Author: Tim Mooney

October 31, 2014

The Pedalshift Project 008: Story Time

On this episode

We’re trying something new: retelling my favorite bike touring story.

[sc_embed_player_template1 fileurl=”http://traffic.libsyn.com/pedalshift/Pedalshift008.mp3″]
hey, it’s the direct download link for episode 008! (mp3)

The Journal

This month, The Pedalshift Project is an all-journal version, focusing on my favorite bike touring story… The Sweater. Interested in more of this kind of podcast? Or did you miss The Lab too much this month? Let me know what you think… pedalshiftproject@gmail.com.

Oh, and if you want to read the original version of this, it appeared over at my other blog Uncommonly Silly in a post called If You Want to Destroy My Sweater. I know. Weezer. I mention that too.

Because I must, here’s the sweater:

The sweater.

Subscribe + Connect

Hey, The Pedalshift Project is on iTunes (we’ve even been featured in the Outdoors section already!) but if you like you can use your favorite aggregator (like iCatcher on your iPhone for instance), with old timey RSS. Email me at pedalshiftproject@gmail.com – I’d love to bring more voices to the show!

Music

The Pedalshift Project theme is America courtesy of Jason Kent off his debut album. Check out his band Sunfields‘ new release, Habitat, including this track, wherever cool music resides:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ur1RVOMqnJY

Music featured in The Sweater by Perception_of_music, used under license.

Dopey tech note: if you use the great podcast app Overcast and have smart speed on, it totally and irrevocably messes with the musical interludes and transitions. Turn em off for the best experience….

September 26, 2014

The Pedalshift Project 007: Accomodations, Insurance and Tour Costs

On this episode

Why I’m lukewarm on trying Warm Showers… Travel Insurance and why you may want it…The final tally – did I make money on my Pacific Coast tour?

hey, it’s the direct download link for episode 007! (mp3)

Big congrats to Sprocket Podcast on their 200th episode. We have a ways to go for a monthly(ish) show to roll the odometer that much around here!

The Journal

Next tours…
TransAm?
3 months(ish)
Circumnavigating Lake Ontario?
9 days
Pittsburgh-DC (for real this time)
5-6 days
Hoping to find time for some weekend ones this fall, maybe some S24Os? Maybe some winter riding and camping? Happy to be home and connecting with loved ones now.

Accommodations + Warm Showers
I run into a lot of people who love Warm Showers and couch surfing
The price is right… free and sometimes bartered work
Why am I lukewarm?
I’d feel obligated to be social when I might not be in the headspace
I like my own space and I’m willing to pay for it
I meet people in other contexts where there isn’t a layer of quid pro quo
I realize my hesitations don’t really match others experiences!
What’s your Warm Showers experience like? Are you all in?

The Lab

Insurance?
Your coverage may not work outside of your region, and almost assuredly outside your country!
Learned I took a bigger risk than I thought in Canada
Supplemental travel policies are (often) insanely cheap compared to the potential risk
Experiment: finding a good supplemental provider or see if notice to my insurer is sufficient
Complication: Extended to insuring against theft, etc. can muddy the waters

Resources:
Insurance for bicycle tours (Traveling Two)
Long term cycling insurance (Shane Cycles)

Pedalpreneur

The final tally!
Total adjusted rental revenues – $5094
Total tour expenses (including cleaning fees for cabin, additional iPad charges, etc.) – $2929.77
Miscellaneous cash expenses – approximately $200
Total “profit” for this tour was $1964.23. Not bad!
Interesting discoveries:
- I spent *way* more than I thought – would have guessed $500 less
- 5 hotel nights = biggest tour expense after cabin cleaning costs
- Expenses were very back ended in the tour, as expected
- I visited a lot of places with “brewery” or “brewing” in the name
- Safeway and Starbucks got the most repeat visits
- I’m still ticked off the ants got my pie from Simply Pies in Santa Barbara
Lessons:
- When you aren’t worried about controlling costs, you will spend like a drunken sailor
- I don’t regret many purchases because each one has a pretty fond memory (which is worth more than the purchase)
- I got way more out of $3000 spent on an experience than a $3000 consumer good
- I’m really fortunate to be able to have this opportunity – but if I can do it, I know others can too

Connections

Hugo!
thanks for the mail…wel i left the usa…i am now in thailand,until the end of september,wil work until the end of januari.
after 4 months of working wil leave for…i dont know yet.
take care and maybe see you again,hugo

cyclelover.net

Thanks to Scott for mentioning Pedalshift amongst some big names – very honored!

