Blog | A bicycle ride across Africa | with Tour D'Afrique 2013

Home→Blog - Page 15 << 1 2 … 13 14 15 16 17 >>

The Alamo

Posted on September 10, 2012 by mev

On September 8th, I bicycled from Austin to the Alamo in downtown San Antonio. It was a fun preparation ride. My Africa bike was still in Portland, so I took my commuting bike. Weather forecasts showed a cold front coming. While the predicted highs of 93F were only slightly cooler than normal – lower humidity and a north wind combined with coolest weekend since moving to Austin for a great cycling day.

I still decided to get out early, about 5:15am and rode the first hour and a half with lights. This worked fine since it was mostly routes I already knew – though FM1626 was already busy at that time. By 6:45am as it was getting light, I passed through Kyle and 18.5 miles. From here some nice backroads and into San Marcos at 30 miles. Until San Marcos I had been able to avoid the I-35 frontage road but here I reached I-35 and cycled alongside for about 8 miles before finding Hunter Road and quieter riding.

New Braunfels was next town and crossing wasn’t too difficult in early morning. Not long thereafter 482 provided some more country riding before things started getting busier about 65 miles leading into San Antonio. This last stretch on Old Nagadoches Road started becoming busier without much of a shoulder but most traffic was reasonably behaved. Google Maps bicycle route picked some smaller roads to lead me right into downtown San Antonio.

Including some stops for food, I was at the Alamo by 12:45pm. 7 1/2 hours since starting. A nice tailwind and some good cycling overall. In afternoon I explored the downtown including the River Walk and some of the shops as well as the Alamo itself. Stayed overnight in hotel and then next morning cycled ~9 miles back out to the Airport to rent a car and return back to Austin. Overall, an excellent and fairly easy training ride.

Hotter than Hell 100

Posted on August 26, 2012 by mev

Last weekend of August, I drove to Wichita Falls, TX to take part in the annual Hotter than Hell 100 bicycle ride. The ride attracts ~14000 cyclists and is billed as the largest century ride in the USA. Below is photo of a large group all lined up along the main street awaiting the start. Once the starting gun went off it took 25 minutes before I cross the start line.

The ride started as a way to celebrate the 100th anniversary of founding of Wichita Falls – 100 miles in 100 degree heat for 100th anniversary. That was back in the 1980s and the ride has continued since.

Each rider is asked to a categorize themselves as scorcher (5 hours or less), gatekeeper (5-8 hours) or hopeful (more than 8 hours). I went with hopeful category since I knew I wasn’t so fast. That also meant I was further back in the starting lineup.

Once the ride started, I found the course was surprisingly flat and I was able to get a good start, passing many people along the way. Rest stops were every 10 miles and first 10 was very easy. Next 10 was still pretty crowded on the road, but gradually the riders spaced out. Before 30 mile marker we had our first headwinds. This was part of a ~20mph wind from south. By 40 some more winds but there we turned the corner away from wind. There was surprise rest stop at 44 and then a larger lunch-type stop by 50 miles.

I was feeling reasonable by 50 mile mark, though hadn’t eaten a huge amount. I’d gotten up at 3am to drive last bit to the course and breakfast was so-so. Also the rest stops had fruit but nothing real big. So I at four cookies but still felt a bit hungry. I’d been drinking one water bottle per 10 miles.

Getting to the 60 mile mark, I could tell my body was feeling effects of heat and not as much food. We had a brief 3 mile stretch into wind and then mostly cross wind for a while. I found myself stopping feeling pretty warm. By time I got to 75 mile rest stop, I was definitely feeling a light heat exhaustion. I tried to cool down with some cold towels. Drink some though felt slightly sick. Wasn’t quite sure I would be up to rest, particularly with headwind section coming later.

Decided to SAG from there to next stop. That was mixed blessing since it took a while for SAG to show up and that didn’t help me cool down. In hindsight time would perhaps have been better spent cooling down and regrouping. I did learn that I could ride fast to start, but still needed to see what better I could do for the worst of the heat. Disappointing to have my body slow down like that, though better safe than sorry. Next time, I’ll bring bigger lunch/breakfast and try eating as well as drinking before it gets too hot.

Trying out equipment

Posted on July 28, 2012 by mev

While my choice of tent and bicycle are reasonably settled, I’ve been experimenting with some other pieces of equipment.

The first is a set of dual sided clipless pedals. Up to now, I’ve done all my cycle touring with toe clips. Toe clips are nice because you can use them with most any shoe and hence don’t need to bring along both bike shoes and off-bike shoes. However, advantages of clipless is both efficiency (feet to pedals on both up and down) and safety (for new users, feet easily leave once turned). The pedals I got have both a flat platform side and a clip side. The shoes have cleats that are mostly recessed, so aren’t too bad to walk short distances.

