post-Tour Notes - Electronics

                                                                                                                             Sunday  June 18, 2017

Now that our bike Tour has ended, I will have a few posts about some of the gear I carried and comments about their usefulness. This 1st post will be about all things electronic; those things that required charging, or batteries.

1)  Cell Phone:  Yes, Indispensable

My Samsung S6 cell phone was indispensable. Although any good recent model phone would also have worked as well. I did everything with it. During the Tour I communicated with home, friends, motels, campgrounds, etc., via text, voice and video, wrote this blog with it, took photos, mapped our route, looked up the local Geology, paid bills, followed daily news and sports, listened to music, set a morning wake-up alarm, used it as a flashlight, etc. An amazing little device. I also carried earbuds for music and the cell phone's wall charge unit (as backup, see Battery Pack below)

Before the Tour I realized that I did not need to bring my notebook (or laptop), because it is much too heavy to justify any added convenience of a bigger screen. So I left it at home.  I was able to do everything with my Cell Phone.

2)  Separate Camera:    Nope, not needed

I should have left my camera, associated batteries and charging unit behind. It's a nice little Nikon CoolPix, but my phone takes photos that are just about as nice. I ended up not using the camera after about the 3rd day, partly because it was hit-or-miss whether it would connect to my phone via wifi, which would allow me to transfer photos to the cell phone for blog posting.

The thinking behind for bringing the camera was that it would be easier to use on my bike and so I would take more photos. I stored it in my handlebar bag for quick access, and it has a wrist-strap to prevent drops. However, the loaded bike was way too unsteady to ride one-handed (it would develop a wobble). Hence, I had to stop to take photos anyways, so I ended up using the Cell phone's camera instead.

3)  Battery Pack - RavPower 22000mAh:  Yes, Great

Both Ian and I bought one of these battery packs for the trip. It holds about 6 cell phone charges for each full charge of the battery pack. Plus the cell phone charge from it is very quick. Sure beats having to deal with a Solar Charger. Slight downsides are that it weighs about a pound and it takes all night plugged in to charge the charger. However, with them, we had no charge issues on the Tour. We were able to find an outlet every 3-4 nights in order to charge them. I actually now use it at home. It's more portable than a wall charger.

4)  Flashlight(s):   Yes, but ...

I brought along both a small handheld LED flashlight and a head-strap mounted LED headlamp. I actually never used the headlamp unit and only used the handheld a few nights, until it must have gotten accidentally turned on while packing which drained the batteries. You would think that they could engineer a flashlight that cannot be accidentally turned on. I think we had a decent moon during the trip, so my cell phone's light was adequate. Flashlights are important safety equipment so camping without one is not recommended, but I could have probably left one of them behind; maybe the small handheld?

5)  Bike Flashers:   Yes, but better battery charge life is needed

I brought along a pair very bright of hi-tech LED bike flashers (front=white, rear=red), which charged via a USB cable. Hence, I was able to charge them using my battery pack. However, they did not hold a charge very long; at the most maybe 4 hours. Ian and I were out on the road much longer than 4 hrs most days, so my flasher would go dead before we were finished riding.  Ian had a normal battery powered red flasher, which wasn't nearly as bright as mine, but lasted the entire trip. I probably should have gotten two red flashers for the back and only used one at a time to double my flasher range.

6)  Bike Cyclometer:  Yes, - for mileage, time, speed and Avg speed

I used a basic cyclometer unit that did all that I needed. And, its batteries lasted the entire trip. Ian carried a Garmin, which gave us our climbing stats, and more.

Mike

Day 15 - Milford to Cedar City

                                                                                                                    Wednesday, June 07, 2017

Today was our last day of riding before a scheduled one-day break in St George. We would ride the 55 miles from Milford down to Cedar City, where Tracy would be there to pick us up and drive us the 50 miles down to St George. The plan was for her to drive us back up to Cedar City early Friday morning the 9th, and we would continue the 2nd half of the ride to Pueblo, Co.

We left Milford at about 6:30 am after a breakfast at the local diner, where we saw Dean again. He had a flat 75 miles northward up to Delta planned for his day. I forgot to mention that he owned a Chocolate store in Portland, Maine called Dean's Sweets. Our early start was because we were very concerned about forecast strong southerly winds, as our route was basically southward all the way to Cedar City. The winds were expected to be 5-10 mph early in the day, but really pick up to 25-30 mph by afternoon, as they did yesterday.

Another obstacle today was our last two Basins and one Range. Today's climb was about 1600 ft over an unnamed pass in the Black Mtns at about mile 25, then it was downhill, then flat, finishing with 500 ft of uphill into Cedar City. This is a fairly easy profile compared to most previous days.

