Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with bicycling

Help put the tradewinds in my britches.

letahl — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 07:35:12 -0800

I want to do a 2-3 week cycling trip in a foreign country around New year. Need suggestions as to locales/routes. Details inside. HWMO and I want to do a little foreign (i.e., non-US/CAN) travel around the New Year. Have done a few long distance cycling trips in the US and Europe, and loved it. But now it'd be cool to... branch out. We would love some suggestions as to which countries to look at or even routes to consider. Here are some general qualifications:

1) We are both into history, archaeology, and natural goodness (waterfalls, unique ecosystems, etc). Oh, and delicious food/wine.

2) We'd rather avoid temperature extremes. You know, winter cold or blazing heat. Neither is fun to cycle in all day.

3) No tour companies. I like doing things my way, having some flexibility in the schedule, and not being a pansy. We will need to rent bikes for the duration, though. Preference to hybrid bikes/routes.

4) Some people call me a space cowboy, but most call me El Cheapo. So while a place like Australia would probably be awesome to do a cycling trip, it'd also probably be out of my price range.

5) An average mileage around 50 per day, if you care. So maybe a total trip mileage of 600-800.

6) A place with a backpacker's sensibility of safety. I've traveled fairly extensively, but usually on train or bus or whatever, and obviously you are more vulnerable on a bike. I'd rather not go cycling and disappear into the Congo or something in the process.

7) Two or three weeks. As I mentioned, around New Year 09/10.

If we don't go cycling, we'll probably just go bum around India for a few weeks, but I wouldn't imagine its a cycling destination. Tell me if I'm wrong.

Any ideas/comments/lewd remarks, MFs? You people always have something to say. I love it.

Digital camera recommendations for bicyclists?

Mr. Palomar — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 17:50:34 -0800

What is the best digital camera to take on bike rides? I have a full DSLR (Nikon D80), but am thinking about getting a smaller compact digital camera to take with me when I ride, and am looking for recommendations/advice on what a good balance of features might be, what tradeoffs I should consider, the best place to pack it, etc. I'm not hardcore into either biking or photography, I'd just like to have something small/light enough that I won't dread having to pack it, durable enough to withstand moderate mountain biking, and good enough to take respectable occasional photos.

Seeking Denmark Bike Tour Routes

steinwald — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 07:29:24 -0800

I'll be in Copenhagen for 10 days towards the end of August. I'd like to spend 3 or 4 days on a bicycle riding around outside the countryside. I'm not sure how to plan (do I need to plan?) the logistics for such an adventure. I'm looking to ride around 200 - 250 km, leaving from and arriving back in Copenhagen. Any advice on routes? I understand there are some great bike routes crossing the country, but I'm having trouble finding a map online. Would it be easy to find lodging in the smaller towns on short notice?

Any advice from someone who's done something similar would be appreciated!

Thanks!

Gary Indiana Gary Indiana

Sreiny — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 07:53:45 -0800

Riding bike from Chicago to Gary, Indiana— what to do in Gary? I'm riding with some friends to Gary tomorrow, wondering if anyone has suggestions on places in Gary to see. We're interested in the old, rusting industrial parts of the city, interesting places to eat, obviously going to be stopping by the Jackson house. Any other really interesting places to go to and photograph? Any neat things to see along the way on the ride? Thanks.

Many, many delicious calories

Captain Rayford Steele, Tribulation Force — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 16:12:40 -0800

Please give me your best long-distance hiking / bicycle touring / <insert other adventurous endurance activity> food recipes! The watchwords here: densely caloric, easy to prepare (ideally in a single pot over a white gas cookstove), delicious and made from ingredients that are readily available in small, out-of-the-way groceries. Bonus points for recipes featuring lightweight, easily luggable ingredients.

PDX Bikers, a Twofer!

Danf — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 14:08:52 -0800

Portland OR Bike Questions herein: Daughter has just relocated to Hawthorne in SE. She wants her bike up there, so,

1. What is a good bike shop were I can get her fitted with a new helmet? (She's still on my insurance, after all.) Bonus points for SE, but if there is a shop over and above REI in selection and knowledge, so much the better.

2. In Portland, or any big city, what is the current state of the art in a bike lock(s)?

Thanks in advance.

Headphone recommendations for road cycling?

