Category: Review
Go Pro Hero…The Handle Bar Camera For Bicycle Touring
12 Great Bicycle Touring Bikes For Women
WOW WALL Pop Quiz!!!
What Bike Do You Ride?
‘Its called Minerva Link, its not a trekking bike per se, but it’s doing a great job’.-Gabrielle Fenton from Belgium
‘TREK 520!’ Coty Hogue from America
‘I bought my bike in Belgium and took it with me to the States. It’s a Granville Terra 3, woman trekking-bike. Granville is a Belgium cycle brand. As I said, no problems whatsoever. It has around 16.000 miles on it now and I still love him to pieces’ Fien Hill from Beligium
’80s model Specialized Stump jumper’ Lori Bell from America
‘Pelago Stavanger’ Sissy from Finland
‘Koga Miyata Traveler’ Martien Deijsselberg From The Netherlands
‘Trek 7.3 Hybrid bike and now I use a Thorn Raven Sport Tour plus rohloff’ Alison Davies from England
‘Surley long haul trucker, it has been such a champ. I bought it off a bike shop for a great deal, it was an older model that had been sitting around. Before my tour I had a fixie that was light as a feather. Sometimes I can’t believe how much me and this bike have been through together..ha!’-Leah Manning
‘I ride a first generation Salsa Fargo. She’s a tank. In fact, Tank is her name after the film “Tank Girl”. It’s a heavy steel frame’-Robin Brodsky
‘Surly Long Haul Trucker; Mr. Hank the green turtle’ Shirine Taylor from Canada
“I ride a first generation Salsa Fargo. She’s a tank. In fact, Tank is her name after the film “Tank Girl”. It’s a heavy steel frame” Robin Brodsky
“2013 Kona Sutra” Angela Zheng
Thanks all for supporting solo female cyclist. Thanks for remembering to use the resource page in planning your bicycle tour. It’s how we keep our community rolling!
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Prana Cycling Pants
Prana Yoga pants are pretty much rock for cycling and elephant riding. The stretchy material make for a very comfortable ride. The high back is perfect and they also come in a quabillion styles! They are available at REI!
Rags To Riches…What’s The Best Tent For Bicycle Touring?
“Is that tent supposed to look that way” The campground manager says with a curious WTF sort of tone. I am tucked inside a claustrophobic cocoon of what remains of my mountain hardware 2.1 skyledge tent trying not to laugh. However, the broken rake that I propped under one of two sewn up zipper doors in order to combat last nights rain is just too much of a site for my sarcasm.
Mountain Hardware 2.1 Skyledge in Cape Town after a year of touring (about 300 solo female cyclist sleeps)
The longer I cycle tour, the less these things seem to matter” I chuckle from inside as I attempt to unsuccessfully sit up straight under the broken poles, contort my body into a pretzel shape and crawl out the permanently open zipper door. This is sort’a normal isn’t I think to myself as I stand up in the sand and straighten my new hay stack haircut, a frazzled homemade mess of locks resembling Cramer’s from Seinfeld. People like me really shouldn’t be allowed access to scissors. I think to myself as I run my fingers through my botched attempt at cutting off my own sun-baked hair.
(the red line is what I cycled, the dotted line is the sailing route, my apologies for the blurry map, it’s the best I could do)
Despite looking like a disheveled eighties rocker and feeling vain for the first time in a long while, I chuckle “I got lucky” as the managers well meaning concern for my lack of shelter forms a worried uncomfortable grimace across his hardly 20 year old innocent face.
I was given a new Hilleberg Jannu tent under sponsorship, it is coming in the mail, it will be here soon, I’m gonna crew on a sailboat across the Atlantic from Namibia up the Brazilian coast, then cycle the Americas to finish the cycling around the world thing. The tent will be perfect..from rags to riches, baby” I chuckle, feeling the glow of immense gratitude knowing Hilleberg The Tentmakers’s reputation as one of the best quality tent companies in the world.