Shimano PD-M324 Clipless/Clip Pedals

So far, so good with the pedals though has taken some getting used to and I even fell once clipped in since didn’t realize clip had attached.

The other equipment has been an inexpensive wireless computer. I already have a GPS based computer (actually two so can switch off), but battery life is only about 15 hours before it gets recharged from USB. I’m going to have go longer than that with recharging so found very inexpensive basic odometer that I’m trying out.

Ultega Wireless All-Round Bike Computer

So far, this one also seems to work fine. Cycling each day to work and each weekend in the area is giving me good chance to try some of these smaller parts of equipment as I prepare the overall equipment list.

Texas

Posted on July 4, 2012 by mev

Over 4th of July week, I moved myself to Austin, TX with a U-Haul truck. Temperature on arrival is in the upper 90s. Somewhat normal for Austin in next 2-3 months but also considerably warmer than Portland. The trick will be to see how well I can get in some training miles during July/August/September months.

One thing I am happy about is that I’ll be back to bicycle commuting as apartment is 3.2 miles from work. In Portland, I lived close enough to walk each day. Grocery store is 0.5 miles away and laundromat is 1.0 miles away – so will be getting in some more riding.

200 days

Posted on June 25, 2012 by mev

Today marks 200 days until TDA 2013 leaves Cairo. Since the last count at 300, TDA 2012 has finished the ride and we are next on deck. I’ve sent in my payment and rider profiles are starting to appear on the TDA web site. TDA has sent out two preparation emails including a large rider packet of what to expect, what to bring, forms to complete, etc.

We’re in middle of summer cycling season. I’ve gotten some riding, including completing Bicycle Tour of Colorado (BTC) this past week. However, also busy during week with work and with an upcoming move to Austin, TX. So still plenty of preparations and riding to do as we slowly get closer to departure from Cairo.

Bicycle Tour of Colorado

Posted on June 21, 2012 by mev

June 16th to 23rd, did a supported ride with Bicycle Tour of Colorado. This one was on touring bike but still gave a good idea on some preparation and training items still to do.

I took a new tent on this ride, a Big Agnes, Wyoming: https://www.bigagnes.com/Products/Detail/Tent/wyomingtrailsl2 It is an interesting tent since the vestibule is 39sf and larger than the tent part. This gives me a “garage” to park the bike and a 7lb tent isn’t completely outlandish if someone else is carrying the gear. The tent worked fairly well, though there isn’t as much ventilation as I would have liked unless the door is opened – so it would be hot in desert areas without shade.

I rode hard but not extremely so on the ride. Still need to train more and loose a little weight to go faster. That will likely be continuing area from now through the next 200 days of preparation. I even decided to take the SAG on one day rather than the 115 mile long day. Kept things relaxed and in vacation mode, though on TDA, expect my threshold for doing a SAG will start much higher.

Relearned the importance of sun-screen. I didn’t apply on first day until late. Other days, I did though needed to keep up with worst of the burns. Also will be important to keep chapstick in my equipment list.

Overall, had a fun ride and group organized ride as a side training and further preparation for TDA 2013 as it slowly gets closer.

Wheel building class

Posted on June 11, 2012 by mev

This past weekend I took a two day weekend intensive wheel building class from http://www.sugarwheelworks.com/. It was a hands on class where one could end up with a nice new set of wheels. I ordered parts for two (rear) wheels, though only built up one of them. The second will remain as separate spokes, rim and hub to take with me on TDA and build if necessary.

The class was well done and I enjoyed it. Still trying to remember the specifics of how to lace a wheel so get that right. I was a bit slow on truing up the wheel but felt like I ended up with good sequence of steps to review. In case of emergency I could probably match an existing wheel though a more experienced builder would be better. I also might see about getting a real truing stand so can get some more experience.

Will I be building many more wheels? Probably not and that experience is probably what would help me most. However, might be tempted to even give something a try and see if I can slowly get some better experience. Also be in a better position on the road as well.

Lessons learned and perceptions from TDA2012

Posted on May 20, 2012 by mev

I followed several interesting blogs on TDA 2012 and recorded the following perceptions and lessons to watch for:

Kids in Egypt also throw stones and cane at cyclists. It helps to learn some Arabic and to be friendly. Ethiopia is even worse for having things thrown.
Truck with lockers is available after Lake Nassar. The dimensions were smaller than expected.
It got very hot in Sudan. More people got sick. Two bikes were stolen, so be careful locking them. At this point, tone shifted some in reports.
Blog updates happened once a week or less. Set expectations so people aren’t expecting frequent updates. The TDA official site uses a satellite connection(?) and was a little more frequent. For example, very few updates between Addis Ababa and Marsabit, Kenya. Twitter posts from cell phones sometimes more frequent. Very few who updated more than once every two weeks – seems like the cycling rhythm, long days and internet connections conspired to lessen communications. Take a journal to write things down and report later.
Views of Ethiopia were mixed. It was definitely exotic and different. The terrain was most challenging. Kids throwing stones continued to be a challenge even causing some crashes. Greetings of “salamno” or “what is your name” seemed to help. Mood of blogs continued to change in Ethiopia. Between Ethiopia and Sudan the most “EFI” status seems to get lost.
First few days in Kenya have some of the most difficult road to cycle on. Loose lava rock and several people fell. There was even a section with banditry that they skipped over via bus. Still seems to be petty theft so watch belongings. The mood has also changed with respect to more people riding some or all of the day in the truck.
Kenya has some volatile political situations and an election scheduled for March 2013. There continue to be some petty theft.
Arusha is halfway point. There is a three day point here and chance for a safari. Also chance to generally regroup and replenish. Reviews of the Serengeti are positive.
Biting flies in Tanzania, make sure to bring DEET. Tsetse flies apparently like blue or dark colors.
Malawi becomes much more hot and humid. It is also rainy season as TDA comes through so more days with rain. Perceptions of Malawi are mixed and some already start thinking ahead to end of the trip.
Zambia starts a stretch with longer distances. Relatively flatter roads but a lot of riding. People already starting to have an end-game syndrome.
Victoria Falls is an adventure zone, two day off and many things to do.
Botswana has some of the longest distances, presumably flattest and smoothest roads. Less people around for constant “hello”. Some thought this was boring.
Namibia turns back to longer though somewhat flatter gravel roads. Seems like quality of these gravel roads is as good as further north or people have gotten used to them. Long stretches between points of civilization. From Windhoek south gravel roads, long distances but spectacular scenery.
Last six days are in South Africa. By now finish fever in full glory. Through Nambia and South Africa, becoming more familiar and developed.

Overall, 43 full tour riders started and 37 finished. Of these 13 cycled EFI. Reasons for leaving full tour most related to injuries – so be careful on falls or general injuries. Initial parts through Sudan (heat), Ethiopia (climbs, kids), Kenya (roads) seem to be particularly tough in sorting this out though challenges of Botswanna (distance) and Nambia (gravel) still remain.

Training ride from Portland to Pasco

Posted on April 25, 2012 by mev

Cycled a longer three-day training ride mostly along the Columbia River Gorge from Portland to Pasco. The bike rode well and I found I had endurance though not always speed I might need for longer distances.

First day started from Portland, went over familiar ground via I-5 bridge and then passed mostly along WA 14 eastbound. After two hours of cycling time, did a short stop in Washdougal and here the real riding started. By now it was overcast and drizzle. Some occasional climbs including up via Arch Point. I wished I’d brought a bandana or other things to keep sweat/rain out of my eyes since at some point they seemed to sting particularly when I was slow climbing. Fortunately, not too far from Cascade Locks bridge the rain stopped and I got a good lunch at Stevenson. Calzone hit the spot!

After lunch it was fairly flat and not too difficult to ride via Bingen, have another stop and then come into Lyle a little after 3pm. 82 miles though no time records set on that ride. The Lyle Hotel is a nice friendly B&B and also spot for dinner. In evening I stopped by the market to pick up pop tarts and breakfast items since nothing would be open before 7am.

Day 2 started well with lots of energy and some amount of climbing to Maryhill. What a contrast from when I zonked at end of long hot day in August 2011 ride to Glacier Park. Stopped at intersection of US 97 for breakfast. After this entirely new roads, at least new to me. Initially stayed high above the river but then descended close to John Day Dam and came along river and into Roosevelt around mile 60. I was still feeling strong to this point but started feeling it a bit more after lunch.

There was potential option at Crowe Butte park at 82 miles. That mean camping in my bivy sack and I thought I’d try for at least Paterson instead – only 12 miles more. On arrival in Paterson, discovered the only store/cafe was closed on Saturdays. I found a faucet in a nearby yard and filled up water. I was feeling a bit sunburned, hot and cycling the next 14 miles was a little tougher. I also wasn’t breaking any speed records. At Plymouth, I found my way via I-82 bridge and into Umatilla. I later learned there was a tavern in Plymouth that I could have eaten at as well as nice campground by river.

Day three started fairly slowly as was still somewhat sore from 108 mile ride day before. After ~12 miles I was warmed up and hitting my stride. A pretty ride along the river via a gorge and then a breakfast stop near Wusulla. At this point it was pretty easy to complete a 44 mile ride into the Pasco Airport. Overall it was 82+108+44 miles or 234 miles in three days. Day two was slightly too long and I went a little slower than I wanted. However, bike rode well and I seemed to have good endurance on this training ride.

Paid my fees

Posted on April 16, 2012 by mev

TDA2012 is still going on, but Tour D’Afrique established prices and schedule for TDA2013. The starting date will be January 11th, almost my guess, except an extra rest day was added in Aswan, Egypt. I followed the instructions and sent in my fees. This makes thing a bit more official.