Here's some motivation...Originally Posted by Darby
Ditto for me. Its only been 5 days for me, but I am determined to be rid of that habit. I love hiking too much.
A pack a day=$4/day where I am from. So x30 that is $120 A MONTH that you will be saving...can you think of some ways to spend that scratch?!
That's a beautiful bike! I'm so jealous!
I've got an old road bike that was my uncles (then grandfather's, then dad's, now mine). He rode it during college, repainted it himself, and then it got passed through a few sets of hands. I'm thinking of repairing it myself (it needs a good tune-up!), but will likely end up with a new (to me) bike in the end.
Thanks on the bike comments. I wanted something different. It's a bit flashy for touring but she has over 10000 miles on her now so she's tough enough.
Froldt, if you have a classic bike and you want to fix it up and modernize it go see http://www.cyclesdeoro.com/. Dale's not building frames at this time but he does a nice job of restoring them. If your going to do an upgrade go to brakelever shifters. They're great on loaded touring bikes.
I too, have never tried a recumbent. I don't have any trouble staying in a regular saddle all day. But I think my neck and hands would like the sitting position on one of those things. At 52 I've spent a lot of hours hunched over those drop bars.
One trick I've learned for setting up the hammock for bike touring is to elevate the feet. It really helps to get the acids out of the muscles.
If you must choose between two evils, opt for the one you've never tried before
I highly recommend trying one of these bikes out...twice! The first time is the hurdle--learning to lean back into the seat, and just pedal. Once you get going, the old gyroscopic balance comes right back from your normal cycling. So, the second time will be better than the first! The third time...watch out world, here I come!
As far as riding upright bikes. My first bike was a mountain bike that I had set up for touring. But I am pretty sure the frame was one size too big for me, and this caused issues with sore hands and more importantly, sore bum. Like btourer indicated, if the bike fits you the bum is not going to be in pain. But, once I had this experience, I had to look into recumbents. I found the one I got for a mere $200. (Plus, another $200 from an anonymous donor as a gift...thanks, Mom!
I have experienced no pain in the butt on the recumbent. (Other than my glutes, more later!) There is no pressure on the hands. The neck is not going to be sore due to the fact that you are sitting back. (But the sun is going to get in your eyes more!) These three things are enough for me!
One thing about recumbents is that they work different muscles than standard bikes. So, many folks get discouraged after switching to a recumbent because they tend to push their muscles too far at first, or get upset because they cannot ride very far and think the bike is really inefficiant! Well, that is alot like people who won't ride an upright because they complain that the seat hurts too much. You have to let your body become familiar with the machine before you can become a smooth operator...smooth...operator. (Sorry, that song came into my head!)
Wow! I am so glad I mentioned bike touring...gettin' advice from someone who has done what I am trying to do! Thanks! If anyone wants anymore info on bent bikes, feel free to PM me, and I could steer you in the right direction...
I don't know that I'd go so far as to say I have a classic bike, just an older one. Then again, for all I know it was top of the line when new... -shrugs- The bike is actually in storage right now. I'm heading back that way in a couple of weeks for spring break, so I'll have to take a serious look at it and see what it needs to be up and running reliably.
I don't remember ever having any neck problems on an upright bike. However, I can see where a different seating position would be a nice change.
not trying to be hard-nosed or anything guys<G>, but we should steer it back to how "hammocks" are used w/ bike touring or take it to PMs as Narwhalin suggested.
i know other stuff will be brought up from time to time & talked about briefly, but if we get deep into conversations about all kinds of other things, Hammock Forums will lose some of it's distinctness as a place people can go to be informed about "hammocks".
thanks. ...tim
I too will something make and joy in it's making
So, could a bike be used as a post when trees are limited? Narwhalin is from Kansas after all. Kind of like what Risk did with the single post thing? Seems like it would be more unstable than the post. Ya know, because it has wheels.
Trust nobody!
I have also thought about this!
I think the best we can hope for might be a place to tie a tarp when you go to the ground. You could tie a line from the ground to the horizontal top tube of the frame, and then a tarp could pull from the other direction on the tube. Theoretically, the line going to the ground and the tarp line would be able to keep the bike up...theoretically!
But I am not sure about hanging from the bike! I am pretty sure the top tubes could support the weight, but not positive. Also, the top tube is usually too short from the ground to do this, but what about the seat? Perhaps you could raise the seat up, and achieve enough height. Also, this would put the load on the bike frame where it should be. (Down into the seattube, rather than on top of the horizontal top bar.
Interesting idea!
I've used my rain fly as a tarp strapped between 2 bikes. You could easily do it with one. I don't think I'd try to put the stress on the bike by hanging a hammock from it.
Where are the mathaletes when we need them?
It does seem to this math-challenged soul that there would be a lot of force on the bike. Still, it'd be cool if it worked.
Trust nobody!
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