Have you had a tent like that before?” The young manager asks looking far less concerned with my ‘who needs all the ‘right’ gear anyway, just go with what you got’ attitude. The same attitude that stop bothering to use a tent and started happily sleeping under the stars or road out of the wind instead.
wild camping due to broken tents, loads of fencing and high winds
‘I had the tough little Vaude Hogan for the first year of this 3 year world tour, great tent but I eventually lost the poles, it wasn’t worth the cost to replace them and the tent wasn’t free standing which was an issue when camping on rocky ground. I also tried an OR bivy sack, nice and light but there was too much condensation. I wanted something bigger. I’ve slept in the ultralight MSR Hubba Hubba 2 person, it’s is a popular tent, loads of space, great tent. My new Hilleberg Jannu has a half goedesic design, strong poles and top quality material… should hold up the best in the winds of Patagonia”
Big Agnes Fly Creek UL 2 Person in Tibet, China. The material was too light for continuous use, I stuck my hand through it after 3 months…2 days later after I slept in the Hilleberg Jannu…
How’s the new tent, do you get wet last night?” The young sleepy manager asks, his orange hoody is pulled loosely over his uncombed hair. The cloudy morning sky suggests there is more rain to come. I am standing next to my new tent proudly grinning. I am pondering how a TENT got to be so puuuurdy while debating if being orgasmically happy about a tent is something to worry about.
W.E.T,… in this? No way, I loooooove it. At 3 kilos after a zipper pull replacement, it is worth every ounce” My arms flail in full participation as if breaking into a happy dance before coffee over a tent is perfectly normal behavior.
This tent is amazing, I can’t believe how great it is. You really have to sleep in it to believe it, come on inside”. I utter as the manager uncomfortably grins, shifts his stance and takes a small step back. He turns and hurries off barely able to keep his flip flops on. Ooops…scared him… he either thinks there is a horney old maid trying to seduce him or that I’m some spastic over the hill lunatic with a fetish for tents…not sure which is worst I think to myself as I step through the huge tent door to spend the morning out of the rain, dry and comfy in my spacious sturdy tent thankful for my new sponsor Hilleberg!
LATEST From The WOW (Women ON Wheels) Wall
Every now again you get the rare opportunity to come across such an amazing adventure that about the only thing you can say is WOW. Meet adventurer Anne-Sophie Rodette, presently she is tackling Patagonia by UNICYCLE
Waiting On A Man, Rohloff, Where Are You?
Perched high in a round balcony, a widow peers out into the distance Mediterranean oceans waiting on a sailor who left for the hospital in Germany a long time ago. Since the early 1800’s, when the first widows perch was built women have sat patiently and waited for the return of a life they once knew. It is now 2012, I find myself in camaraderie with the women of history as I sit halted from my world bicycle tour waiting on a man, my hubby Rohloff.
The other day, I came across the rules for women cyclists in the 1800’s. Times have changed for WOW women on wheels for we are now not so rare. For instance in 1895, Annie Londonderry became the first women to cycle the world. Motivated by the suffragist movement, dared in a public courtyard, Annie set off by bicycle to show the world she could indeed take care of herself, and with a derailleur she probably did. Annie Londonderry certainly wasn’t waiting on a man to start or finish her world bicycle tour.
Fast forwards a few hundred years and unlike Annie Londonderry, I find myself waiting on a man, my hubby Mr. Rohloff Wheel. He has been a steady companion proving to be unstoppable in any condition through 18 countries. Never a tool have I ever held to his adjustments. As anyone who has read Top 5 Reasons Why Rohloff Makes The Perfect Hubby, I am firm believer in the modernization of too clog-able often replaced derailleur.
However, it is most important to remember that people have been pedaling up mountains wearing nothing but flip flops for a very long time. And going with what you got truly takes the Rohloff verses derailleur debate by any vote. Even so, I will never complain about my modern expensive hubby Rohloff’s reliability on mountain, desert and ocean roads. Mud, rust and clog free, his no maintenance style has softened my heart and turned me into a committed partner.
Regrettably, there had to be a trial separation recently between me and my hubby. He was sent off to Germany for repairs. Roadside assistance, he will not bear for he had busted his bearing, a not too common issue for his age. However, when his bearing blew he needed to be shipped to the Rohloff hospital in Germany, so I detoured my route and ventured to Greece, Cyprus from the Iran/Turkey border because EU Cyprus garnishes the EU data post mailing service.
So what is the story on how long a woman should wait for a man?
December 30th I sent my wheel to Rohloff Germany expecting an “expedited” repair, my hubby arrives 5 days later to Germany with the EU Data Post mailing service.