Thanks for the feedback on Episode 006’s interviews with my fellow tourists. I hope to do a lot more of that. Speaking of, we got our first iTunes review and it was a happy five stars…
Finally!

by Two wheeled tourist

So excited to hear a cycling podcast geared towards touring. So far this podcast seems promising, picking up where other rando/touring shows failed. Looking forward to new episodes! Would love to hear interviews with frame builders and people like Jan Heine of Bicycle Quarterly or other journalists and bloggers who specialize in this area of cycling!

Subscribe + Connect

Music

The Pedalshift Project theme is America courtesy of Jason Kent off his debut album. Check out his band Sunfields‘ new release, Habitat, including this track, wherever cool music resides:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ur1RVOMqnJY

September 8, 2014

Shipping bikes with Amtrak Express — good or bad option?

Many bike tours begin or end with the need to transport your bike long distances. Depending on your needs shipping bikes with Amtrak Express may be an economical and effective option for you. I shipped my touring bike back across the US following a tour… how’d Amtrak Express do?

Answer

Amtrak did a great job shipping my touring bike home. See part one to see my thought process on why I went with Amtrak Express in the first place.

Details

Amtrak did a great job with the shipping.[footnote]I should mention, thanks to reader Kurt Werstein for pointing it out, that I never mentioned how Amtrak tells you when your package arrives. They’re old school… no Internet tracking system for them. Shipping bikes with Amtrak Express? Don’t expect scan codes and automated arrival mechanisms. You receive a phone call. Sort of wish we could track when the box changes trains, but I suspect there isn’t a scanning system at all for packages.[/footnote] My bike arrived in excellent shape. You can tell a lot about the handling based on how dinged and dirty your bike box looks after traveling. With a couple of small exceptions the box itself was flawless. That gave me a good feeling as I unboxed, knowing there was a much lower probability of opening up a bad surprise.

Two things to bear in mind when considering shipping your touring bike by Amtrak Express…

Don’t expect the delivery forecast to be accurate, particularly if you’re shipping long distances. Shipping bikes with Amtrak Express means you need to have some flexibility. My bike arrived several days after the forecast. Amtrak trains are subject to the whims of Conrail and other heavy rail along certain corridors, so schedules are often hours late. That could mean missed connections. So, a corollary… don’t ship a bike with a need for a date certain. Amtrak will hold onto your bike for days after delivery (with a small charge for more than 2 days) so bake that into your plans.
Getting your bike at the station may take longer than you think. I expected to go to some desk and see my bike box somewhere behind the clerk. At DC’s Union Station at least, that isn’t the case. A couple of very nice Amtrak guys spent about 20 minutes in the bowels of the station retrieving the box. So, when shipping bikes with Amtrak Express don’t expect a quick trip when you pick up.

Sequoia’s homecoming – that’s the Capitol dome in the background!

Shipping bikes with Amtrak Express — Conclusions

I like Amtrak an awful lot. The Amtrak Express service worked for me because of a lot of reasons I mentioned before. I suspect I won’t always use Amtrak Express over flying back with my bike, but given similar circumstances, I wouldn’t hesitate to use them again.

Have you ever used Amtrak Express to ship your bike to or from tour? Share with the Pedalshift community here in the comments!

August 26, 2014

Trying Amtrak Express to ship my touring bike home

Yesterday, I entrusted Amtrak with my prized touring bike, Sequoia (if you hadn’t learned I named the bike, check out Pedalshift Project 006), yet I’m not riding Amtrak back home. How am I doing this? Amtrak has a lesser-known shipping service I’m trying called Amtrak Express. Here’s why I went that route…

Bike box drought in San Diego

For whatever reason, the local bike shops (LBSs) were all tapped out of bike boxes from the shiny new toys they were selling. Nada. Zip. Zilch. First time I ever ran into that, and I called a bunch. That sort of precluded me from flying the bike back as United (or UnTied as I frequently misspell it on my iPhone) sort of insists on a box. Once I remembered Amtrak sold bike boxes ($15!) I went with them. Once I was there, I thought… hey, I can just give them my larger business!

Easier boxing

Never mind the fact I had an early morning flight and a rental car shuttle to handle. Ever try to lug a bike box on a bus? Yeah, no bueno (as the kids say). Amtrak boxes are a little special… you can basically roll your whole bike inside once you remove the pedals and twist your handlebars around. That is SO much easier than a “standard” sized bike box, trust me. One complication to “should I ship or should I fly” with an Amtrak box is it’s almost certainly oversized for airline dimensions… that could mean even more fees on top of the usual $75-$100 tacked on, so be aware that Amtrak boxes are awesome, but could cost you if you use it to fly as is.

No lugging

The best part of Amtrak Express shipping is you roll the bike right up to the ticket window and often can box up right there. That means a lot less lugging around. On the other end, it’s easy to pull the bike out and ride off.

