Cycling Advocates
Ride to Pro Walk Pro Bike 2006 |
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| Daily Trip
Log |
Jack |
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from Vancouver B.C. to Madison, Wisconsin
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Picture of Vancouver, BC  |
| from Gillette
to Sundance, WY |
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Date: 2006-08-18
Distance: 106 Kilometres
Cycling Time: 5.89 Hours
Average Speed: 18.01 kph
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Trip Distance since Leaving Vancouver
- 2,282 Kilometres |
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Thoughts
for the Day
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Flat Tire Competition |
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John has now moved forward and expanded his
lead. It now stands at 6 to 1. Wait a minute. No, now it is 7 to 1. John
is riding on his 28 mm Specialized Armadillos tires while I use 38 mm Schwabbe
Sureguards. While others differ, I believe that when touring one should
use 38 mm tires or at least 35 mm. |
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John experienced his 6th flat early this afternoon.
I proceeded up a very long grade and waited for him, as I normally do, at
the crest of the hill. Well, in this case I waited for him on the down side
of the hill out of the wind. I had oiled the chain, ate a banana when a
van stopped and the driver let me know that John was on the other side of
the hill, at the bottom, fixing his flat. So, I turned around and started
to cycle back on the road’s shoulder going against traffic. Whenever
a truck came I found it best to slow right down thereby avoiding the truck’s
draft. Then a second van stopped to give me the same information. 4 kilometres
later I got to John. |
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Paranoia is a great thing especially when there
have been this many flats. On the second stop to check the tire pressures,
it appeared that the rear tire now seems to be lacking some air. So, out
with the pump. |
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Back at the motel it was confirmed that the
rear tire had a piece of wire inside the tube. Go for it, John
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Oil Wells |
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There is oil in these hills. Also, there is
gas. This area sits on top of cal deposits about 2 metres to 70 metres thick.
As we found out tonight from a local, there is also gas within the coal
seams. The greedy entities that held the coal rights believed that they
also got all the gas emitting from the coal. The courts disagreed so now
there is a beehive of activity in drilling for gas within these hills. |
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I-90 Warning Signs and Road Closure Gates |
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Along the I-90 from Gillette to here there are
flashing signs and gates that drop across the highway advising when the
highway is closed. It seems that this area is prone to high winds and snowdrifts
causing the closure of the I-90. |
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Morning |
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As we prepared to leave, John was in his short
cycling jersey and short cycling pants. As a contrast, I had a cycling jersey
on covered by a windproof vest, and then a fleecy. My fingers were covered
by lining gloves. To me, the morning started out cold. To John, it was warm.
How our bodies react differently to the climate. |
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Rolling Hills |
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The day was set up for a 100 kilometres ride.
From Gillette, there was a drop of about 100 metres followed by a climb
of about 300 metres into Sundance. The road was rolling with very long upsides
and downsides. The ride was on a plateau. The scenery transitioned from
rangeland to coniferous forested hills when we reached the peak above tree
line. After the summit, it transitioned back to farm ad rangeland. Pleasant
scenery to travel through. |
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| Cycling Facilities |
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I-90 |
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For most parts today, the paved shoulders were
in clean condition and of good quality. There were always some sections
that needed the winter sands to be cleaned off and some repair be made to
the surface. |
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I-90 Rumble Strip Placement |
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The rumble strip placement with respect to the
white edge line in Wyoming has varied. Instead of abutting the white line,
today the rumble strip was about 30 cm away. As a consequence, there is
less shoulder area available for a cyclist for manoeuvring in avoiding rethread
tires, glass, gravel, lumber, dead animals, and other sorts of garbage on
the pavement and also avoiding the effects of wind blast from large trucks
and buses passing by. |
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Sundance |
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A town of about 1,000 people with streets
so ridiculously wide and so little traffic one could walk down the middle
without problems. The town is located in a valley between two mountains
at an elevation of 1,460 metres above the tree line. Location provides
attractive scenery. Supper was in a local tacos restaurant. Not bad was
the food. A local event is on this weekend. Tonight it was very poorly
attended.
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Cyclists are crowding into the local motels
for an MS ride tomorrow. |
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