Cycling/ Bike Purchasing

[jamesww]

I admit I don't know anything at all about this. Is it so foolish to assume I could have a backpack full of water and some food such as peanuts? (Goober peas being the traditional light rations for a Southerner on the march)

Backpacks on a bike for any distance are a no-no, plus they make you and the bike more unbalanced, an added danger.

[Lettow77]

 It seems i'll be following highway 80- less lonely  that the road raz described, that being 50, but i'm not clear on how much less lonely.

I will look into bike-mountable bags, along with a bike, in the very near future. I still have eleven days of planning, though.

Edit: being warned by mongers is _extremely_ endearing. I am of course aware of the cycling he did  himself- it reminds me of Bilbo warning other halflings against the dangers of adventure. Regrettably, I am not a halfling myself, so the analogy isn't perfect. Still, it brightens anyone's day, I am sure. Has languish done enough to recognize mongers' contributions to the community?

[Iormlund]

Do highways have SOS posts at regular intervals over there?

[CountDeMoney]

Do highways have SOS posts at regular intervals over there?

They certainly don't have portable AEDs.

[Ed Anger]

Do highways have SOS posts at regular intervals over there?

Plenty of Rest Stops where he can get his ass pounded by the gays that hang out in them.

[Admiral Yi]

Illegal to ride a bike on the interstate Lettuce.

I've driven across the salt flats.  You would die instantly if you tried to bike there.

[MadImmortalMan]

Across Nevada on a bike? With pedals? Better to rent a camel. Might I suggest a Harley or Indian?

[katmai]

Ahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha.

[Lettow77]

http://www.mvermeulen.com/nevada/
This, then, is illegal? I can find precedents of other people doing it online, at least. It doesn't seem the death march languish suggests.

[katmai]

It's certainly doable, but just saying hey i wanna ride from California to Utah with no preparation or getting in shape means your trip will end pretty quickly, at least that is the most likely outcome.

[CountDeMoney]

It's certainly doable, but just saying hey i wanna ride from California to Utah with no preparation or getting in shape means your trip will end pretty quickly, at least that is the most likely outcome.

By all means, Lettow, be sure to take your laptop so you can update us on your progress.

[Lettow77]

 Umm! I have no laptop. Or cellphone. But I see, looking at the route, that there are public libraries in some of the towns along the way. I'll certainly use public library internet when it is available, to let my wonderful family here know I'm alright and proceeding.

I intend to keep a paper journal- I could type the less personal parts online, although this might wait until the trip is over.

[CountDeMoney]

I hope General Sherman is your spirit animal.

[alfred russel]

Um-

I mostly balk at the cost. Actually, the temperature of the desert is an incentive for me to begin the cycling, I think. It caps out in the 80s according to a quick look at weather.com, and it is inhumanly cold here. Nobody told them it was summer, and I shiver in weather that drops below 60 in daytime. Inhuman.

Things I consider real problems with this idea:

1) sleeping
2) being attacked by wild animals while sleeping
3) carrying things while biking
4) what if the bike breaks down?

edit: it should be added I don't have a cellphone, or anyone I could really call regardless, so I'll be alone in the um, classical sense?

CdM's comments aside, I am not too worried about my physical fitness for the trip. I assume I am quite capable for 30 miles a day, which would get me there in around a month. Were I more fit, I could go a lot faster- cyclists on the internet claim 60 is sustainable, but they are cyclists with strange ideas about  fitness.

I acknowledge the physical risks of the trip, but I am in a good position to be reckless that I shouldn't waste. Later in life my absence would cause much more disruptions.

Unfortunately I am, at the moment, rather unprepared. I came out here without even a pair of shoes, save for some flipflops. Equipment purchases are in order, and it all sounds ruinously expensive. And other than biking to zion, I am not sure what application a bike has in my life, or indeed how I would get it back to the glorious South.

Still, this idea is superior to alternative options, and preparations are to begin soon. The scheduled date of departure is: June 22 

This is an incredibly stupid idea. Where are you going to sleep? I assume you can't afford to stay in hotels for a month straight, and there won't be hotels at 30 mile intervals along the path anyway. You can't camp for a month straight--and you can't just set up camp next to a highway or whereever you want. Where are you going to get food and water? Are you going to carry a tent, sleeping bag, food, water, toiletries, clothes, and basic bicycle repair items with you?

I suggest using whatever money you have to fly back home. Spend the summer doing something else. Getting in shape would be one way to spend it, so perhaps you could try an ambitious journey that you are prepared for physically and also materially.

[Zoupa]

This is a battle you cannot win. 

Turn back, mon ami. Panache will keep.