The Chainlink

preparing for 500 mile trip to toronto!

Hey all,
Me and a buddy are planning a trip to toronto in the following months and although i've been researching and preparing i still have a few concerns that someone who has (a) been to toronto from chicago (car or bike) and (b) someone who has traveled a long distance such as this.

firstly: i am concerned that there will be a lot of hills or rough terrain once we hit canada. Considering we are used to the flatness that is midwest, I would just like to be prepared, so if anyone has traveled to toronto from here, is it mainly flat throughout, or do you hit mountains or big hills on the way?

secondly: both of our bikes are single speed, and i want to get optimal gearing for this long of a trip. I know its hard to give gearing advice because of the many factors that go into it. However, neither of us have traveled this far, and I don't want to be caught off guard with a gearing that felt good the first two days and miserable the next three.

thirdly: (still part of (b)), for anyone who has traveled more than a few days on a trip, is 100 miles a biking day realistic, underestimated, or overestimated? like i've said before after the first couple days would it possibly be too much of a load?

Thanks for all your advice and help! We are very excited about this trip and want to be completely prepared.
-giovanni

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Permalink Reply by Jamie on March 5, 2009 at 6:39pm
it's not mountainous at all. toronto and southern ontario is similar to wisconsin, michigan and other great lakes states. I was just there for a long weekend (lots of cyclists there too!)

personally I think a long distance trip like this on a single speed is a bad idea. but don't let that stop you.
Permalink Reply by GabeW (not the other Gabe) on March 5, 2009 at 8:51pm
Do you have a flip flop hub at least? And why not bring a bunch of cogs and a chain whip so you don't get stuck wishing you had a different gear.
Permalink Reply by Ali on March 6, 2009 at 12:47am
GabeW (not the other Gabe) said:
Do you have a flip flop hub at least? And why not bring a bunch of cogs and a chain whip so you don't get stuck wishing you had a different gear.

He needs gears with a really wide range and dropping a few teeth or adding a few would not even come close to accomplishing that...What he needs is a touring rig with a triple upfront and ideally an 8, 9, 10 speed in the rear.

Remember even if it is flat you will be tugging a lot of gear and will either have a bitch of time fighting that loaded rig against the wind. Riding a 100 miles a day with no serious prior conditioning is just asking for trouble, MARK is right, put half your touring gear on your bike and try to do 50 miles and see if it is anything different than what you thought it would be. Just me 2 cents...

-Ali
Permalink Reply by giovanni torres on March 6, 2009 at 2:48am
hey guys!
thanks for the advice. I know having a ss is going to suck, but right now it is my only bike and although i may get another one before the trip, I am planning on taking that.
I ride about 20-30 miles on a day of daily commuting with a decent payload of books and such, but I still feel like I am not even close to prepared.

My friend and I have been biking to and from wisconsin about once a week if the weather permits in preparation, its about 50 miles one way but it seems like a drop in a pond compared to this trip. We are planning for late june and are already preparing (hence the post). I am confident that when we get to the day we will reach our goal, and hell if we don't I'm sure it will be fun either way right!

As far as gear goes, I'm a minimalist so i just need a change of clothes toothbrush and a little food (i'm not trying to impress anyone as i'm sure i'll be smelly) and of course repair necessities, but there is two of us so that cuts some weight.

Its good to hear that the path isn't too bad, i talked to someone earlier today and they said the same thing so that's at least reassuring. We plan to go through michigan, and a buddy of ours will take us across from detroit, since i hear you cant cross the bridge on a bike. I don't know much about the canadian path.

ultimately, I am feeling like its going to come down to our training and preparation, anyone have nutritional tips?

ps. having an iphone with gmaps is going to come in handy for directions
Permalink Reply by Chuck a Muck on March 6, 2009 at 8:23am
Giovanni your hardcore man doing this trip on a ss. also you might want to re-think your toothbush and change of clothes idea. A sleeping bag and tent are nice also some wet weather gear would be a good idea.
Oh and from experience padded mountain bike shorts are awesome for long distance rides.
Permalink Reply by on2wheels on March 6, 2009 at 9:06am
One suggestion I have is to talk to a guy with the handle "Baldman" on the Craigslist Bike Forum. He as done quite a bit of loaded touring and a fair bit of it on a single speed or fixed gear in California. He would be able to answer some of you more specific questions about gearing and such.

