Water supply solution for Streetmachine GTe

Years ago I traveled to Baja Mexico with Greet Tortoise bus. While we stopped at Cataviña to see the cave paintings, I chatted with a lonely bicycle tourist. I remember asking him what was the most difficult part of his trip. He thought for a second, then said - water. In Baja it was difficult to find drinking water.

Now I have been planning a trip through baja of my own. I have read Graham Mackintosh'es first book - Into a Desert Place: A 3000 Mile Walk around the Coast of Baja California. His trip takes him to the extreme - he goes way of the beaten path. Graham distills fresh water from the sea at a times, he is so hard core.

My plan is to stay on the paved road, Highway 1 most of the time. Riding in the morning and resting in the afternoons. My goal is 30-50 miles per day. I will camp. I will carry a emergency dry food rations, and about 6L of water.

Now about the water - instead of giant plastic jug I have been having nightmares about I have invested into two 3L Nalgene CXC bladders, and Terracycle FastBack Double Century hydration pack. According to Bicycle Touring 101 website there are truck stops/shacks every 50KM or so, so there are places to get food and water.

Tracking my rides with an iPhone

 I have been working out how to keep track of my riding using iPhone 3gs.

My favorite programs so far are Cyctastic and MotionX.

Cyctastic wants you to register for any kind of data sharing, but I am not keen about that. In standalone mode it gives you audible cues - I have it set up to tell me when I have ridden a mile and the speed I am going at. If I have the phone in my front pocket with speaker facing up, I can hear it pretty well.

MotionX is my new favorite. It has audible cues, and supports downloadable maps too. So if I am planning a trip, I can select maps for it and just go. It does not do turn by turn routing however. You need their "drive" version, which I have not evaluated yet.

For turn by turn I could use TomTom which has bicycle mode as a part of routing. However, that is good only for a quick trips - the drain on batteries is pretty high when using GPS. I can get about 3 hours of use in GPS mode, then the phone is useless.

Right now I am investigating external power packs and solar charging to make iPhone a viable tool for long distance navigation.

There is an example of MotionX generated report.

Jul 10, 2011 11:48 am

Name:		Track 004
Date:		Jul 10, 2011 11:48 am
Map: (valid until Jan 6, 2012)		View on Map
Distance:		16.2 miles
Elapsed Time:		1:23:00
Avg Speed:		11.7 mph
Max Speed:		27.2 mph
Avg Pace:		05' 07" per mile
Min Altitude:		112 ft
Max Altitude:		220 ft
Start Time:		2011-07-10T18:48:26Z
Start Location:
	Latitude:	34.005264º N
	Longitude:	118.489827º W
End Location:
	Latitude:	34.004753º N
	Longitude:	118.488990º W

Day at the BentUpCycles

Today I went back to the BentUpCycles and spent couple hours test riding bents.

I rode HP Velo Scorpion FX and FS. There is my take on them:

Both are good trikes, but as I pedal they seem very sensitive to steering. I had to constantly work on keeping them going straight. That was not fun. On a smooth surface, FX is just fine until you tried the FS version. It is very smooth on the any suface. Pretty amazing stuff once you compare it to a non-suspension trike.

I also rode SWB steel frame Barcroft - owned and manufactured by BentUpCycles.

Barcroft is a fun bike, but I am spoiled by my rear suspension on Cannondale. I would not own a bike without a rear suspension on a recumbent. Barcroft, as zippy and fun, was hard on my tush riding over the hard stuff. Also, I was not in love with the handlebars - they were way too close and just after 10 minute test ride my hands were already little tired. There is an aero bar option for the Barcroft, but I still would want a rear shock on my bent.

Dana (guy in a red shirt) and Kate were super helpful and informative, too bad they did not have a HP Velo Grasshopper FX on display to try. And, according to Dana, they will not carry it anymore. The Grasshopper just did not sell well. He said that many dealers are not carrying the Grasshopper FX anymore because of that. And, even with the wheels off Grasshopper does not fit into a suitcase. It is just too bulky. So much for my "suitcase bent".

BentUp folks were building up a HP Velo Streetmachine GTe for a customer, but they did not have one to ride. So I could see it, but I could not experience the ride. Hence, I played with the Barcroft.

The Keen cycle shoes work well in cool weather. They keep feet a little warm, but while riding there is enough ventilation through the slats. My feet were comfortable. To put them on and off is also a cinch - thanks to the stretchable construction. Thumbs up so far, but let's see how long they will last.

So I am starting to lean towards a Streetmachine, especially if I could figure out how to transport in my car. Grasshopper folded should fit in a trunk. Again, more testing is required.