Señor Pantalones — Sat, 16 May 2009 21:34:46 -0800

[cycling] best headphones, preferably not buds? A few years ago, a company called Slipstreamz introduced something called "The Slip" which mounted earbuds outside the ear on a windscreen and allowed the best of both worlds -- hearing your environment and hearing your ipod. They appear to be out of business (or at least hard to find, and their server has been down since I started looking).

I've tried riding with both forms of iPhone buds (the plug-style and the pre-plug disc-shaped "buds"). They block too much environmental audio, and I'm not comfortable being that detached from my surroundings.

What are you using? What do you like or dislike about them? Would you recommend them?

Thanks in advance. Bonus points for iphone-friendly (e.g., mic on the cable) recommendations.

Sorry I have to ask, but no "don't do it" safety responses please. This is a specific question for people who choose to ride with headphones.

Couch to 5K for bikes?

one_bean — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 12:42:15 -0800

Is there a bicycling version of Couch-to-5k / 100 push ups? I'd like to do a century ride. I like goals and metrics set out for me in advance. Please lead me.

Advice on Bicycling and Camping in Iceland

chriswarren — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 18:09:56 -0800

I'm spending two weeks in Iceland in September. I'm hoping to hire a bicycle for at least a week and do some camping. Where should I look in to going, and is there anything I should be aware of? I'm in good shape and bike daily, so I'm confident I can make it a fairly decent distance, probably up to 80-100km a day. As I mentioned, I'd like to camp most nights, but I wouldn't be opposed to staying in a village or somewhere else on some nights. I'm not looking to create a complete itinerary, I'm just looking for any warnings or experiences that anyone might be able to share.

Escaping Toronto with a bike in tow?

anthill — Sun, 11 May 2008 11:06:14 -0800

How to escape the Greater Toronto Area for multiday bicycle tours? Difficulty: no car. My girlfriend and I just bought a tandem touring bike, and we're both keen to get out to the Ontario countryside for some summer tours. The catch is we have no car.

I know that the GO Train is one option for downtown cyclists trying to escape, but from what I can tell only the Lakeshore line runs trains that fall outside their rush-hour bicycle ban. The Lakeshore area is pretty nice, but I'd rather get to the Barrie area to access Tobermory, Parry Sound, or Algonquin.

Any tricks for escaping the GTA on a low carbon footprint would be much appreciated.

Good book(s) about randonneuring?

everichon — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 09:33:26 -0800

I'm looking for a good read about bicycle randonneuring, in English or French. I know there are a ton of memoirs/bios available about racing and racers, especially the Tour--I am more interested in peoples experiences on brevets, audaxes, and fleches, Paris-Brest-Paris, and so forth.

Bike commuting in Boston -- best route between Cambridge/East Boston?

olinerd — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 07:28:44 -0800

For a friend: commuting by bike, need to get to Cambridgeport half the week and East Boston the other half. Best bike routes? Best places to live? A friend is just moving to Boston and is starting work at a company where he will spend half his time at an office in Cambridge (by the River St Whole Foods, about .6 miles from Central Square) and the other half in East Boston (Jeffries Point, about a mile from Maverick station).

He would like to commute by bike and only bike. He would prefer no T if possible. A car is not an option.

Question 1: if he lives in Cambridge near the Cambridge office (his first choice), what's the best route to bike to where he needs to be in Eastie without risking his life more than necessary?

Question 2: if this is pretty unfeasible, where's the best place to live to make it feasible? Charlestown/Chelsea area? IANAB(icyclist) so I have no idea how this stuff works or what is considered a reasonable biking distance.

(yes, this is similar to a previous question I asked, but with the difficulty of bike vs car/T....)

How long before I get hit by a cab or have my bike stolen?

doppleradar — Sat, 24 Nov 2007 11:39:56 -0800

Boston Biking 101: Does biking in Boston for daily commute/activities make sense? I'm moving to Boston and have been surprised by how long it would take to get anywhere on the T (at least according to the MBTA trip planner).

It seems to make much more sense to just get a bike and use that for daily commuting/errands/etc... How bike friendly is Boston (i.e. - availability of bike paths, easy routes from downtown to surrounding areas like Cambridge, bike allowed on public transit, etc...)? What hints/tips/advice do you have for basic urban commuting? What bike shops are good?