The winds were light early on and not a real issue until were turned eastward about 3 miles before the small town of Minersville. Yes, today we actually had some civilization along our route. This 3 mile section was a preview of the rest of the day, with a strong headwind, which would soon rotate around to a more southerly direction. In Minersville we stopped at a gas station, whose owner used to ride bikes and ran a bike shop in California. However, he had a knee replacement a while back, but it wouldn't cooperate with cycling so he had to stop. We didn't ask what brought him to Minersville.

We were pretty tired from the many efforts of the previous days, so the climb up to the pass at 6570 ft seemed as if it took forever. Then the run-in to Cedar City, with the increasing headwind was even worse as we were pedaling hard and barely holding 10 mph. Just before Cedar City, we saw and talked with a young couple heading the other way. They were riding from LA to New York and had seen Dean, who was riding a similar route, few days before. They wore no helmets and carried a light load; so they were likely moteling it. Of all the riders we encountered, to me they seemed the least prepared.

It was after this short stop that Ian told me that he needed to end the Tour in St George. I agreed. I was kind of expecting this, and to be honest, I was also seriously considering the same thing.  I know Ian was really missing his 4 young kids and his wife and they were missing him. Lieve was getting very busy at work as it is Planning and Budget time. She was not having enough time for the kids. I was missing Tracy, and she was likely missing me even more as she was at home, at least I was out seeing and doing new things.

We continued struggling into the wind and made it to a Love's truck stop on the edge of Cedar City, where I called Tracy, who was expecting us a few miles further into Cedar City. It was sure nice to see her. We averaged 11.2 mph for the day, over 54 miles.

Besides the family, Ian and I are also tired and sore, which a single rest day in St George was not likely to solve. The cycling was much harder than we expected it would be. We had pushed 70-80 lbs bikes over 800 miles and 38,000 ft vertical in two weeks. During the last week in Nevada, we climbed over 11 significant mtn Ranges (and a few minor ones) and traversed as many Basins. To compound things, the first day of the 2nd half of the ride out of Cedar City is very daunting; consisting of a 5000 ft climb up to Brianhead/Cedar Breaks in only 25 miles.

There will be other chances to complete the ride, or do other rides. However, I'm sure that looking back a few months from now, we will wish we had continued. However, I think we made the correct decision.

Mike

Valley south of Milford; they're growing Hay.

Unnamed Summit

Brianhead with snow; on the ridgeline to the left.

Parowan Gap

The End of the Ride

Day 14 - Baker to Milford

                                            Tuesday  June 6th, 2017

Today's ride from Baker to Milford would be one of our most difficult to-date due to 1) our longest distance of 83 miles, 2) three passes to be climbed, 3) potential wind and 90 deg heat in the valleys, and 4) a complete lack of services for food and water for the entire 83 miles. Yesterday evening we stocked up on snacks from the little store in Baker and we each carried over a gallon of liquids.

We had our earliest start of the entire trip. On the road by 6am. We said goodbye to Willie who headed west. Seven miles into our ride we crossed the border into Utah and promptly lost an hour as we passed into the Mountain Time Zone.

Yesterday, we left Hwy US50 five miles before Baker. Today we were following UT21, which has significantly less traffic than US50. For some reason Utah does not post a sign at the top of their passes with both name and elevation, like Nevada does. The passes we climbed today did have an elevation sign, but the posted value was often inconsistent with what our maps showed? Hence, no photos of the passes today.

We did encounter some strong crosswords crossing the valley between the Wah Wah and the San Francisco Mtns. Up at the top of our last pass of the day in the San Francisco Mtns we stopped at a rare covered picnic table to eat, drink and recover. We were pretty exhausted. Up pulled a pickup towing a large 5th wheel trailer. Out stepped an older gentleman who came over to talk. They had just pulled over to have lunch. We hinted that we were thirsty and asked what they were having for lunch, hoping for maybe a cold drink or something. The guy didn't get the hint. We could see them inside, eating their lunch as got back on our bikes and pedaled away.

We saw no other cyclists and very little traffic today. We planned pretty well with the food and water, ending the ride with a little in reserve. We did total 83 miles at 12.4 mph, with 3800 feet of climbing over three Ranges and across three Basins.

Once in Milford we stopped at a diner and motel ($45/night) that Willie had recommended. There we encountered another touring cyclist named Dean. He was solo and doing something very different than us. He was riding a Trek carbon framed bike and carried limited weight; a large handlebar bag and a large rear bag. He was moteling it, so no camping equipment. He was riding from LA to Maine, where he lives. The weird thing is that he does not seem to be bothered riding Interstate highway shoulders. He had ridden I-15 thru the Virgin River Gorge (20 miles of crazy) and also another portion of I-15 north of St George where the posted speed is 80 mph. He did run into both the Swiss Markus' and the unknown couple come in yesterday and both leave this morning for Cedar City. He took a rest day today and will head towards Salt Lake City tomorrow. 

