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Author: Tim Mooney

Work Day 2

Yesterday I biked more than “the book” suggests, including one of the bigger two or three climbs on the tour. Today, I worked a full day and barely touched my bike.

I’m twice as tired today as I was this time yesterday. May take a bit to process that!

Over the course of the week a variety of things came across my mobile desk (my iPhone mount on the handlebars). Anything I could address on water breaks or lunch breaks I handled, the rest got shunted off to Evernote in a To do file. I’ve found Evernote to be an essential companion on the trip for staying organized, whether it’s keeping my AirBnB renters in order, tasks for web edits aligned, or just staying on top of my tour itinerary. Highly recommended.

Because there was a backlog, plus two major projects, I had a full day. I was able to use LogMeIn to port my laptop in Portland to my iPad screen. Instead of lugging around a heavy laptop (not to mention risking it to theft or damage) I had a slower version of the best of both worlds. The iPad battery life is outrageously good, and with speedy wifi at the campground, I was about 90% efficient on most tasks, and 60% efficient on complicated tasks (setting up an overly fussy ecourse plus producing a podcast “deaf” – I did it all by looking at the wav forms… Not recommended!).

I found today more frustrating than the first one, mainly because it was long, but also because the consequence of my work choice meant bidding adieu to the first group of riders I became attached to. As they were preparing to attack the not-insignificant climb out of Crescent City, I was dying to join them. Still, I stuck to my guns and worked a more-than-full day. Working on tour requires more structure than I would typically like, but as I have found, life is full of compromises and choices. Working on tour means a longer tour… So be it!

More on my interactions with “the three amigos” from Mexico and the others over on an uncommonly silly blog.

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Quick update on the dyno hub

My iPhone has been a real lifeline in this “work while touring” experiment. I’m finding the dynohub has been an excellent way to keep it topped off. While I’ve plugged in from time to time at cafes, it’s more because I could rather than based on need. Total thumbs up.

MJ and I chatted this morning and his solar solution seems to be another good solution, but it sounds like it generates fewer electrons than the hub. Then again he’s getting 23 hours of sunlight and can charge while he sleeps… I have to work for it!

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Pedalshift on The Sprocket Podcast

I was a guest on The Sprocket Podcast… Brock was a lot of fun to chat with, and he was kind enough to do a ride up Mt. Tabor following the show. Check it out:

The Sprocket Podcast episode 140

I was happy to share the concept with the Sprocket audience, but I was most happy to be able to thank Brock (and by extension everyone who has ever had a hand on the podcast) for creating something that I genuinely believe is an inspiring and fun weekly show.

It was fun to listen to it as I was rolling on tour… Talking about the tour… Very meta!

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Work Day 1

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Today was my first “zero mile” work day on my Pacific Coast tour. I recorded a quick set f thoughts on the way to Rogue’s Brewers on the Bay in Newport, Oregon. Follow more of my tour on Twitter at @timmooney!

Customizing your look

Do you prefer a clean look to your bike frame or are you the type to put stickers and a custom paint job on your ride? My west coast bike (it lives in my brother’s garage while I’m away) has taken on some decals, but my main bike at home in DC looks the same as the day I bought it (except for tour-scars of course!).

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Tips and tricks for keeping your devices powered up on bike tours

One of the four questions going into a tour when you’re working from the road is how to keep your electronic devices charged and happy. I suspect there are some people who can work while on tour without needing electronic devices and connectivity, but I know I need them. I primarily rely on my iPhone for a variety of needs, most notably communication, navgation and content production. It also helps with podcasts and audiobooks on those long stretches, and for Nirvana on climbs.

Seriously. Nirvana for climbs. You listen to Nirvana on climbs, right??

As we all know, there’s a finite length of time these devices can last. You have a couple of options… conserve your power, bring additional power, or generate your own power.

