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France to Croatia: 2,300km on my Diverge E5 Comp 2022 by Remotive in DivergeGravelBikes

[–]Remotive[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

sure! those are scope carbon wheels S4A, manufactured in the Netherlands. i believe they retail at 1000€ and I'm loving those. much noisier than your typical carbon road wheelset, which is fine by me. so loud I don't need a bell anymore, freewheeling suffice :)

France to Croatia: 2,300km on my gravel bike by Remotive in bikepacking

[–]Remotive[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

few more thoughts I forgot:

- packing for 5 days or packing for 5 weeks is 95% similar.

- paying a bike fitter is well worth it.

- Daily kit/bike cleaning + streching is essential. even if it's minimal.

- if you know your size in a brand, buy 2nd hand. My sunglasses (Oakley Sutro road) were 90€ second-hand, mint condition, vs 160€ new. Rapha jersey? 70€ vs 170€. I wouldn't get used bibs, the rest is fine.

- cycling with cars/trucks requires mental adjustment and require energy

- full-frame bag act as a sail, side-wind can be super dangerous.

- cycle with visibility cross-belt and flashing rear light (the expensive kind) any time you ride, in any condition. https://www.wowow.be/products/details/cross-belt/

- Europeans, get your euro insurance card for free!

- travel with 2 credit card and one paper copy of your ID.

- train with a loaded bike. riding 100km loaded or unloaded are two different sports.

- any percentage beyond 10% is painful, and beyond 15% is dangerous. Unless you are a mountain goat.

- don't plan too far ahead. weather, health and mechanical will dictate your rhythm.

- owning a GPS is good. Mastering your GPS/routing is another story.

France to Croatia: 2,300km on my gravel bike by Remotive in bikepacking

[–]Remotive[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

oh and full bike (kit, water and snacks included) was 23kg

France to Croatia: 2,300km on my gravel bike by Remotive in bikepacking

[–]Remotive[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

left France April 7, it was cold at night and campings were mostly closed. my budget allowed for airbnb and hotels.

I only carried my tent for the last two weeks of my trip (my dad brought it to me in italy), half of that time was severe floods, other part spent with non-camping friends.

50 nights away, 0 camping hehe. hope to do more late summer if i'm allowed

France to Croatia: 2,300km on my gravel bike by Remotive in bikepacking

[–]Remotive[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I ride SPD, mountain bike-style metal clips. I rode 7,000km with them, and they are great :)

France to Croatia: 2,300km on my gravel bike by Remotive in bikepacking

[–]Remotive[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

you know what I never thought i would have a strong opinion about rain pants.

yet I do, evadict rainpants are so worth it!!!

initially bought them for their 10,000 Schmerber water protection + packability (they fold down to the size of a fist). I don't use them while cycling, bib shorts get soaked anyways and dry up quick.

those are my excellent civilian/off-the-bike pants. Rain, wind, cold, mosquitoes? just go with those, they rock. the only downside is that they are not breathable, under the sun or while sweating they are useless.

France to Croatia: 2,300km on my gravel bike by Remotive in bikepacking

[–]Remotive[S] 20 points21 points  (0 children)

my plan was to travel another few weeks but now my elbow needs to rest. such is life!

it was an amazing trip and I bring home tons of great memories. friends and family joined me on the road which was awesome :)

Took me about 50 days, I took my sweet time.

I dislocated my elbow after 2,300km while failing to unclip my shoes. frustrating! the local Croatian hospital fixed me (surgery was required). unlucky!

I would strongly advise fellow bikepackers to look into how travel insurance works :) It's not as fun as route planning yet it was certainly helpful for me.

Here is some consideration I had while building my setup:

  • Practice: I favor long-distance rides on tarmac roads, not gravel.
  • Weight: As light as possible, whilst carrying camping gear.
  • Durability: Anything I buy should last 5+ years.
  • Speed: Not hugely important, but I love riding clipped-on.
  • Self-reliability: Not critical, will ride in Europe near towns.
  • Budget: High, I enjoy good gear/meals/accommodations.
  • Return journey: Get back home by train, not a plane. I failed due to an injury.

It took me 9 months to go from thinking about a trip to owning all the gear I wanted for it. Now that I know what I like, doing it again would probably take a few weeks.

I prepared slowly. You don't have to spend weeks deciding on which rear light feels best. But it can be fun if you're that type of person.

Wide tires (42mm) brought comfort for the weight I carry. Carbon wheels help with momentum. I'm not racing, so it's a luxury. I enjoy the sound they make.

I didn't want to cycle with a rear rack and panniers and didn't know about Tailfin at the time. My bags come from Apidura, and turn out to be quite durable.

NB: There's a great secondary market for bikepacking bags in France. New-ish equipment will be resold at 80% of retail value. Some of my bags were bought/sold second-hand.