Mike 

Day 13 - Ely to Baker

                                             Monday  June 05, 2017

"I think I understand the concept of Basin and Range".
(Ian W.  June 2017)

We had two more mtn ranges, and 2 more valleys to traverse today, including our highest pass in Nevada, Conners Pass at 7,722 ft.

We left fairly early at 8am, hoping to beat the strong winds that we encountered yesterday on our trip to GBNP and Baker. The forecast for today was for similar southerly winds, but with lower wind speeds. Well, the winds we encountered were just the opposite. We had a nice northerly tailwind for the first 20 of the 60 miles. Then the wind seemed to be from the east and we had a mix of crosswinds and headwinds, but never too strong.

A small bar/store at Majors Place at about 25 miles, which we saw open yesterday (Sunday) evening as we drove past with Quinn, was closed when we got there today. We had been expecting to get some snacks and fluids there. We carried enough water, but were light on snacks for today's ride.

We saw our first wind farm since Calif?, and stopped at some neat shale outcrops hoping to find some fossils. They were probably too metamorphozed to retain obvious fossils.

The 2nd pass, Sacremento Pass, proved to be one of the tougher ones in Nevada due to its 6+% gradient, greater elevation gain and the presence of a sporadic brisk headwind.

We arrived in the tiny town of Baker at about 2pm. There we got a bit more disappointment, as one restaurant was closed on Mondays, and the only other one didn't open until 5pm. I was really starved and so bought and devoured 2 ambient temperature cans of chef boyeradee ravioli. They hit the spot.

As we were rolling into the only campground in town, we saw another cyclist sitting in the shade of a building. He looked totally spent. His name was Willie, 61 years old (same as me) and he was from Germany. Willie was heading west and had just finished the 87 miles from Milford. He had left at 4:30 am PDT this morning and just arrived. He didn't have much to say about his ride today except that it was hot and long. 

Willie had started his trip on the east coast at Virginia Beach and is headed to where we started, San Francisco. He's only 2 weeks from finishing. He did mention that today he passed both the Swiss Markus/Markus and the other couple we saw yesterday from the car. So both of them are a day ahead of us, still heading east on the Western Express route.

So today we rode 60 miles at 12.9 mph average. Two more mtn passes climbed with 3800 ft of total climbing.

Tomorrow we plan to wake at 5am and get as early a start as possible to beat heat and wind along the 87 miles to Milford, which will be our first night in Utah.

After Milford, there will be about 50 miles more to Cedar City, where Tracy will pick us up and drive us an our south for a rest day in St George. I can't wait.

Mike

Day 12 - Ely Rest Day

                                             Sunday. June 4th, 2017

We wanted to get to Ely for our rest day, as it is the biggest city on our route between Fallon and Cedar City. This would give us more options of things to do. After breakfast, Ian and I walked (no cycling today) about a mile to the only bike shop in town and bought some Chamois Butt'r. For immediate use when we ride again Monday.

Earlier in the morning I got a text from a friend and ex-coworker named Quinn, who now also lives in St George. He had been following this blog and knew that we where taking an off-day in Ely. Since it's an easy 3 hour drive from St George, he offered to drive up and show us around. Quinn knows Utah pretty well and also had previously met Ian through work. We happily accepted his offer.

Quinn made it up to Ely by 1:15 in the afternoon, and we decided to go visit Great Basin NP outside of Baker, Nev. Baker would be our next destination on Monday, so we were able to scout the route ahead of time. As it turned out, it was pretty windy today and we were glad that we didn't ride. The forecast is a bit better for tomorrow. On the drive to Baker, we did pass another touring couple going east whom we had not seen previously. They are only one day ahead of us.

Great Basin NP is anchored by Wheeler Pk at 13,063 ft. It's an impressive looking peak with a glacial cirque on its NE side. It should be the highest mountain in Nevada as it dominates its surroundings. However, that honor goes to Boundary Pk on the Calif-Nev border, where it is dwarfed by the nearby higher peaks of the Sierra Nevada and White Mtns.

At Great Basin NP, we drove up the Wheeler Pk Scenic Drive to over 10,000 ft, the highest point of our trip so far. There was still snow up there and the campground was not yet open. We met a friendly Swiss couple up there who had just returned from an attempted hike to the top of Wheeler Pk. They made it through a lot of snow all the way to the uppermost ridge, but got turned back because of strong winds. They showed us a video they took near the top. It looked as if they could barely stand. They made the correct decision to turn back. Do the Swiss ever work?

We have not seen the two Swiss riders Markus/Markus, since Friday evening in Eureka. They could either be ahead of us, or behind us.

