On this episode, after a weekend overnight in triple digit heat, we cover some hot weather bicycle touring tips. Plus, followup, a tour to follow and more!
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Pedalshift Tour Journals Vol.8: Western Penn
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The Journal: hot weather bicycle touring tips + more
How’d that #heatindex ride go?
- Heat index when I left was 104F!
- Rode really strong out there. Not tempted to stop at MM16 campsite when in past heat index rides, I usually caved.
- Collapsable cooler full of good stuff – never did this before, but will absolutely do it again for hot rides. More weight, but to have cold drinks and food when I arrived, it was so worth it.
- Rain cooling me down but made things wet – how I handled it.
- Camping and hammocking
- Let’s be cool with each other when we share campsites?
Hot weather bicycle touring tips
- Time your riding (early AM or even night riding where appropriate)
- Hydration + electrolytes (my NP suggested Hammer Nutrition, but these by Lyte Fuel are similar, although with a slightly different balance.)
- Sun protection (hat, sunscreen, arm sleeves)
- Frequent breaks (AC and shade preferred)
- Core cooling (drinks and snacks that are cold)
Followup
Summer Tour to follow…
snoringyogi on Instagram… he’s a buddy from DC who’s touring Scandinavia right now on a fat tired Surly. Looks like a great ride and I hope to get him on the show later this summer or fall to talk all about it. By the way, this is his first really big tour, so for all of you who are new to this, know you don’t have to be some pro-level tourer to do big things!
Flying with your bike
Alaska Airlines appears to be the best US carrier with its new $25 policy for sporting equipment – we covered that last week. There was an open question about Virgin America’s policy since they’re about to merge with Alaska… answer:
Virgin America for the moment has a $50 fee (previously amongst the lowest and still a good deal) but will presumably drop to $25 once the merger with Alaska happens.
Emergency items
From FOTS and PSS member Ethan Georgi:
EMS (& I imagine REI etc) have pre-packaged First Aid Kits with everything you need. This way you don’t have to figure out what to put in it & assemble all the stuff yourself: done for you. They come in various sizes depending on the number of people in your party. I’ve been carrying mine for years.
ICE card: RoadID (dot com) has a ton of great options. Most importantly they are easy to find by First Responders. Expecting anyone to dig through your panniers while you’re bleeding out sounds like an unnecessary hassle.
Another thing I’d add as a “varsity” level comms device beyond the SPOT is the Garmin inReach… added bonus of having the emergency call is the ability to send text messages via the satellite network that’s a little more robust than the minimal messages for the SPOT.
Connections
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Music
You’ve been hearing about Jason Kent and his music for many fine episodes. I got news for ya. New. Sunfields. Album. SEPTEMBER 15th. I’ve heard it. It’s top notch.