Southern Tier Tinnitus
The Desert is comprised of sharp object designed to puncture your tires and air mattress.
These objects include but are not limited to goathead thorns, stainless steel wires from exploded truck tires, various cacti, rocks of all sizes, glass shards, thorn trees, and tire levers.
If the sharp objects don’t puncture your tube, the heat will melt and displace your rim tape, again, resulting in a puncture.
Do not move from the center of the road. If you do immediately stop and check your tires for goatshead thorns.
Use tubeless tires when riding in the desert.
Budget a quart of water every 12 miles or one hour, whichever comes first.
Drinking and driving is the rule in the desert, not the exception. Evidence of this is the broken bottles every 4.3 inches of roadway.
There are more pickup trucks than people on the desert. They travel at approximately 85 mph regardless of the road.
Roosters outnumber pickup trucks and usually don’t wait for dawn to crow.
18 wheel truck drivers regard cyclists as one step below road kill. (This is a gross exaggeration because many of them are exceptional drivers and do everything they can to avoid you).
Anyone you engage in conversation with brings added wisdom to your life.
The vast majority of people are good.
If you see someone stranded along the road, ask if they need any help.
Headwinds are evil incarnate. Tailwinds are proof of a higher power.
Wave to all oncoming drivers. They will wave back and think of you as a human being next time they pass a cyclist.
Try your high school Spanish on a native Spanish speaker. They will immediately switch to English but will appreciate the effort.
Belt (Fanny) packs rock. My man-bag and proud of it.
Wish I had a handlebar bag.
I didn’t use my rain gear, long sleeve jersey, or arm warmers. A pullover quarter zip was all I needed.
If you think you put your food in your right pannier, it will be in the left pannier and vice versa.
Don’t be afraid to go trick or treating for beer in a campground.
Circle K’s have water on their fountains which is both cold and free. Free is much less expensive than a $1.99 liter bottle of water.
Stop and say hi and thank the older lady cleaning up the roadside.
When your bike is laid on its side on the berm it makes a great backrest.
A long Zefal frame pump is hands down better than a modern short and fat pump.
When fixing your rear tire take the panniers, tent, and sleeping bag off first.
If your rear rack has a single point attachment to the frame and it fails, the entire rack will rotate backwards and immediately stop the bike. A string or tie wrap attached to the rack and seatpost will prevent this.
Disc brakes kick ass. Rim breaks overheat and melt rim tape.
If a road is closed and a local tells you to take it it may have continuous 2” wide cracks which will beat both you and your bike to pulp.
If you have to ride on a road under construction don’t hesitate to ride on the portion that is being paved.
Things like Garmin GPS’s and common tools make good barter items.
Tire shops will willingly let you use their water bags to find minuscule leaks in your air mattress.
RV parks are often averse to tenters. Call before you ride 5 miles there to camp.
Cell phone coverage may be found in the most remote place in the desert. Then again they might not have it in a large village.
Get to the Cleveland airport about 3 hours prior to the flight in order to provide enough time to check your bike and get through the TSA checkpoint.
If you have other words of wisdom please either comment or email them to me and they will be added!
Packing list…
Tom, sounds like an amazing experience and your blog was a great way to live vicariously through you..... but I think I'll stay in Summit County to ride now :)
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