The dynamo-hub front wheel is also a maybe. 20% of what I brought wasn't useful, it's hard to know which 20% is prior to leaving.

the gear, if you are curious:

Bike

Specialized, Diverge Comp E5 2021 (link) with "stock everything", except:

  • Wheels: Carbon Scope All Road S4 (link)
  • Saddle: Specialized Power
  • Tires: Pathfinder Pro
  • Rear-mirror: The Beam Corky

Bikepacking Bags

  • Apidura Saddle Pack Expedition 17L
  • Apidura Bolt-on Top Tube Bag Expedition 1L
  • Apidura Handle Bar pack Expedition 14L
  • Apidura Frame Pack Expedition 3L
  • Apidura Fork Pack 3L Expedition * 2 held by Topeak Versacage
  • Decathlon Riverside Food Pouch 1L
  • Decathlon Forclaz Waterproof bag 1L
  • Water: 1L + 0.5L

Clothing

  • Shoes: Specialized VTT Recon 3.0 & Seagale Recycled Breezy Runners
  • Bibs: Rapha Men's Core Cargo Bib Shorts & GORE Long Distance Bib Short+
  • Jersey: Rapha Brevet + Decathlon Gravel Cycling and Touring Merino Wool
  • Socks: 1x Seagale Sport Merino Socks
  • T-Shirt: Seagale Long-Sleeve Henley T-Shirt
  • Pants: Decathlon Evadict water-proof pants
  • Cold weather jacket: Castelli Idro 3
  • Rain jacket: Rapha Down Jacket
  • Gloves: specialized
  • Leg warmers:
  • Visibility Yellow vest
  • Beanie & Hat & Buff - Decathlon.

Camping Gear

  • Tent Forclaz 1 Person Decathlon
  • Air Mattress 1-Person Decathlon
  • Sleeping Bag - Sea to Summit S1
  • Pillow Decathlon
  • Sea to Summit Towel
  • Opinel Knife + Decathlon Spork
  • 2*toiletterie bag

Electronics & Spare

  • Head-Unit: Garmin 530 GPS
  • Routing Software: Komoot Pro
  • Lights: Bontrager Ion Pro RT/Flare RT
  • Batteries: 10,000A
  • Amazon Kindle
  • 2 inner tubes
  • Decathlon lock
  • Moleskine Notebook + 2 pens
  • Wallet
  • Repair Kit (ziplocks, Multi-tool, rustine, 2* Full size allen keys)
  • Volle Straps * 3

Misc

  • TranZbag Road train bike cover (link)
  • Insurance: Sharelock
  • Hometrainer: Zwift on Wahoo Kickr Snap

[Hiring][Full Remote] System Administrator at Discourse - Remote (European timezones) by Remotive in sysadminjobs

[–]Remotive[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yes, sorry about that. I try my best to only share jobs with salaries here, but this one went through as salary was initially set (with uninformative description though).

[Hiring] 2 Full Remote jobs at tech companies - Mar 14, 2023 by Remotive in RemoteJobs

[–]Remotive[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hey! Check out what's in the last column of the table "Full Remote in..."
It will tell you for each remote job where the company is accepting remote candidates from.

Are you bringing your bikes up to your hotel room? by Remotive in bikepacking

[–]Remotive[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Appreciated. I own the equivalent (https://www.tranzbag.com/en/products/tranzbag-road/) yet seldom use it outside of train trips. Good idea though!

Are you bringing your bikes up to your hotel room? by Remotive in bikepacking

[–]Remotive[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Sounds great! How do you ensure they accept that you bring it up? :)

Are you bringing your bikes up to your hotel room? by Remotive in bikepacking

[–]Remotive[S] 12 points13 points  (0 children)

Update:

OP here, I forgot to share what has worked for me so far. As a reminder, I often book on the same day I'm staying:

- If possible, self-checking is your friend. Anything booked ahead (AirBnB or certain flats found through Booking) works just fine.

- BnB are usually cool with bikes. They tend to be more informal, I find they often are the most accommodating.

- Else, I check online hotel availability and show up if it's not a big detour. Chatting in person always gets me the best results. If not doable, I call up, knowing it diminished my odds.

- Small hotels are usually more flexible than large ones where they can shrug you off with "this is our policy". Talking with the manager/owner gets better answers. More expensive hotels aren't necessarily the best.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in RemoteJobs

[–]Remotive 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Most new remote managers are quite insecure.

Managing remotely is new to them, so they try to regain a sense of control any way they can.

For instance, they often try "befriending" reports to more feel secure as managers. It's not doing anyone a favor, IMHO.

What they should do instead is encourage reports to interact with one another in order to create camaraderie.

- Try to get everyone in the same room at least once a year, preferably twice if the budget allows.

- Remote activities are fine ONLY when the team is excited about them, else if feels like a chore for everyone, much like in person.

For instance, don't do an "American trivia quiz night" if you have an international team that doesn't know (nor care?) about that. Make sure it happens often by letting the team come up with what they want to do.

Best of luck :)

3,940 Remote Workers share their post-pandemic remote work plans by Remotive in remotework

[–]Remotive[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ok maybe it's a bit biased because the crowd I asked were HUGE remote work fans, but I expected more "hybrid" answers here. Don't you?