And ignore all of the trolls, jokes and food talk and you can come away with some valuable information.
Permalink Reply by pistola on March 6, 2009 at 3:11pm
I went touring on a SS up into Southern Wisconsin towing a trailer with about 50lbs worth of camping gear for 3 days. I personally would not recommend that. I've done a decent amount of touring, including a 1100 mile trip from San Diego to La Paz, and I'll say this the first 4 days are the toughest, especially if you're doing 100 miles a day back to back. Don't forget all the gear and water you'll have to carry in June. I hope you guys wear cycling shorts at least. For some good route suggestions to Toronto check out crazyguyonabike.com Tons of great touring routes/info.
Permalink Reply by Matt M. 18.5KM on March 6, 2009 at 4:04pm
GIOVANNI! Have a look at the Adventure Cycling website to check for connecting routes - they should keep you safe and cut out some of the planning.

www.adventurecycling.org
Permalink Reply by T.C. O'Rourke on March 6, 2009 at 4:11pm
You wouldn't have to replace you're bike, necessarily. You could always build a wheel with an internally geared hub, 3 or more speeds.

100 miles a day for five days is ambitious even with multiple gears. If you can swing a week, it's nice to have leeway and/or a day off.

Regardless, you may suffer, but you'll be fine. I've ridden as far as Minneapolis on a fixed gear track bike, through driftless (unglaciated) southern Wisconsin, up to 150 miles a day. Several people told me I would not be able to do it.

I like traveling on my touring rig a lot better, but I'm glad to have had the fixie adventures. Do it before you know better.
Permalink Reply by S on March 6, 2009 at 8:13pm
Just a heads up. You won't be able to use your iPhone in Canada without having a hefty roaming charge. Think thousand dollar range if you use a lot of data services. Also when you get close to the border watch out for your phone using a cell tower in Canada because it's stronger. It'll still count as international roaming even if you're in the us. A gps receiver with us and canadian maps might be a better option since without a data connection gmaps won't work.
Permalink Reply by giovanni torres on March 6, 2009 at 11:09pm
hmm yeah i keep forgetting canada is still a different country :), while having the iphone helps i am still a paper and pen sort of guy, i'm not forgetting that electronics need electricity. Plus as long as we have wifi we can access internet (if we need to).

good idea with getting a 3spd hub, i am going to look into that, doesn't sound too complicated.

I was looking into this tent partly because of the weight, and the fact that it uses an innertube for support which will double as a spare tube in an emergency. doesn't seem like i can get anything better for the price and weight.
I will of course bring appropriate gear, wasn't planning to sleep under the stars, i grew up in the Adirondack mountains so i know how a beautiful comfortable day turns into a frigid night. But like i said, i don't need things that aren't complete necessities. I've seen some things that people deem necessities to be quite ridiculous sometimes.

The 100 miles back to back is a big concern of mine but i'm [trying] to remain optimistic, and just train until then.

pistola and matt thanks for the awesome links!
thanks again guys.
PS. i never leave town with out my passport ;)
Permalink Reply by Mike Bullis 5.5-6.5 miles on March 7, 2009 at 3:02pm
That is a nice tent. I use a Eureka Zeus Classic, myself. Packs pretty small and is on the lower side of the two pound scale.

Like what has been posted here before, do some serious training. I've done back to back to back to back double centuries in my younger days. I wouldn't go out of my way to do it again but a hundred a day should be no problem. Some of us older folks now opt for 'touring by plastic' i.e. riding all day and spending the night in a motel. Cuts down on the amount of gear required.

A 3 speed hub like the Sturmey AW is the catsass for touring. I actually prefer it to a triple chainwheel setup. It has a 25% decrease and a 33.3% increase from direct. Decide on what is more important to you, climbing with a load or top end, and work out your gearing from there. I ran a 46-20 on an AW with 26"x1 3/8" tires on a fully loaded bike on last years Lake Pepin 3 Speed Tour and had no problem with hills. I have upped to a 22 on the back for this year because I wanted to lower the high gear a bit. I have it a 72" now.

Have a blast.

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