Thanks to Quinn for driving up to meet us and for his company. If not, we would have been stuck near the motel all day. GBNP was a beautiful  diversion for a day.

Tomorrow,  60 miles and only 2 passes to Baker.

Mike 

Day 11 - Eureka to Ely

                                           Saturday June 3rd, 2017

We started riding at about 8:15 this morning. A bit earlier than usual as we knew that we had a big day ahead of us. It is 77 miles, with 3.5 passes (one pass is only a 500 ft climb) between Eureka and Ely, and nothing else. NO services for 70 miles. It will be a tough day.

Knowing this, we loaded up the bikes with extra food and lots of water. As we were just getting ready to start we ran into Nick/Kristen, who were walking past. Kristen's rear rack had broken at a weld. They made it in OK yesterday, but were going to take a rest day to try to get it fixed in Eureka. They said that they were a few days ahead of schedule anyways. They had to be in St George in about a week when Kristen was flying to a wedding for a few days. After the wedding she would fly back and they would continue their ride to Boston. If I were going to be home then, we could have put them up for night or two. Good luck to them, we likely won't see them again.

As advertised, the morning started with a 900 ft climb out of Eureka. The rest of the day was up over 2.5 more mountain passes, with valleys in between. The temperatures were nice, but the wind was fickle, sometimes a helping tailwind and sometimes a slowing headwind.

As we were just starting to climb up to the 3rd pass of the day, a crazy girl on a bike raced past downhill from the other direction. She whooped and hollered at us and was gone in a second. Ian and I had to talk to each other to confirm what we just saw. She was on a touring bike, but with only rear panniers. No helmet, headphones, only a sports bra and shorts. She was probably in her 20's? If she had started in Ely (there are no other towns between here and there) she must have started at sunrise to get as far as she did. We thought that maybe she was part of a group and that we would soon see other riders that were behind her. Nope. Just a crazy girl riding by herself in the middle of nowhere.

Our ride went well. The last of the passes was 17 miles from Ely, and it was all downhill from there. We were looking forward to the nice downhill cruise into town. But that wouldn't be the case. The road turned south and into the wind. Having to pedal when going downhill is just not right. But it's still better than an uphill at the end of the day, like the two previous days. Once in Ely, we stopped at our first McDonald's of the ride.

Our ride today totalled 80 miles at a 12 mph average, with 4050 feet of climbing. On the bike riding time was 6:45, with 8 hours total town to town including breaks. A long day. We found a motel and decided that tomorrow would be our first rest day after 11 straight days of riding. We had been planning a rest day for somewhere in east-central Nevada. 

Mike

Day 10 - Austin to Eureka

                                                Friday June 02, 2017

This morning, Ian and I where the last  of the three pairs of riders to get on the road. Ian said he saw Markus/Markus ride past our campsite at about 7:30am. Then at about 8am, Nick/Kristen set out. They were early today because Ian brought 2 pizzas back to the campsite yesterday evening and gave one to them. They saved it and had it for breakfast. Meanwhile, Ian and I went to the town cafe, and so didn't get started until 9am. I was a bit slow this morning, sleeping later than Ian. But the weather was forecast to stay in the low 80's, so no need to rush. Future mornings when hot weather is forecast will require earlier starts.

The steep climbing, which started below the town of Austin yesterday, continued on thru town and up to a double pass, including Austin summit at 7484 ft. It was a difficult 1300 ft of climbing to start to the day. A 3rd pass was followed by a 40 mile flat to slightly downhill section, which was nice except that the wind was more sporadic today and sometimes blew at from the east.
At about mile 35, the halfway point of today's ride, we pulled into a nice covered rest area out in the middle of nowhere. Nick/Kristen where there eating lunch. We joined them for a bit. They weren't in any hurry and so we left before they did. Hopefully they weren't too late in getting to Eureka.

We were dreading the last climb of the day up to Eureka. On the map profile it looked to be a steep 1000 ft climb. Those are killers at the end of the day when the body is tired. But the map makers must have put the town of Eureka at the wrong location on the profile, as we barely climbed half that height before we arrived in town. That was good for us today, but it just means that we will have to climb the other 500 ft tomorrow morning.

Once we arrived in Eureka we saw Markus/Markus riding around looking for a motel. We did the same, and then saw them again at dinner at The Owl Club. After dinner we did laundry, which should now last us until our break in St George.

Today's stats: 70 miles at 13.3 mph and 2800 feet of climbing. Both Ian and I are feeling the ride on our posteriors, which takes some of the fun out of riding. We have now done 10 straight days of riding and are contemplating a rest day, which is on our schedule. We'll see what happens after tomorrow as we ride 77 miles to Ely. The little towns out here are widely spaced.

Mike