Price for service

For $76 dollars, I was able to ship Sequoia all the way to DC with insurance of its real value. Compare that to airlines which pretty much think my gear is no different than the dude’s suitcase behind me in line. Don’t believe me? Read the fine print on the back of your ticket next time you fly. Disclaimers and liability limits abound.

Downside with Amtrak Express

BREAKING… rail takes longer than air. I’m halfway home right now on a layover, but I’ll beat the bike by a comfortable 3 days. Also, my bike will be delivered to Union Station in DC, not home. That means sometime on Thursday when the Capital Limited rolls into DC, I’ll need to trek over to get my prized bike. Not ideal. However, considering the delays and rerouting I’m getting on UnTied today (see what I did there? mockingly misspelling? ha!) I am beyond happy I won’t be having to shove a bike box in the back of a cab from (gag) Dulles versus my original destination of National Airport (long story… thanks to fog and UnTied).

Results

I’ll post an update here when I go and retrieve Sequoia. My hope is to take transit there and ride back… that puts a little pressure onto Amtrak to make sure the bike arrives undamaged, which frankly, is my expectation. Stay tuned…

UPDATE… check out the results here!

Hey, it’s a train!

August 26, 2014

Border to Border Tour: Central and Southern California

Some of the images from the Central and Southern California coast:

August 25, 2014

The Pedalshift Project 006: The Border to Border Tour from San Diego

On this episode…a wrap up of the border to border tour from sunny San Diego, connections with listeners, plus an interview with a few of the people I biked with.

[sc_embed_player_template1 fileurl=”http://traffic.libsyn.com/pedalshift/06_Pedalshift_006__The_Border_to_Border_Tour_from_San_Diego.mp3″]
Hey, download episode 006 directly.

The Journal

Tour wrap up and thoughts
The Fish Taco Challenge
My bike has a name: Sequoia sempervirens
Tour Journals podcast – pedalshift.net/tourjournals for a day by day look at the tour
Mini tour in NH has been scuttled – I hope to do a cabin tour soon, perhaps an Amtrak aided one with the folder to shake things up.
Do not break your ribs or clavicle. I understand it sucks.

Connections

Episode 004 followup… Scott Morgan (@scottmacs) mentioned his first bike was a modified mountain bike with a rack.
Joe Bruce (@joebruce) listened in on the show and iis going to be doing the border to border tour soon
Brock Dittus (@brockmon/@sprocketpodcast) would have rocked some Dandy Warhols accompanying vocals with me downhill in the rain a few weeks back in Oregon
And many, many more… thank you for all the favorites and follows the past month plus!

The Lab

MVPs of the tour:

Schwalbe tires – no flats!
Arm coolers – I used Pearl Izumi, but there are other brands.
New Trent battery + dynamo hub
Apple: iPhone 5, 11” Macbook Air and iPad mini with retina screen
Google Maps bicycling routes (except…)

The Interview

Tim and Hugo

Hugo is at cyclelover.net.

Kristian and his sweet touring ride.

Kristian is at thanksforcycling.com.

Don’t forget special guest Zoe and tour favorite the pedaling yeti… looking very relaxed here ~~post-tour~~ near LA during some rest days:

Subscribe + Connect

Music

The Pedalshift Project theme is America courtesy of Jason Kent off his debut album. Check out his band Sunfields‘ new release, Habitat, including this track, wherever cool music resides:

August 11, 2014

Border2Border Tour: Northern California

Here’s some of the images from the Oregon/California border to San Francisco:

August 10, 2014

The Pedalshift Project 005: The Border to Border Tour from San Francisco

On this episode…an episode-long mid-tour report on the border to border tour from foggy San Francisco.

[sc_embed_player_template1 fileurl=”http://traffic.libsyn.com/pedalshift/Pedalshift005.mp3″]
hey, it’s the direct download link to The Pedalshift Project 005!

Special shoutout to Kevin form Honolulu for reminding my addled brain to include a direct download link to the last show!

And because this is episode 005 all Bond junkies want to know who Agent 005 was… a quick check on wikipedia shows,
“005 Stuart Thomas was 005 until defective eyesight impaired his marksmanship, and he was made head of Station G (Greece) in Colonel Sun.”

The Journal

Topped the 1000 mile mark at some point recently.
Potential lesson for next time – if you’re a planner (like me) it’s probably a good idea to “force” a zero mile day in there. I did 1000+ miles on consecutive days (ranging from 33 to 78 miles daily). I burnt out pretty good, and luckily I had a good setup in SF to get an extended recovery.