Conservation

I’ve found that you can really make life difficult for yourself if you insist on using all of your phone all of the time. The reality is, you tend to need it for bursts of activity rather than lengthy stretches of access. Unless you’re expecting an important call, or otherwise feel the need to be connected, you’ll want to turn off as many antennas as you can. WiFi and Bluetooth are probably the easiest calls here… unless you’re rockin a bluetooth headset, you’re going to burn juice from the battery with that on. WiFi on tour is generally going to be something you’ll only use when you’re out of the saddle… those two are easy calls. Some phones (jailbroken iPhones and Android phones) will allow a finer grain control of your GPS and phone functions, while stock iPhones through iOS 6 only give you Airplane mode or off as your next power-saving function. If you get little to no signal in stretches, I strongly recommend airplane mode… your device will be draining its battery like crazy trying to power through to get a signal, often in vain.

Bring additional power

Extra batteries for those phones that have swappable ones, or external batteries are a real help. I have a couple of these that can recharge my iPhone a few times over, and tend to plug them into any available outlet I can when stopped to build up battery reserves. The more you have, the less conservative you need to be with what you’re doing (especially helpful if you need to use the GPS to navigate while you roll!).

Generate your own juice

The real holy grail is to generate power at the same rate you burn it, or to give yourself tons of additional time between opportunities to plug into a wall. Some people are having good luck with solar, but that seems to be situational and (I know… shockingly…) requires sun. I’ve been experimenting with dynohub technology for about a year now, and have liked the results. It lets me keep more things toggled up on my phone while rolling, and gives me some peace of mind that I won’t run low when I’m tapping out an email or fixing something important from afar.

My west coast tour (starts Monday… no pressure) is on a bike with 26″ wheels, and my dynohub happens to be on a 700c base. I’ve written about my solution before over on Uncommonly Silly but today was the big build – I’m happy to say it was successful, and the 700c wheel juuuuuust fits. I’ll be without a front fender when I roll like this, so he dynohub wheel strikes me as a dry tour -only option on this bike.

Check out the gallery to see the results… I’m pretty pleased with things, and the higher front wheel is hardly noticeable:

There are other options to be sure. What do you do to keep your electronics powered up on tour? Or do you go with the flow and plug in when you can?

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Four questions in advance of a working bike tour

In a few days, I leave on my “big tour” of the year, and one that is a bit of an experiment from the PedalShift point of view.

My ride starts with a quick jaunt by bus to Tillamook, Oregon. From there, I’ll point the bike south along the well-regarded (because it’s awesome) Pacific Coast route down to San Francsico. It’s about 16 in-saddle days with camping adventures all the way down.

But here’s where the experiment kicks in: I plan to remain connected to all of my work projects while on tour. In the past, tours were my sole opportunity to totally unplug. Doing it this way, however, allows me to do a longer tour. Lots of questions…

  • Will working on tour spoil or lessen the experience? Don’t know. We’ll see!
  • How does this “work”? Let’s just say I need to tip one back for Steve Jobs. The iPhone allows me to manage my AirBnB places, handle all emails, even do face to face video meetings with my staff at the studio back east.
  • So, you no worries about signals? Oh there’s plenty of worry about that. Lots of empty signal days on the coast! I’m planning some zero mile work days in towns I know there’s connectivity.
  • What about juicing up that iPhone? I have a dynohub setup that I am hacking to make work on my bike. More to come on that, because I think a big part of being able to work remotely is ensuring power for devices. This is one way.

Have you ever worked on tour? While I know completely unplugging is preferable, I’m actually a little excited to see this work. It’s a core principle of what I’d like to develop… being able to work remotely, particularly while on tour, so I can do more of it. If it doesn’t… well, I suppose this website might have a short shelf life 😉

More to come…

Podcast recommendation: Sprocket Podcast

Carving out its own little corner of the Internets is Brock and Aaron’s Sprocket Podcast. It’s a show about simplifying the good life, bikes and alternative transportation, and a whole lot of interesting things in between. The Sprocket continues to be a great companion on a lot of long rides over the years, and if you’re into bike touring you really need to give these guys a listen. It’s based in Portland, Oregon so things will get a bit local from time to time, but Portland has some of the most interesting local events and things to talk about anyways. Full throated endorsement… and not just because I recorded a future episode today!