Oh, and I have to learn how to ride a bike first so any tips for bikes that are solid to learn on AND good for commuting gets you bonus points.

Bike tights with Gore-Tex, Lycra

joeclark — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 19:41:34 -0800

Bike tights with Gore-Tex (or equivalent) on top, Lycra on bottom? I have some very old MEC cycling tights consisting of Gore-Tex and nylon on top (the latter somewhat loosely affixed for movement) and stretch Lycra on the bottom. Great combination for most inclement weather, even when it’s warm out.

Well, they don't make those anymore. Nobody makes anything similar, apparently. The closest thing I could find to a list of current bike-tight technology was a very long comment in a blog post.

I already have full-on Gore-Tex pants (overkill). My application (year-round riding) needs something waterproof at least on the top layer. And it doesn’t have to be Gore-Tex®, whose patent ran out anyway; I am, however, strongly swayed by the fabric combinations in the tights I have. Reasonable suggestions?

Who goes bicycling at three in the morning?

mrbill — Sun, 28 Oct 2007 01:57:52 -0800

What was the late-night bicycling event in Houston at 3am on Sunday the 28th? My wife and I headed out to get some late-night coffee at the Starbucks at Westheimer and Post Oak.

We arrived there right around 3am, and as we turned left onto Post Oak, we noticed more people on bicycles (with headlights / glow sticks / etc) waiting at the light on Westheimer.

Sadly, the drive-thru was closed, so we just headed down Post Oak, noticing a large number of people on bikes congregated in the parking lot north of Starbucks while more pedaled past going north.

A few looked to have numbers pinned to their jackets/shirts, but it didn't seem to be a race (nobody was in a hurry). There had to be at least a hundred people in this event.

So, what the heck was this late-night (3am) bike event?

Is this an adductor pull or something else?

craniac — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 12:58:06 -0800

I have a recurring muscle strain, but it's not a hernia. I went to a urologist, and he said he could feel some "pressure" and it might be a pre-hernia (?) but it was not a hernia. There is nothing scary protruding, and the soreness (which isn't terrible) is about five inches below my right hip bone, just above the crease of my leg, if that makes any sense.

It seems to be aggravated when I lift heavier items with my right arm or overload my should bag to about 20 lbs.

I have insurance and will see either a urologist or other specialist soon.

In the meantime, however, are there exercises and stretches I can do to keep from re-injuring this area, assuming it is a pulled muscle and not something hernial or bacterial?

Another movement that seems to aggravate it is when I am wearing clipless pedals on my recumbent, riding uphill, and pulling on the pedals and/or the handlebars.

Have you experienced this? Does this sound like a standard adductor pull?

Give me your best advice for biking in a skirt.

Riverine — Sun, 26 Aug 2007 11:45:12 -0800

Give me your best advice for biking in a skirt. I'm riding my bike a lot more since I got an Electra Townie, but I am struggling with biking in a skirt. I tend to wear knee length skirts which blow up easily in the wind. I've tried clipping the skirt together with a clothespin, but find it bumps my knees very uncomfortably. I was wondering how others have dealt with this.

I want to join a cycling group in San Francisco

Juggermatt — Sat, 25 Aug 2007 20:50:05 -0800

Can the hive mind recommend a good road cycling group in San Francisco? I'm looking for a recreational (but serious) cycling group that has sociable members preferably in their mid 20s to early 30s.

How do I sell my photos to the bike racers?

fenriq — Thu, 09 Aug 2007 09:45:58 -0800

How do I sell my photos to the bike racers? I am in the process of starting to work as a photographer and had my first event this last weekend. It was a bicycle century (100 miles or 100 km) race in the Santa Cruz mountains and I ended up with a good sized batch of sellable photos.

While I had permission to photograph the event, the organizers have been less than helpful (understandably) about pushing the photographs to the race list even with incentives like discounts, profit sharing and free use of photos for their site.

I'm exploring other ways to get the photos to interested racers (Craigslist, bike forums, etc.) but would love to hear of any other ideas to get the photos to the folks who might be interested in buying them.

And yes, they are findable by search online but I'd like more "pull" and less "push". And I've learned an awful lot for my next event (i.e. distributing marketing materials to race folks, purchasing advertising space on event coordinator websites and the like).

