging weight, the top of the wheel carries the weight so the bottom of the rim where the tire hits the pavement flattens out and can shift back and forth slightly...This is what causes your wheel to fall out of true...As the pavement and rim are much stiffer then the pliable tire, the top of the tire rubs back and forth along that seam. Normally this would be of little notice to the system, until you start doing 70 miles a day, at an average of 12 MPH with an extra 50 pounds of dead weight on the tire...Then the bead on the tire can give out quickly if the rim is too far out of whack for too long! The rear tire is also the most vulnerable as it is the load bearing wheel on the bike and takes most of the weight...

If you are mechanically inclined, learn how to replace a broken spoke and to do quick field truing to your wheels on a periodic basis...It really is easy to learn, you only need a simple spoke wrench and about 10 minutes per wheel...A broken spoke or out of true wheel can cost more then the time and tools it takes to fix it, not to mention it's just $2 for an average spoke...15 minutes of work at camp or on the side of the road can save you time, money and aggravation in the long run!

So, what do you "really" need to know about tires? Always, and I do mean "always" carry at least one fold up tire for the bike...Loose a tire in the middle of no where and you will be pushing your bike until the right vehicle comes along willing to get you to someplace that sells tires your size. I have lost more tires then I can remember...Don't forget, that bike will have 50 pounds of luggage on it, if not more...Thats a bit intimidating for people driving by....At times you may be a hundred or more miles from the nearest bike shop or any other tire outlet, for that matter...Don't be afraid to run those $15 specials, either. In the end, I get just as good a performance from a cheap Wall mart tire as I do from a $70 Continental, Not to mention that the $15 special might be the only thing available...Besides, expensive isn't necessarily better in some instances...When the rear tire is worn out, rotate your tires front to rear, when the front tire is worn down, replace both tires...

Always carry 2 spare inner tubes...Repairing a tube without water or another means of finding the hole is difficult at best, if you have two tubes and you are on top of it all, you will always have one tube that is good to go! Carry a spare Shrader Valve and valve tool if you choose to use a tire sealant on top of it all...The sealant can and does ruin a Shrader valve...Try to always use puncture resistant inner tubes, a quality patch kit and if your tires are big enough, use a liner in them as well...Slime makes a fantastic tire liner, I have been running Slime liners for the first time this year and they have preformed beautifully. They are much thinner then standard plastic/rubber liners and will work better for narrower tires, like the 26x1.5 or smaller and they don't weigh as much...And no matter what, "never" stop believing in flat tires...they exist, even if very elusive! As you can see, there is a lot to consider when it comes to the rubber on your bike...Oh! One last thing, carry a back up tire pump, too...I'll tell you a story to emphasize that...

At the end of August, 2001, I was on the Souther Tier Trail just out side of El Paso, TX...Maybe 30 or so miles (48km) east of town and I hit glass in such a way that a sliver got through my liner...It was like nine o'clock in the morning near the first of September in the west Texas desert...Not a building in sight, they don't refer to West Texas as "The Big Empty" for nothing, you know?...It was already 90 degrees (33C) in the shade and getting hotter, not to mention I was sweating like stuck pig...Well, I repaired the tube all proper and pulled out my pump to fill the tire, but the pump wouldn't seal around the valve stem...The rubber O ring that seals the outside of the stem was so worn that it wouldn't make a seal...I had no back up pump at that time, either...That was a very empty feeling...One that I don't recommend to the reader...Now what? What else? I started to push the bike and stuck my thumb out for every truck down the service road until one stopped and loaded me and the bike into the bed, then took me to the nearest service station...It could have been a lot worse, I might have had to push my bike the 7 miles to the service station...I learned a lesson the hard way, always, always, "always" carry a back up tube, tire "and" pump...Most often, the best emergency pump to carry is a CO2 inflator type along with your frame mount.

Finally, a note on tire pressure...Always make sure your tires are inflated to manufacturers standards, that information is located somewhere along the side wall. I prefer my tires rock hard, so I inflate them to 60 PSI. Generally, the better the tire, the more pressure it will be able to hold...For 26x1.75 and up, standard is 40 - 60 PSI...The closer to maximum manufacturers inflation recommendations you stay, the better the tire will perform...Another thing about pressure is an under inflated tire will make the rim vulnerable to dents and dings. The thinner the tire, the closer to maximum pressure you should keep for that very reason. A dented rim is just as dangerous to a tire as a rim that is out of true or riding on a broken spoke...The tire can be and is the rims first line of defense against damage from imperfections in the road surface..

So, what does your check list for the rubber on your bike look like now?

Spare tubes x 2
Fold up tire x 1 (at least)
liners
Sealant (optional)
Tire levers x 3 (metal)
Primary pump
CO2 Inflator
Tire Pressure gauge
Patch kit
Spoke wrench
Shrader Valve tool
Spare Shrader valve

That rubber is more valuable then you first thought it was, huh?

"If you hold a cat by the tail you learn things you cannot learn any other way." Mark Twain

The itinerary...

The route....

Utilize this link and follow the trails...Adventure Cycling Association National Bicycle Routes Network.

7 trails are being used total and are marked in blue..

Starting at New Orleans, LA go stirght north until you hit the "Southern Tier Trail" and folow it west until you get to the "Great Rivers Trail." Follow the Great Rivers Trail north to Kentuky and the "TransAmerica Trail."

Take the "TransAmerica Trail" east until you hit the "Atlantic Coast route," Then turn north to it's northern terminus at Bar Harbor, Maine...There is a "planned" 2 week lay over on Planet Boston at this point...From Bar Harbor follow the "Northern Tier Trail" west until you get to Rensselaer, IN where I drop south to the Tara Haute area for another "planned" two week stop...Afterwards, back track to Ft. Wayne and head north on the "North Lakes Route" around and back to the "Northern Tier route." Follow to the "Great Divide Mountain Bike Route" and turn south back to the "Southern Tier trail." Follow back to New Orleans

Total estimated distance: 10, 880 miles

Total estimated time in the saddle: 5 months

Total "planned" time down in Massachusetts and Indiana: 20-28 days

Total estimated trip time: 7 months

"A journey is like marriage. The certain way to be wrong is to think you control it." John Steinbeck