Category Archives: Bike Touring

Going places on a bike for the longer haul.

The Other Side of the Mountain: Chris Boardman’s Six Fundamental Rules for Descending by Tamia Nelson

Some cyclists like to go downhill hell for leather. Others would rather walk. Farwell falls into the latter category. He’s in his element when climbing, but he often finds himself wishing he could deploy a drag chute when the road slopes downward. He’s not alone. Even professional bike racers get spooked by fast descents. FDJ’s Thibaut Pinot abandoned the 2013 Tour de France in tears because he feared descending. “Some people are afraid of spiders or snakes,” he explained. “I’m afraid of speed. It’s a phobia.” But Thibaut has now mastered his fear, and he’ll most likely be standing on the podium on Sunday — this after many grueling mountain stages with plenty of technical, high-speed descents.

Of course, Thibaut’s fears were well-founded. Descending is dangerous, and it’s no less so for everyday cyclists whose bikes are heavily loaded, whether the load is camping gear or groceries. Which is why I touched on the topic in another article titled Going Downhill and Liking It. I wasn’t foolish enough to think I’d written the last word on … Continue reading »

Feeling a Little Flat Lately? Then Eyeball the Place Where Your Rubber Meets the Road

Are your tires letting you down more often than you think they should? Then you’ll want to read this.
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by Tamia Nelson | August 17, 2013

The bicycle started out as a rich man’s toy. Before too many years had passed, however, it evolved into efficient and economical transport for the working man. The pneumatic tire was one of the innovations that made this transformation possible. A very good thing, in other words. (Then again, it also helped to pave the way for the automobile. The jury’s still out on that.) Of course, everything comes at price. The pneumatic tire gave us low rolling resistance and an easier, less jarring ride on broken pavement. But it also gave us flats. And that problem is still with us today, more than a century after Michelin began selling the first practical pneumatic bicycle tires. Despite the recent proliferation of sealants, puncture guards, and tire liners, the diminuendo PPPFFFFFTTTT of a rapidly deflating tire remains a recurring coda in the music of the road.

Sometimes, however, a … Continue reading »

Tamia Nelson’s Rules of the Rural Road

The pleasures of cycling are so alluring that it’s easy to forget important things, so Tamia has drawn up rules to help guide her when she rolls out the driveway. They’re not for her alone, though. You’re welcome to use them too.
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by Tamia Nelson | July 12, 2013

It’s easy for me to get carried away when cycling—pushing on till I’ve ridden a bridge too far in the morning, say, and then regretting my exuberance as I slog the many weary miles home against a strengthening headwind. So, in order to temper my tendency to excess and insure I always finish a ride in at least as good shape as I started, I’ve developed a set of guidelines. They’re ten in all, and they mostly apply to riders who venture off the beaten track. Having yielded to the blandishments of egotism, I’ve unhesitatingly christened them “Tamia’s Ten Essentials, or, Rules of the Rural Road.” Adopt any or all of them for yourself. And here they are:

1. Don’t Sneak Off Without Telling Self … Continue reading »

Small Talk About the 42cm Surly Long Haul Trucker

Tamia has often written about her 42cm Surly Long Haul Trucker touring bike, and this has led to many readers writing to ask questions about the small bike. So many of the questions are the same from reader to reader that Tamia decided to put together this FAQ to help answer the most common ones. So if you have a question about the diminutive workhorse of a bike, read this first.
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by Tamia Nelson | February 27, 2011

I‘ve been riding my small-framed Surly Long Haul Trucker (bought as a complete build) and writing about it since April 2008, and in that time I’ve received many letters from folks asking questions about this little workhorse. The emphasis here is on “little.” There aren’t many affordable road bikes—never mind those designed for touring—that are available in a frame as small as the 42 cm. It’s not a surprise that the letters I receive often ask the same questions, so here I’ll answer the ones that I get most often, beginning with…

The small Truckers come with … Continue reading »