January 4th received by Rohloff and than a 5 days wait for the arrival of a tire I ordered from England sent to Rohloff. The Rohloff hospital in Germany indeed serviced my hubby very promptly and he left the shop for his return voyage with a new tire (1/11).
January 11th Rohloff’s return shipping of an expedited repair EU to the EU?,13 plus days and still no hubby. Apparently, he must have been sent by mule. By the time I get back on tour perhaps even my hubby Mr Rohloff Wheel will have joined the camp of cyclists who are and will always be derailleur fans.
January 18th The post office here in Greece EU Cyprus said that if Rohloff had of been sent as certified, registered and/or express mail, the same service that I utilized for my delivery of my hubby Rohloff, I could have been back in my wheels in 1-3 days.
January 24th 26 days later, Rohloff lingers longer then a widow at her perch longing for a life she once knew, and I still sit like my sisters of history not yet back on tour pondering the word “expedited repair” waiting on a man.
photo credit
photo credit
Rohloff or Roll On, You Decide
After about 30,000 uncounted kilometers, Pandemic The Magic bicycle is suffering a cough due to cold, a pesky hiccup of sorts that persists with a hypochondriac’s insistence that something is not quite right.
In 2009, my first magic bicycle tour began when I left SJS cycles in England on a thorn raven touring bicycle. I was equipped with full set of top of the line Shimano components, sexy steel forks and my Rohloff internal gear system. Rolling with full amazement that only a baby’s first steps to bicycle touring can muster, we headed out the bike shop door.
Fast forward, 16 countries, 2 and ½ years and about 30,000km’s later, I am now still on my first bicycle tour and many lessons away from Europe. I am in India having just pedaled the Himalaya. How’s the Rohloff rolling these days?…you might wonder. Wobble I do, on a possible warn bearing, through Kashmir, Manali to Leh highway and Spiti Valley of N. India. My Rohloff began wobbling in the Taklamakan desert, China with increasing retaliation about 4000km ago, instead of rolling with the same steady flawless confidence it has always shown. I contacted Rohloff, a company notorious for great service and support of bicycle tourists like me on the road. True to form, Rohloff responded immediately and will be replacing the bearing and warn sprocket at no cost, a 2 day repair plus shipping.
(Rolling on last year in Mongolia When I met Micheal on a titanium racing bike. He felt the Rohloff was too heavy)
Rohloff’s sturdy internal 14 gear system and longevity means the wheel wobble will not prevent me from pedaling forward through Pakistan, Iran and closer to Europe, where the entire wheel will be shipped back to Germany for the repair at no cost under an amazing lifetime warranty. I have met cycle tourists who over the course of a 4 year continuous bicycle tour had to replace their cassette, derailleur and entire gear unit not once but 3 times. Sure my wheel at the start costs a little more but after all this time of flawless gears while pedaling, one repair at the cost of 38 euros for shipping seems like quite the bargain. Rohloff or Roll on, you decide.
Ssshhhh, I Can’t Hear You…Why I Love My MSR Whisper Lite Stove
The MSR int’l whisper lite might lack the glimmer of a low simmer but boil it will in a record breaking spill
No need to buy the primus for surely all those fuel cartridges will cause an international fuss
Up in flames she went due to my unattended head, I screwed the cap on wrong, for I must have been thinking about a bong
To no avail, she recovered from my fail and she still burns great even if you’ve cycled all day and it’s getting late
Pasta on demand in a quick boiling camp pan, I am stumped for a better nutritional plan
High altitude passes and the Gobi desert she has gone and even then this stove hasn’t gone wrong
Her silent ways have been proven with every cent well spent even packed tight into a pannier you won’t find a dent
What’s that you say? You want one today but sssssh I can’t hear you. For the whisper lite is always right even if the operator is fresh from a rain soaked bicycle touring night
Special note: Just so you know, I am unsponsored by MSR and enjoy writing about things that have proven to work from almost 3 years of continuous bicycle touring through 18 countries. However, the bicycle ambulance project is on my mind. If you shop at amazon.com through this website it doesn’t cost you anything extra and I receive a small amount, about 1% of the sale. The money will go towards the purchase of a bicycle ambulance and will be given to a community in Namibia when I arrive by bicycle. The profits from the Be The Adventure T-shirts also go towards the bicycle ambulance project. If you shop at amazon.com anyway, a big thanks to you for remembering to shop through the amazon.com icon on the right sidebar.