Getting the most workout value from cycling

rolypolyman — Tue, 03 Apr 2007 10:24:18 -0800

How can I get the most out of cycling, in regards to a workout? I'm a real newbie. During the past couple of weeks I've started pedalling my Trek mountain bike around town. There's some rolling hills here, so it's given me a bit of a workout. I do a moderate pace for 35 minutes every 2 or 3 days.

My main intent is to lose weight and regain my daily mental focus.

I'm wondering if there are any tips for getting the best "workout" value. Should I bother keeping track of heart rate? Should I shoot for a certain pedalling cadence? (Isn't there a rule of thumb on pedal strokes per minute that tells what gear you should be in?) Or should I just pedal faster if I notice I'm not breathing fast enough?

I know there are sites on the Internet that have tips, but most are designed for seasoned cyclists, and I want a personal MeFi perspective anyway.

Also a dumb question -- when I'm going faster than 15 mph or so I get this irrational fear that the front tire is going to come loose from the fork and I'll crash. Does a structural failure like this ever happen?

Fitting a road bike

cccorlew — Wed, 02 Aug 2006 10:04:45 -0800

Guide/hints for road bike fit? I want to buy my wife a road bike, (she's hammering out 15+ road miles a day on a mountain bike) but being a cheap guy, I think I can get more bang for the buck getting used bike. I'm looking for a guide for bike fitting so I get her the right size frame, etc.
Online resources? (my GoogleFu fails me...) or elsewhere. Not having to pay a bunch is a requirement.

More: I'm thinking that because her legs are short for her height she'll be good on a smaller traditional mens bike and not need a womens design, which I understand are built to account for the fact that woment generally have proportionally more of their height in they legs than do men.

Cycling t-shirt-Hors Categorie

OmieWise — Wed, 19 Jul 2006 06:48:46 -0800

Does anyone know of a place to get a tshirt with the red Hors Categorie (HC) circle symbol? I'd love a shirt with the HC symbol currently being used on TdF stage maps. I can't seem to find one. There is a Nike jersey that has the words "Hors Categorie" printed on it, but that isn't what I want. Has anyone seen a shirt like this?

If I can't buy one, can I make one? I've not paid much attention to these t-shirt making outfits, so I don't know how they work. I assume it's a trademarked symbol, but I'm not positive.

(I guess the Tour is really bringing out the consumer in me.)

Please, Please, Please do not post anything about today's stage in this thread!

Pinarello...Alone

OmieWise — Wed, 05 Jul 2006 12:42:44 -0800

In the late 80s there was a Pinarello Bicycles ad that was a horizontal banner at the top of the page in Bicycling magazine. It was a long distance shot of a single cyclist riding over some rolling hills, and the text said: "Pinarello...Alone." I loved it. I'm pretty sure it was produced as a poster as well, and I'd love to find it. So far, all I can find are Pinarello posters with Miguel Indurain on them, which are awesome, but not what I'm looking for at all. Of course, searching for "vintage bike poster" brings up all of the 19th century advertising posters that are so colorful but so not Pinarello.

Any suggestions?

Am I going to die by lightning?

irregardless — Mon, 08 May 2006 19:33:48 -0800

How dangerous is it, really, to ride a steel-framed bicycle around in a thunderstorm? Specifically, what are the chances that I am going to get hit by lightning and die - is riding a steel-framed bicycle around equivalent to carrying a lightning rod and shouting "pick me! pick me!"?

Tour Para Bien Estar

rabble — Tue, 11 Apr 2006 15:46:06 -0800

I had the great fortune of recently running into this fine fellow, who is currently in the middle of riding his bike from Prudhoe Bay, Alaska clear to Tierra del Fuego, Argentina, all in the name of raising money for a youth home for at risk and abused teens in Alaska. Apparently, and unbeknownst to me, he has been wintering here in my home town of Missoula, MT for the past few months, but I only recently met him. We got to talking about his website, and he mentioned that he had been on the hunt for an easy way for him to mark his progress on a map for visitors and friends to follow. I, being the fairly technically minded guy that I am, would like to help with that. My first instinct was integrating the Google Maps API directly into his Blogger account, but I'm not having any luck finding a way that would make it easy for him to add new waypoints as he progresses along. It seems GM is more adept at displaying two static points and mapping in between them. So, my question is, what $0 budget solution would YOU use to solve this particular quandry? And, as a side note, what other useful additions to his website would you recommend for this kind soul?