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New here? Learn more about Pedalshift…

Bike Touring Lifestyle

A few years ago (way, way before Pedalshift), I’ll admit I was struggling. I was approaching 40, had an unusual but fulfilling job, a great relationship… hell, I even had a cool dog.

But for some reason, I was missing something. Hindsight being 20/20, I now know I was missing adventure.

When I was a kid, I was probably a lot like other kids… I would devise grand stories in my head and run about in the woods behind my house. Hours would go by and I didn’t need an iPhone or video games to keep me entertained. Later, when I was introduced to my first bike, the world literally opened up. Places that were too far to walk to suddenly were accessible by two legs, two wheels and a chain to make things go.

Then I grew up. Got a car. Got a degree. Got a job. Fell in love. Fell out of love… did all that a few times… Fell back in love again.

Things caught my interest in fleeting ways. I liked snowshoeing for awhile. I tried climbing mountains until what I like to refer to as “the incident on Mt. St. Helens” happened. Nothing stuck, and my childhood sense of wonder of being in remote places by bike seemed a distant memory.

Then I discovered bike touring. Did you know people bungee up their bikes with camping gear and then bike dozens… hundreds… THOUSANDS of miles? Even for a rapidly aging thirty-something, that spoke to me. And so I started. A little at first, and then eventually I began biking weeks at a time, living in my tent off the Oregon coast on my way to San Francisco… or on the C&O trail between DC and western Maryland… it all came back. All of it.

And now… I want more. And I think a lot of people do too. The great part about the adventure and freedom of pointing your bike in a direction and pedaling for hundreds of miles is you can’t do it for more than a few days or – if you’re lucky – a few weeks of vacation time in your standard American life.

Or can you? This is what Pedalshift is all about. What are the things you can do in your life, to allow you to have more time, finances, and ability to seek that sense of adventure on the roads, paths, bike lanes and trails of the world? Gear shifting is a metaphor for the changes we can make in our lives to make this all easier…

Let’s shrink the world by bike

I’m not the most experienced bike touring guy (far from it!), but I’ve been trying a few things. I think they’re working, and I’d like to share them with people who might think the same way as me. And I’d like you to help me create a community around this concept here so we can all learn from each other.

  • How can we make small changes in our lives to support this?
  • What kinds of things can we do to simplify our lives so we don’t need the soul crushing job to pay for stuff we don’t need?
  • How can we work remotely… even when on tour?
  • What kind of resources are out there to help with things like this?

If this all sounds good to you, let’s recapture that sense of adventure we all had when we got our first bike and traveled farther than previous limitations allowed… because it’s that feeling of freedom and adventure that has me really excited for what lies ahead.

The Pedalshift Project

The core of Pedalshift is The Pedalshift Project… a biweekly (fortnightly… depends on where you live) show that explores bike touring lifestyle. From tips and tricks to how to tour more. We do a lot of shrinking the world by bike. The secondary podcast is Pedalshift Tour Journals, which takes you along on the ride for some of my bike tours. If you’re new, dive right in and start the binge. Most of the shows are pretty evergreen, so there’s plenty to take along on your own ride or for inspiring your future tours.

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Join the free Pedalshift newsletter and get access to even more… monthly musings on bicycle touring plus an exclusive extra podcast every month just for you.

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Pedalshift Plus

Liking the podcast and the newsletter? There’s even more! Archived versions of my past bicycle tour audio journals (Pedalshift Tour Journals) are available for $5-10 each. These bring you along for the ride on some of my favorite rides: the Pacific Coast, across New York state, the C&O/GAP trails from DC to Pittsburgh, and more. Check ’em out!

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