Highlights

Handling the ferries without feeding the fish
Poutine in Victoria
Friday Harbor
Seeing a harbor seal in the Columbia River as I crossed to Oregon
The entire Oregon coast
Handling the rain
Seven Devils
South Crescent City Hills
Re-defeating Leggett Hill
Making up a day and getting a bonus day in SF

Lowlights

Unnecessary assholery from US border agent in Friday Harbor (#protip – better to let your bike fall than shift your position past an imaginary line that delineates you as a threat or not a threat)
Fatigue towards the end (was ready for a break)
Stolen battery in Oregon
Bad ranger experience in Samuel P. Taylor State Park
No wild camping so far, so I don’t have any good stories to share like I promised last episode

Sidebar – be careful out there

If you followed the @pedalshift feed you saw some mentions of rerouting the tour and going to Calgary… I was about to help out a friend who had a pretty bad accident on tour in Alberta that included some injuries. His helmet probably stopped a concussion, but in his words, he was lucky how he landed (despite the injuries he did suffer, they could have been worse). He has someone else who is better equipped to help him on his return than me (you know, actual medical training) so I’ll be pushing south.

Moral of this story: be prepared for your conditions (he had a device to summon help), and be prepared for bad things to happen. This is not a risk-free thing, but we can manage the risk and enjoy ourselves!

Pushing on

Leaving SF Monday and have an itinerary that gets me to the border with comfortable days (split several longer days in to two).
I will deviate from camping where it’s appropriate and I’ll also use transit if it’s helpful or necessary to increase my enjoyment. This is supposed to be fun! 😉

Follow along the route @pedalshift and on the raw podcast feed Tour Diaries: Pedalshift! I’ll be uploading snippets from the road on this tour, possibly compiling some for the main podcast next episode. I’ll be uploading snippets from the road on this tour, possibly compiling some for a special edition of the podcast when the tour is done at the end of August.

Any questions? I got at least a few on Twitter so far, but feel free to reach out at pedalshiftproject@gmail.com too.

The Lab

Caffeine as a bike touring helper – 200-400mg doses (that’s equivalent to 1.5-3 cups of coffee). These are the capsules I’ve tried.
Personal Locator Becons -PLBs – if you are doing remote touring or bike packing, this saved my friend’s ass. Do your research. Get one.
Thinking about the possibility of developing a bike touring app – curious what you think. Probably offline iOS – any thoughts? Shoot them to pedalshiftproject@gmail.com

Pedalpreneur

Rental revenue going up at least another $1000 and possibly more for the trip, but I think my costs for food have been higher than I thought.
Total net revenue after cleaning is 4236, making the 42 days that I now know are the tour average $101/day. Not bad.
Only two hotel nights so far, and one pricey campground. I expect this to go way up.
Likely going to be in more hotels or AirBnbs from L.A. to SD and I plan on renting a car for my final day to make getting to the airport for my early flight easier and saner.

Subscribe + Connect

Music

The Pedalshift Project theme is America courtesy of Jason Kent off his debut album. Check out his band Sunfields‘ new release, Habitat, including this track, wherever cool music resides:

July 30, 2014

Border2Border Tour: Oregon

Sometimes images tell the tale better than words… click on each image for a closer look:

July 27, 2014

Five new things I’m glad I brought on this bike tour

I’ve written a version of this post a few times, but I find I’m constantly refining my “must bring” list for bike touring. This tour is no exception.

Flat power strip

I bought this on Amazon, but there are assuredly versions all over the place. It has two 3-prong outlets on each side and it’s been a total savior in situations where I would like to charge multiple devices and batteries, but I can only find one free outlet. Well worth the minimal space!

Caffeine pills

Spoiler alert: caffeine is a mood enhancer and a performance enhancer. Rather than suck down a soda or a Red Bull in the afternoon, I’ve had a couple of these with my normal hydration cycle and it has proven to make a great difference. Light, cheap and easy to carry… big fan for those afternoon hills!

Powdered Gatorade

I mix up two bottles of grape (the only truly great flavor in my opinion) every morning. Doesn’t matter if there isn’t a store or shop within 50 miles selling it, I have it always.

Ear plugs

I love the sounds of screaming children romping throughout campgrounds on summer weekend evenings. Oh wait, I don’t. Also good for morning raven ca-caws.

Verizon iPad

The rumors are true… it has better coverage. Ironically, I’m posting this using Sprint, which usually has the worst… but that’s because my Verizon doohickey has been the workhorse and is getting a charge right now!

Returning favorites

Wool sweater
Bandanas
Hat – good transition from helmet hair when going into the “real world”
Extra bungees
Dr. Bronners Soap – I use this for cleaning me, dishes and clothes. Totally indispensable. I prefer the peppermint.

Hey, don’t forget to check in @pedalshift and listen to the (so far) daily Pedalshift Tour Journals (subscribe to the podcast version here)!