It's slippery outside people!

Even tho it's like a swimming pool out there?

To be honest, I fucking hate Arizona weather. Sweating till you vomit on a regular basis gets old really really fast. I'll take rain and clouds any day. I will take English winter in a tee over this place ha

i almost died in that shit, we thought it would be a good idea to catch out due west from austin to Phenoix rather then go up and through Kanssass and Colorado on the BNSF line. We jumped an empty grainer, and it was all good, sunshine and an easy ride we thought. it gets hot, we start drinking lots of water, then bill for got to fill his bottles in texas, so we are a bit low, but its no big deal its been 3 hours and this trian has to stop in either santa fe or taos right? Wrong, we are rattling on with no sign of life, we are a bit worried, but it can only roll for 8 hours and we have enough for that, unless its a doubble... oh shit is a doubble. No crew change for 16 hours, and we have 3lt of water for 6 people for the last 8 hours. we got down to 1 half lt bottle for the last 2 hors bewteen all of us.

we hopped off on the fly as the trin pulled into the yard, and then had to run beacuse the bull saw us, finaly we get into town, find a tap and get a drink.

we left pheniox that day we had had enough of deserts, and wanted to head up to the north west. We fucked up our crew change in Denver, and end up in empty coal going west, that lasted 2 hours, and then we got throw in jail in a mining town, beacuse the line ended at a live mine, and there was security all over the place.

lessons: more then 4 is too meny people to ride with, bring enough water, never catch west out of austin in august, never ever catch empty coal west out of denver.

It's like a Tom Waits monologue...

Thinking of going out on a pair of tubulars and inflating them to 160 psi - is that bad?

i almost died in that shit, we thought it would be a good idea to catch out due west from austin to Phenoix rather then go up and through Kanssass and Colorado on the BNSF line. We jumped an empty grainer, and it was all good, sunshine and an easy ride we thought. it gets hot, we start drinking lots of water, then bill for got to fill his bottles in texas, so we are a bit low, but its no big deal its been 3 hours and this trian has to stop in either santa fe or taos right? Wrong, we are rattling on with no sign of life, we are a bit worried, but it can only roll for 8 hours and we have enough for that, unless its a doubble... oh shit is a doubble. No crew change for 16 hours, and we have 3lt of water for 6 people for the last 8 hours. we got down to 1 half lt bottle for the last 2 hors bewteen all of us.

we hopped off on the fly as the trin pulled into the yard, and then had to run beacuse the bull saw us, finaly we get into town, find a tap and get a drink.

we left pheniox that day we had had enough of deserts, and wanted to head up to the north west. We fucked up our crew change in Denver, and end up in empty coal going west, that lasted 2 hours, and then we got throw in jail in a mining town, beacuse the line ended at a live mine, and there was security all over the place.

lessons: more then 4 is too meny people to ride with, bring enough water, never catch west out of austin in august, never ever catch empty coal west out of denver.

Sounds like you an awesome time tho! How many miles you reckon you got free?!

Sounds like you an awesome time tho! How many miles you reckon you got free?!

I have been in every state but hawii, and every Provence in canada except the Yukon. i have been all the way across America least 10 times, up and down the west coast three or four times, up and down the east coast atleast 6 times, and all over the middle of the country.

basicly I lost count, that was over 4 years, from when i was 14-18. some of the kids i knew are still hopping, some are in prison, some are working as bankers, some are dead.

hope you kept a journal Chris, that sounds (and reads) great.

Chris, are you in America or do you live over here now? Were you skippin school to travel? It does sound pretty amazing, you must have seen some crazy stuff. Have you ever travelled distance, over time, by bike? I watched the programme about Mark Beaumont cycling round the world and it looked great. I think I'd like to have some company, but great nevertheless.

yeah i did... i have actuly been working on typing it all up. the thing is, I dont want to influence people to go out and jump on a train when they dont know what they are doing, people die. And sometimes its a point from which you cant turn back, and its something people need to think about alot before they start. I was kinda throwing into it, and would not have lived my life any other way, but i'm lucky not to be in prison or dead.

Chris, I hate it that you are 22.

Chris, are you in America or do you live over here now? Were you skippin school to travel? It does sound pretty amazing, you must have seen some crazy stuff. Have you ever travelled distance, over time, by bike? I watched the programme about Mark Beaumont cycling round the world and it looked great. I think I'd like to have some company, but great nevertheless.

i live in london now. I was way ahead in school (wouldn't believe it would ya?) i should have finished 2 years early, instead i did half a year, every year, over 4 years and spend the rest of the time traveling.

I have done about 300 miles in 3 days by bike, in the states, and a few other 100 and 200 mile trips, would love to do more, but who has time and money these days?

yeah I saw some things, beautiful untouched wilderness, i slept in a half collapsed slave-owners mansion in a gerogia swamp, got the shit beaten out of me by a few bulls and left for dead in a ditch, saw the derailed train where my traveling partners dad died, met the crazyest people in the world it was good times, but it was hard times, wouldn't wish it on any one, but wouldn't want to have gone through life wiht out doing it

Chris, I hate it that you are 22.

me too, but probably for the opposite reason.

i live in london now. I was way ahead in school (wouldn't believe it would ya?) i should have finished 2 years early, instead i did half a year, every year, over 4 years and spend the rest of the time traveling.

