Ride Report – Spokane to Winnachee, Washington

Special Thanks to Joel Anderson for sharing his ride with us. We have been discussing the ride from Spokane to Seattle and what route to take. Here are Joel’s comments on his route. It looks like Joel followed Route 2 all of the way. That is beautiful country.

Joel, congratulations, you rode your first Century and learned a lot about loaded touring, how could that be a disappointment to anyone.

Here is Joel’s Letter:

Dear Roland

Greetings from the Northwest. You are welcome to publish this in your Blog but I am not sure if you would want to. I will send as many pics as I have I did not take to many.

Riding the Viking Trail – Newfoundland – Part 1

If you are looking for an Adventure ride, think about Newfoundland and Labrador. It will be the experience of a life time. Go prepared for solitude, wind and savage camping. Where else can you ride in July and watch ice bergs wander by? The roads are good and there isn’t much traffic so you will be able to enjoy your ride without the stress of traffic. I have ridden the Viking Trail from the Channel – Port aux Basques Ferry Terminal to St. Anthony/ L’Anse aux Meadows and will never forget that ride.

Lance Armstrong Partners with FRS – antioxidant drink

NB – See follow on comments from readers before buying.

Lance Armstong is one of the people I admire, so I was intrigued when read that Lance had partnered with FRS (announcement/ad). FRS sells antioxidant health drinks. this is the kind of thing I could see Lance using. Yes, I am skeptical but I have ordered my free sample of the powder mix.

Some Help for Bicyclists – Hips, Knees, and Back

We older riders often have to deal with joint issues, our knees and hips are often issues. Luckily I have both problems, the result of playing football when I was younger and a climbing accident.

Friends have strongly recommended Glucosamine and Chondroitin to me based on their good experiences. But they just haven’t done anything for me the several times I have tried them.

Hot Buy – Women’s Nike Kato III

George Garner Cyclery is having a great sale on these excellent and comfortable shoes. Their sale price is $53.99. These shoes normally sell for around $90. This is the 05 model but looks great to me.

The only bad news is that the Men’s version is still selling for around $90.

Slipstream Kick Stand Update

The Longbikes Slipstream is a solid touring machine. My one disappointment has been the kick stand.

When I first got the bike I loved the Kick Stand, the two footed kick stand is like having a built in work stand. The bike sits securely on the stand.

Once I started loaded touring, my opinion quickly changed. To put the bike on the stand you have to lift the rear and flip the stand down. No problem normally but when the bike is loaded for self contained touring this gets to be heavy but manageable. However, after a day or so of touring the stand loosened and would not stay in place, often coming over and rubbing the wheel.

I tried to fix it on the road by adding a rubber gasket hoping that the gasket would keep the lower part of the stand from rotating. This seemed to work but after another day the bottom part of the stand started moving around again.

So far I haven’t come up with a fix. I have asked the folks at Longbikes about this several times but have never gotten a response. It has been two years now so I have contacted them again today to see if they have made any progress on this problem.

If anyone know of a fix please share it with me and other Slipstream riders here.

Stretching & Walking to keep Bicycling

As you may know I have been working on getting back to cycling and stretching is part of that process. However, I have also been thinking about how avoid problems in the future. I know this is a major concern for Professionals but what can those of us who are older and with fewer resources do.

Maine Bicycling Maps

I have ridden more miles in the State of Maine than in my home state of New Hampshire. My favorite organized bike tours are all in Maine, MOOSA, The Lighthouse Tour, and The Moose Tour. One of my favorite rides is from Skowhegan to Quebec City along the Kennebec River. I like riding in Maine. I ride the coast with Jeanne in the Summer because of the beautifully rugged seacoast, the cute shops and good restaurants. But I also ride western and northern Maine for its mountains and isolated beauty, and yes for its Moose. I love seeing moose.

New Hampshire Bicycling Maps

I am going to supplement my series on Bicycling Route Planning with several posting about areas I am familiar with. So I’ll start with my home state, New Hampshire.

New Hampshire has quite a bit of world class cycling but it isn’t easy to find and isn’t very well publicized. The State of New Hampshire maintains a set of downloadable Bicycling Maps in PDF format. These are fine for planing but not something you can easily carry. However, if you send a note to Jerry Moore (jmoore2@dot.state.nh.us), the NHDOT Bicycle Pedestrian Transportation Technician or call him at (603) 271-3320, he will happily send you a very nice printed sets.

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