i’m thinking about doing this and trying to get as much information about pdx to sf fixed as possible, anyone who’s done this and has stories, tips, any information i could use, i’d appreciate it if you could pass it on to me.
You’ve got a place to stay in Arcata, if needed.
Supported? Or are you carrying your stuff?
Camping? Or are you packing light and staying in hotels?
I cant sight the source but I was reading about a couple guys who tried to do the entire Pac. Coast route fixed, and they bailed really fast!
I have done S.F. to L.A. several times, but that was on road bikes, and we either packed super light, or were supported.
not much help for you, but the terrain is similar.
I wouldn’t think of doing that ride fixed. Not just climbing in one gear, but doing all the descents fixed would be very exhausting!
yeah, the best (safest) route would probably be to hop over from Portland to the oregon coast and ride down 101. I drove the stretch from portland over to seaside then down to Eureka cali about a month back. That stretch would be way fun to ride but there are some gnarly bits to do fixed, if anyhting, front and rear brake. If you timed it right I could provide company from seaside to crescent city because I think a couple of us are doing that bit, but not fixed. I would estimate your ride to be ~700 miles, though I;m not positive.
^^what were you doing in the fear?
the fear? (I’m assuming this was to me)
ummm, i’ll be doing front brake, right now i have 49x16. i don’t know if i’ll be able to change; so i’m doing lots of hill climbs here to strengthen me. i won’t have a tent or sleeping bag. i’ll probably carry a tarp tlo sleep in or to hang for a tent if it rains. i may hitch hike part of the way. i have foraging skills and the ability to buy food along the way, so provisions aren’t an issue.
as it is, i guess i just wonder how brutal some of the hills are and how many days you think it’ll take based on your own mileage.
i don’t know that i will, but i 'll keep that in mind. thank you so much for the offer.
I would gear down considerably. You might want to consider carrying more provisions. Foraging is fine, but it takes time away from riding and you may be surprised how much you can (need) to eat when riding long distances. I would want a tent or hammock.
[quote=“grindmaster flash”]ummm, i’ll be doing front brake, right now i have 49x16. i don’t know if i’ll be able to change; so i’m doing lots of hill climbs here to strengthen me. i won’t have a tent or sleeping bag. i’ll probably carry a tarp tlo sleep in or to hang for a tent if it rains. i may hitch hike part of the way. i have foraging skills and the ability to buy food along the way, so provisions aren’t an issue.
as it is, i guess i just wonder how brutal some of the hills are and how many days you think it’ll take based on your own mileage.[/quote]
uhhh whats the longest you’ve ridden in a day before? Have you ever done any sort of touring before?
If you don’t have money for a new cog a rear brake and a freewheel you probably shouldn’t be starting on a 700 mile bike tour. Do you really want to have to pawn your bike in bandon and hitchhike the rest of the way?
This whole thing sounds ill planned!
If you said you had a touring bike and good gear and were going to take your time and get fit on the way…
or if you were already fit and going to travel super light and fast on a fixed gear…
Either of those sounds plausible… but it kinda sounds like you are setting out on a really risky trip.
Your going to Forage for food? and sleep on the ground with no sleeping bag? and after grinding up hills, your going to get down the other side at 30+mph on a fixed gear with only a front brake?
This whole thing sounds stupid! But add a brake and a Free cog and you might have a chance…
oh, yeah. most def. i plan on drying some bananas for some lightweight food to carry with me and some peanut butter and bagels. i’ll stock up on my way as well. but i’ve been basing most of my planning on travelling as light as i possibly can, and finding anyway i can leave another thing behind without making my life shitty.
[quote=“dutret”][quote=“grindmaster flash”]ummm, i’ll be doing front brake, right now i have 49x16. i don’t know if i’ll be able to change; so i’m doing lots of hill climbs here to strengthen me. i won’t have a tent or sleeping bag. i’ll probably carry a tarp tlo sleep in or to hang for a tent if it rains. i may hitch hike part of the way. i have foraging skills and the ability to buy food along the way, so provisions aren’t an issue.
as it is, i guess i just wonder how brutal some of the hills are and how many days you think it’ll take based on your own mileage.[/quote]
uhhh whats the longest you’ve ridden in a day before? Have you ever done any sort of touring before?