Dear Rohloff
Dear Rohloff,
Please take care of my hubby Mr. Rohloff Wheel. He has been on quite a voyage and due to the fact that he is overweight and too large in certain areas, I was unable to ship him with his tube or tire. The postal service said NO, however an outlandish 20-30 day trial separation was suggested.
I walked across the border here in Turkey Cyprus to Greece Cyprus and found a shipping service that said yes he could go on a 3 day express holiday to Germany but only if he lost some weight and trimmed down his perimeter. I hope he arrives safely to you for his rehabilitation. I really appreciate your warranty hospital services for my hubby Rohloff, he has been unstable for quite some time. He definitely has got some issues that sparked our trial separation. His issues are:
- Wheel wobble, a gap between the sprocket and hub area, possible bearing
- The plastic cable cover that attaches to the wires for shifting that lead out of the hub has worn free
- If possible at no cost, I would love the other type/size of sprocket put on. I would like to have 3 more gears on the hills. It was set too high at Thorn at purchase because I did not truly understand at the time what I was being asked. I had never cycled before. This would also get me out of gear 7 which is my present pedaling gear and the one that wears the hardest over time. The ideal gear is 10 and I would love to pedal in gear 10 to take it easy on my hubby and continue pedaling the world.
- Also, if it’s ok, I will buy and ship you one tire and if it is ok you could use that to protect the wheel on the way back. The German postal system is a lot better than here so I think my hubby Rohloff’s overweight and length issues will not be of concern. Is that OK?
Thanks, my hubby’s stability has been deteriorating for quite some time and negatively affecting our relationship. I look forward to my hubby Rohloff’s return in an improved state so we can reconcile and continue to pedal together.
Signed,
The old ball and chain @skalatitude.com
Loretta Henderson (t-shirt size women’s S)
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Cycling Sandals…And the Happily Ever After
I would like to announce the upcoming matrimonial vows of Ms. Keene Cycling Sandal to Mr. Shimano Cycling Sandal. They will be married on the shores of Pantai Cenang Beach, Malaysia. In attendance will be a Canadian female bicycle tourist and her monkey. They will arrive by magic bicycle to attend the event and will be cloaked in floral bohemian cotton. The monkey will be wearing a Speedo swimsuit, a banana hammock of sorts to remain politely covered amongst the burka clad local Muslim women. Amongst the guests will be topless Swedish sunbathing tourists, Indian Malay parasailing entrepreneurs and local Malay Rastafarians adorned in decade old dreadlocks. Reggae beats unheard of since the heights of the Jamaican music scene in the 80’s will percuss through the shell lined sandy shores of the Andaman sea on Pantai Cenang beach. The menu will consist of $0.40 duty free beers and nasi goreng pedas (spicy fried rice), the local Malay specialty
Ms Keene Cycling Sandal is a delicate poorly constructed sort with a serial bride burnt out glow and a reputation for short marriages with a 3 month longevity. Her faults lie in the foot bed, angle strap and shoddy neoprene lining. Even since finding the perfect therapist and having new and improved angle straps sown in place, she still proves to be too delicate for bicycle touring. This is Ms. Keen Cycling Sandal’s third marriage in 16 months, she hopes by her union to Mr. Shimano Cycling Sandal to escape her serial bride reputation and turn a new pedal in the rolling game of bicycle touring commitments and longevity.
Mr. Shimano Cycling Sandal is the hearty, sturdy type with 3 thick velcro straps and concrete stiff inlaid spd housing, a rock solid masculine bloke with a stiff upper lip and proven longevity amongst bicycle tourists. This is Mr. Shimano’s Cycling Sandals first marriage.
The Canadian female bicyclist and her Speedo clad monkey have high hopes for Mr. Shimano Cycling Sandal’s sturdy commitment and proven longevity. And after 2 failed marriages, Ms. Keene Cycling Sandal could use a strong, sturdy well constructed replacement. Following the ceremonial exchange of vows, Ms Keen Cycling Sandal and Mr. Shimano Cycling Sandal will be honeymooning on a magic bicycle with the Canadian female bicycle tourist and her Speedo clad monkey in the semi arid Middle Eastern plains and the Africa sub-Saharan desert.
And if it doesn’t work out this time, there will always be lift out of town.