Archive-URL: http://search.bikelist.org/getmsg.asp?Filename=touring.10701.0460.eml
Date: Wed, 10 Jan 2007 19:19:49 -0800 (PST)
From: alex wetmore <alex(AT)phred.org>
Subject: RE: Is the iPhone perfect for touring?

On Wed, 10 Jan 2007, Tim Smith wrote:
>>> boyd wrote:
>> 
>> I always thing of touring by myself in places where few people go as 
>> similar to solo backpacking. It is a really nice thing to do, but I must 
>> exercise more caution and be better prepared to deal with whatever might 
>> come up. Those issues makes it more interesting, more challenging, and more 
>> fun!
>
> On the road, you're right. I guess I was thinking of something like the 
Great 
> Divide Route, where you might get a bit more stranded (especially if you get 
> off course, then take a bad fall).

I had a close call on a 4x4 track in New Zealand in November 2002
(early summer).  I was cycling on the Rainbow Road (about 60 miles,
100km, dirt, pretty rutted) on an overnight ride.  My wife dropped me
off at one end, drove the ~300km way around, and stayed at a B&B in
Hamner Springs.  I biked and told her that I'd meet her the next day.

The first day was pretty good, but the 20+ streams that I had to ford
were often deeper than I had expected.  I missed the backpackers
shelter that I was looking for and ended up camping (I did bring along
camping gear).  I went to bed at about 5000' altitude instead of the
4000' altitude that I expected.  My feet were cold from all of the
river fording, but not frost bitten.  When I went to bed it was about
10C colder than forecasted (right around 0C) and I wore two pairs of
socks, all of my clothing, a space blanket, and my sleeping bag.

Halfway through the night I woke up and heard snow.  I slept on and
off until about 5am wondering what to do.  At 5am I decided to pack up
and go for it.  I knew that I had about 40km (25 miles) to go and most
of them were in high elevation.

The cycling in the snow wasn't too bad.  I made slow progress but was
keeping pretty warm.  Then my jacket let me down.  I was wearing a
borrowed waterproof jacket which had elastic cuffs instead of velcro
ones.  As I rode the jacket would pop off of my gloves and slide into
them.  This made all of the snow melt from my arms end up in my hands
instead of on the ground.

The snow was also not very good for my Bike Friday.  The long cage
rear derailleur picked up the snow and carried it up to my cassette
where it jammed in between the cogs.  I switched the shifters to
friction mode and shifted every few hundred feet to find a clean cog.

As I got closer to my destination (Hamner Springs) my hands got
colder.  The road ends with a steep descent with somewhere around
2000' elevation loss down into town.  I was getting worried about
making it down this section with my freezing hands -- I wasn't sure
that I'd be able to control the brakes well enough.

I got to the end of the 4x4 part of the road right before the descent
and was in a small ski resort area.  It was already closed for the
season and the couple of buildings that I found were unoccupied.  I
kept going and just as I got to the start of the descent I saw a truck.
I stopped in the middle of the road and jumped up and down.  He stopped
and asked what was up, I told him my story, and he turned around and
gave me a ride back into town.  The driver was a fishing guide and the
passenger was staying at the same B&B as my wife -- they were just about
to turn around anyway.  They didn't realize how much snow was up there
and were cancelling their trip.

A cell phone wouldn't have helped me in this situation.  I actually
had one so that I could call my wife when I got into town (where there
was coverage).  Just as in the US there isn't coverage in rural 
mountain areas.

This was a pretty risky situation.  I'm not sure how I'd have done if
I didn't find that truck.  However given the option to ride that same
road with the same weather forecast I'd do it in a heartbeat.  It was
a challenge riding in this conditions, but it was also very
gratifying.  I still think back upon that ride fondly.

I would change a couple of my practices.  I'm not going to borrow rain
gear anymore unless I test it first.  I'll probably carry a second set
of gloves and a full spare layer of insulation if I'll be doing
extended riding in the snow (or anywhere that has snow as a
possibility) again.  My Bike Friday no longer has a long cage rear
derailleur.

alex
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