If you don’t have money for a new cog a rear brake and a freewheel you probably shouldn’t be starting on a 700 mile bike tour. Do you really want to have to pawn your bike in bandon and hitchhike the rest of the way?[/quote]
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110 miles in a day/a two day trip, a couple hundred miles total.
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i’m actually probably going to end up hitching some stretches with the bikes, which, yeah, it can be done. as far as the money, i wasn’t aware your position on the capitalist food chain affected your ability to ride a bike. will it be harder, sure. but i kind of like a challenge. i’ll probably also use every bit of my budget to make the challenge manageable, but i still prefer a challenge, and i love “roughing it”. i’m no wuss, and if it’s too easy, you have no stories.
You will need one of these!
[quote=“grindmaster flash”]
2. i’m actually probably going to end up hitching some stretches with the bikes, which, yeah, it can be done. as far as the money, i wasn’t aware your position on the capitalist food chain affected your ability to ride a bike. will it be harder, sure. but i kind of like a challenge. i’ll probably also use every bit of my budget to make the challenge manageable, but i still prefer a challenge, and i love “roughing it”. i’m no wuss, and if it’s too easy, you have no stories.[/quote]
Well it does; bikes aren’t free and neither is dealing with the unexpected. If you can’t scrounge up $30 for a freewheel and brake the chance of your trip ending in catastrophe is greatly increased. Not only will the ride be substantially less enjoyable without them but when something breaks you’re fucked. “Foraging” in the failed logging towns along the coast is a recipe for getting thrown in jail for a few days. Of course after three days of 55deg, 35mph winds, and frequent rain, which is not at all out of the question, that might be a welcome relief. Sure maybe you’ll get a good story but there is still plenty of room for adventure in a less illadvised trip with substantially less chance of being miserable for a couple of weeks.
You don’t need thousands of dollars in the bank to tour but biking down the oregon and california coast completely penniless with no shelter, warmth and inadequate food is just stupid.
Haha
[quote=“dutret”][quote=“grindmaster flash”]
2. i’m actually probably going to end up hitching some stretches with the bikes, which, yeah, it can be done. as far as the money, i wasn’t aware your position on the capitalist food chain affected your ability to ride a bike. will it be harder, sure. but i kind of like a challenge. i’ll probably also use every bit of my budget to make the challenge manageable, but i still prefer a challenge, and i love “roughing it”. i’m no wuss, and if it’s too easy, you have no stories.[/quote]
Well it does; bikes aren’t free and neither is dealing with the unexpected. If you can’t scrounge up $30 for a freewheel and brake the chance of your trip ending in catastrophe is greatly increased. Not only will the ride be substantially less enjoyable without them but when something breaks you’re fucked. “Foraging” in the failed logging towns along the coast is a recipe for getting thrown in jail for a few days. Of course after three days of 55deg, 35mph winds, and frequent rain, which is not at all out of the question, that might be a welcome relief. Sure maybe you’ll get a good story but there is still plenty of room for adventure in a less illadvised trip with substantially less chance of being miserable for a couple of weeks.
You don’t need thousands of dollars in the bank to tour but biking down the oregon and california coast completely penniless with no shelter, warmth and inadequate food is just stupid.[/quote]
well, you make some good points, but in my experience in other board experiences with you it seems that while you often have the right ideas, you take them too far, so while i acknowledge that you’re right that i should take care to make sure i have the right things and am prepared for emergencies and all that jazz, and prehaps i cast my trip idea in the wrong light (i’m not going penniless, as you seem to have gathered, and just jumping on some janky brakeless fixed gear with nothing but a hip pouch with a bag of chips in it), but i think somewhere in between two extremes and erring on the side of caution in a lot of situations is where the right idea is.
not to reject your ideas or argue with you, i think you’re on the right track and helpful, it’s just a matter of falling between extremes for me.
why are you so adamant against a rear brake and a freewheel?
i’m not adamant. i just have a track frame with a road fork. not drilled for a rear brake. also, i have a one sided fixed hub. it’s a simple matter of what i have. and i guess part of the impetus of me wanting to do this was to use what i have to see/prove (maybe) that it can be done.
then again, i know of a handful of people that have done similar tours down the coast, so i also know i’m not the first.
but yeah, it’s just based on the equipment i have.