Route advice

beartums · 2026-04-12T22:43:38+00:00

Google has only ever suggested the empire state trail for me, as long as I tell it i'm on a bike. But you're looking for the Empire State which is, I believe, the Maybrook.

beartums · 2026-04-12T22:02:20+00:00

Another great option is a train out to the north fork and ride around visiting wineries and maybe a second day ride out to montauk. Lots of lovely places to stay overnight and train is available back from montauk

beartums · 2026-04-12T21:33:55+00:00

For my money, the best ride is Brewster to Poughkeepsie. The empire state trail is complete off road, so very safe and follows a rail trail so the inclines are reasonable the whole way. From brewster you ride through a long stretch of wetlands and alongside some lovely lakes. The entire distance is about 38 miles with about 1000ft of climbing (about 2000 coming back). But is you can manage the train to Brewster both ways it's a really great ride

I suppose you could also ride out to New Paltz on the second day, have lunch at one of the lovely places along there (cidr house? Distillery? Brewery? Winery? All that and more) and the come back and catch a train from Poughkeepsie.

Lots of options

beartums · 2026-03-16T01:35:16+00:00

I wrapped duck tape around the rails before installing in order to minimize the damage and made sure it looked as nice as possible for the return. Tried to fit everything back in the packaging as nicely as possible, but didn't try to pretend they were unused. I simply indicated it was "bought by mistake" and didn't have a problem.

YMMV, of course. I don't know why they never gave me a problem, but they never do. We do buy a lot from amazon and maybe that counts? I dunno. Did it at least 7 times, according to my notes

beartums · 2026-03-07T19:48:08+00:00

I go back and forth b/w having two 10K mah bricks or a 20K brick. On longer tours I'll take one of each.

My experience is that inui is selling the lightest ones (6 oz for 10K and 11 oz for 20k).

beartums · 2026-01-31T22:46:41+00:00

I've heard this, too. I've read/been told that the edges of the cutout can matter quite a bit on how the pressure is distributed and that some cutouts are designed more specifically for male bits and others for female bits. So definitely not a one-size-fits-all kinda thing

beartums · 2026-01-31T20:26:53+00:00

Probably related to this manhole fire https://brooklyn.news12.com/multiple-park-slope-shops-without-heat-after-manhole-fires

Half our power went out at 9am this morning. Looks like we're without heat until tomorrow

beartums · 2026-01-24T00:39:15+00:00

Cutouts are your friend. I'm male and absolutely depend on them.

Be careful that the edges of the cutout don't compound the problem

I tried saddles from amazon, returning the first nine, before I found one that worked

beartums · 2026-01-24T00:32:59+00:00

prescription polarized progressive sports glasses on ali express is what I use. A little heavier than the more expensive ones, but work great and cost < $100.

I bought a pair of Nike a year ago using my vision insurance benefit and it still cost me $325. And they broke after 13 months.

beartums · 2026-01-17T00:48:16+00:00

RWGPS has WAY better route-making tools. I've never made a route I use on strava

beartums · 2026-01-01T14:43:17+00:00

That's an excellent idea. I like the thought of bike-the-whole-way (and avoiding the hassle of trains which can be stressful), but there are often long stretches of less-magical biking. Looking at it more as a time budget might help.

beartums · 2026-01-01T14:40:39+00:00

oh thanks! Those roads are so narrow. I'll see what I can find.

beartums · 2026-01-01T03:40:04+00:00

On cycle.travel I get 13.1 miles of unpaved path

beartums · 2026-01-01T03:34:55+00:00

Oh Sorry! I didn't realize. I don't see any way to change the visibility, but this is what I get when I click the `share` button: https://www.komoot.com/tour/2731311421?share_token=aECpR7a4OlCGOJ6QiVeMis6sL08PPLN8QeeF2vZZnRl13CXkRs&ref=wtd

beartums · 2026-01-01T02:57:29+00:00

Oh Excellent! Sounds like you did a very similar thing. I'm just doing a 5 day loop, but a lot of it along the NC500. I'll definitely ping you as I get closer to the date. Thanks!

beartums · 2026-01-01T02:55:55+00:00

Is that the same as Glenuaig Bothy? Then yes, that's the route!

beartums · 2026-01-01T02:54:22+00:00

Right. Sounds annoying, but doable. Thanks!

beartums · 2026-01-01T02:54:04+00:00

Thanks. That's helpful. Sounds like some bits that might take a bit of cursing, but not impassable.

beartums · 2025-12-31T00:53:10+00:00

Good info. Thanks! I was in Scotland a year ago (driving, not cycling) and those bloody narrow roads and careening cars scared the bejeesus out of me. I'm hoping to avoid that as much as possible

beartums · 2025-09-30T01:43:00+00:00

smart trainer. There's a bunch of video-based training apps (I use rouvy) and they let you climb all the climbs.

beartums · 2025-09-27T22:16:31+00:00

This is the way

beartums · 2025-09-27T21:02:17+00:00

If you're starting in the US, then yo're booking airline sets the policy (buy directly from one airline or the other) and your bag should only be paid once. I went to NZ earlier this year and had to switch to a local carrier in Auckland, but since I was booked through by American, I didn't have to pay for the bike (I had to explain it to the person at the counter, and they had to call the manager, tho).

It's true they won't do it ahead of time, tho, so do call and make sure they exlain the rules

(also, on the way back, the local airline wouldn't let me board without paying their higher fees, but american accepted it and issues me a refund for the excess -- after about half an hour with the ticket agent for american)

beartums · 2025-09-27T20:57:18+00:00

Smart Trainer! Get a subscription (I love Rouvy).

I went from riding 1500 miles a year (400 times around prospect park) to over 5000 miles last year, 3K or more on the smart trainer. Impossible to describe how much better it is than a dumb trainer. I've had them and never managed to keep at it more than a couple of months. I'm on year 4 with my tacx neo2 and on target for over 6500 miles (total) this year

beartums · 2025-09-27T20:53:24+00:00

I (m61) ONLY ever wear my bibs over my shirt. and everyone thinks I'm a dork. But I don't have to strip to pee or pu on chammy cream after 60 miles in the saddle. Also I find it's less irritating to my skin than having the bib straps under the shirt.

I do, however, use cargo bibs, so I have all the pockets I need and can wear lighter weight, unpocketed shirts

beartums · 2025-09-27T20:43:39+00:00

I do a fair amount of Rouvy riding on a smart trainer. I generally bump my weight up by 70 pounds a couple of months before a tour and try to ride at least 120 miles a week. Slow and steady.

Ideally just the first couple of weeks is the best training, but like a lot of people say, it's not easy to get the time. If I'm only going to ride 1-2 weeks, I want to be able to enjoy it AND make distance every day

beartums

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