I have done about 300 miles in 3 days by bike, in the states, and a few other 100 and 200 mile trips, would love to do more, but who has time and money these days?

yeah I saw some things, beautiful untouched wilderness, i slept in a half collapsed slave-owners mansion in a gerogia swamp, got the shit beaten out of me by a few bulls and left for dead in a ditch, saw the derailed train where my traveling partners dad died, met the crazyest people in the world it was good times, but it was hard times, wouldn't wish it on any one, but wouldn't want to have gone through life wiht out doing it

Chris that sounds awesome (I think?). In the UK we have something similar called a "Gap Year" where one goes to discover oneself whilst watching Thai ping pong shows...

Yup still slippy.
Slow around a Supermarket car park corner (with one of those slick looking surfaces). I went down so fast I was practically still pedalling while laying sideways on the floor. Kinda shaken but uninjured.

And this is good why exactly?

i almost died in that shit

That, it's fun, and you get learned in the art of controlling your skids

that is such a blatant miss-representaion of what i said, i was talking about arizona as you can tell from what i quoted in that post.

You pinch flat at 90psi? You must be fatter than me!
I hit a rock and fucked my rim but didn't pinch flat and that was at 40kph with only 60psi or some shit in the tyre. 90psi is fine. 100psi is fine. 110psi is probably ok if you have your wits about you and aren't hammering with no respect for your old friend "grip".
I weigh 90-95kg and inflate tyres to 7.5bar (105-110psi ish) and then let them go over time until I remember to pump them up. Front as low as 80psi (lower last time) and rear 90psi I guess.

yes i had 2 pinch flats in 2 days with 80psi.... so more than a 100psi to be on the safe side.

Ahhhhh it´s nice and grippy today, even in the wet, it´s a lots grippier than a couple day ago when it was properly greasy.

I love America for the vastness of it, the best thing is simply hop on a train and go wherever you want to cycle, in the cold, in the desert, in the forest, by the sea etc. the choice is almost unlimited compared to the UK of which we´d need to go across the English Channel to have more choice than grass, forest and rain.

Ahhhhh it´s nice and grippy today, even in the wet, it´s a lots grippier than a couple day ago when it was properly greasy.

I love America for the vastness of it, the best thing is simply hop on a train and go wherever you want to cycle, in the cold, in the desert, in the forest, by the sea etc. the choice is almost unlimited compared to the UK of which we´d need to go across the English Channel to have more choice than grass, forest and rain.

The Channel Tunnel is a train. It'd probably be quicker to get to France and a few other European countries than a lot of the places in America. Plus we wouldn't have to fly there in the first place.
I've been told of a train ticket you can buy that allows you to travel anywhere in Europe on a train. You pay around £700 and can travel for 10-12 times as long as it's within a month (these are only rough guides, not facts as it's just by word of mouth). It sounds really good.
You could probably get cheaper ones that would allow you to get yourself, bike and kit to a lovely part of Europe so that you could have a great trip around and get back again by train.

It's definitely better after it's been raining a bit. It's nowhere near as slippy as it was a few days ago. Like a greased turd out of a ferret.

The Channel Tunnel thought is fucking expensive, and because europe is divided by a lots of countries, instead of state which mean passport.

You clearly don't travel in Europe Ed. You don't need a passport to pass through continental Borders.
GYAC, there are no borders.

I don't actually know.. usually a stone more than I'd like...I suppose between 90 - 95kg too.

i wasn't going fast when i bought it the other night..you bet your ass i'm not hammering it around today either, oily as fuck out there.

I figure I'll let out some of the air on the tyres from your advice Hippy - I'm on 115psi at the moment, just 10 psi less sounds like it would be a lot more beneficial in these shitty conditions.

You weigh 90kg?! No way. Um, yeah, if you do then around 100 should be fine. You could go less but below 90psi and you'll find the rear will feel a bit 'odd'.. it'll float around a bit. It's ok if you're used to it but may as well hold it around 100psi

The Channel Tunnel is a train. It'd probably be quicker to get to France and a few other European countries than a lot of the places in America. Plus we wouldn't have to fly there in the first place.
I've been told of a train ticket you can buy that allows you to travel anywhere in Europe on a train. You pay around £700 and can travel for 10-12 times as long as it's within a month (these are only rough guides, not facts as it's just by word of mouth). It sounds really good.
You could probably get cheaper ones that would allow you to get yourself, bike and kit to a lovely part of Europe so that you could have a great trip around and get back again by train.

It's definitely better after it's been raining a bit. It's nowhere near as slippy as it was a few days ago. Like a greased turd out of a ferret.

a friend of mine travelled all across europe with a photocopy of the trans european travel card lol !!! was a scanned one i think actually which had been cleverly photoshoped and so on.

I was going slow when I fell...

You're just unco :P

You clearly don't travel in Europe Ed. You don't need a passport to pass through continental Borders.
GYAC, there are no borders.

whoop, I meant from England to France!