Touring & Ride guides

"terryc" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 09 Jul 2009 17:41:16 +1000, D&M JOHNSTON wrote:

You might be best to check out Cheeky Transport Cycle shop in Newtown as
they tend to cater for the touring & Courier crowd.
http://www.cheekytransport.com.au/

Nothing on website.

Have you been in and do they sell any Australian touring guides?

Terry, I haven't been into their shop since it's been in Newtown so I
couldn't tell you but they do cater alot for touring/commuting & they have
many Bicycle Courier customers(well they did have when they were near
Central Stn). They were kind of too much Uni/Hippie/ Alternative for me
there and most of their clientelle had grunge hairstyles but nevertheless,
they had some good gear.
They used to have maps/guides avail.

There is another Bike shop in King street newtown which is kinda huge and
they had some good books &^ maps a few yrs back. I think that was King St
Cyclery..

It's been more than 3 yrs since I've been anywhere near the city on a
bicycle so I'm really outa touch these days.


Cheers
DJ

On Fri, 10 Jul 2009 18:07:27 +1000, D&M JOHNSTON wrote:


It's been more than 3 yrs since I've been anywhere near the city on a
bicycle so I'm really outa touch these days.

Same boat but nearly a decade.




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In article ,
"Kathy and Steve" wrote:

I met a young man on
the road a while back and offered him a hot food, hot shower and a warm bed,
and he followed me home

If a woman offered me that I would probably follow her home as well.

regards,
20cents

In article ,
terryc wrote:

So, what do people really want in a guide?
routes to follow?
general area information?
how current?
$AUS20 too much to pay?

Dave Noble's website is a good start:
http://members.ozemail.com.au/~dnoble/Sydneyrides.html

In addition, I would like to see:
a. a good quality map with the route drawn (and guidance on distances
along the route),
b. what sort of bicycle is required *,
c. a grading system for difficulty,
d. cheap accommodation in the area - preferably camp sites (for those
who travel loaded) and cabin/motel/hotel (for those who don't)
e. nearest bike shop,
f. info on weather (if relevant),
g. likely ride time (this one is difficult but probably to nearest
half-day),

All of this makes a hard copy book less attractive than a website that
has each ride on a separate page. I would not object to paying $5 to be
able to download info for a ride and would prefer that approach rather
than download a book. If a hard copy book was the only way to access the
details then I would think $20 or more would still be reasonable but I
would want to be able to photocopy relevant sections to take on the ride.

regards,
20cents



* I tried to ride the Munda Biddi earlier this year on a loaded tourer.
It was never going to work because of the pea gravel, which was a
nightmare on logging roads much less single track. I could have done it
with a great deal of difficulty on an unloaded tourer but a mtb would
have been a heap of fun. But the local club still spruik it as suitable
for mtb or tourer without any caveats and you *must* carry a load if
doing anything more than a day trip.

On Sat, 11 Jul 2009 06:59:26 +0000, 20cents wrote:

In article ,
terryc wrote:

So, what do people really want in a guide? routes to follow?
general area information?
how current?
$AUS20 too much to pay?

Dave Noble's website is a good start:
http://members.ozemail.com.au/~dnoble/Sydneyrides.html

Exactly what there is good?


In addition, I would like to see:
a. a good quality map with the route drawn (and guidance on distances
along the route),
Map licencing fees can cost more than printing the book. The big problem
with maps is that there are no cheap good mapping systems. Without these,
each map is a detailed graphic that has to be totally redrawn when
changed.

For the above reasons, the approach has been to say "go out and buy this
map to use with this book"


b. what sort of bicycle is required *,
Thin tyre(1"/25mm), hybrd(1.25-1.5"/30mm-40mm) fat tyre(1.75"+/45mm+);
that sort of recommendation?
My 2c is that goes with the road surface and your choice. Some of us old
wrinklies just did everything on 1.24" tyres as that was all there was.

c. a grading system for difficulty,

Based on?

d. cheap accommodation in the area - preferably camp sites (for those
who travel loaded) and cabin/motel/hotel (for those who don't)
Would you be prepared to look that up online?
Traditionally this was done and in some cases it is simple. Others not;
e.g Dungog, NSW now has about 60+ places. Basic is the caravan park, and
two pubs in town, then all sorts of other. List the caravan and pubs and
a recommendation for online?

Is it acceptable to say free camping in all state forest and more than
100 metres from roads in national Parks and leave it at that?

Or are you thinking you would like all camp sites(pit toilet locations)
listed as well?

Traditionally, guides might list any nice place to put up your tent and
leave you to sort out difficulties(e.g ask permission or know to keep out
of sight), but authors are very wary these days.

e. nearest bike shop,
What level of bike shop?
Most places, the bike bits are kmart bike level.

f. info on weather (if relevant),

g. likely ride time (this one is difficult but probably to nearest
half-day),

Traditionally, you would say X day(s), & give distance. Some people can
easily do 100km+ in a day (credit card tourer, good sealed roads), where
fully self contained camper looks at 50-60kms/day(less in mountainous on
forest roads).

All of this makes a hard copy book less attractive than a website that
has each ride on a separate page. I would not object to paying $5 to be
able to download info for a ride and would prefer that approach rather
than download a book.

Would you believe that back in the 70's, online access was seen as the
goal. No one liked the expenses and tyranny of book printing ($ tied up,
stock to store, distribution problems) but it was the only feasible way
then.

Is it just the immediate access that appeals?

Theoretically, with an online shop your order should be only two days
away. In my experience, Aust Post is that fast for "letters" (6x A4 in
standard envelop).


If a hard copy book was the only way to access the
details then I would think $20 or more would still be reasonable but I
would want to be able to photocopy relevant sections to take on the
ride.

Never thought there would be any objection to doing that.

* I tried to ride the Munda Biddi earlier this year on a loaded tourer.
It was never going to work because of the pea gravel, which was a
nightmare on logging roads much less single track. I could have done it
with a great deal of difficulty on an unloaded tourer but a mtb would
have been a heap of fun. But the local club still spruik it as suitable
for mtb or tourer without any caveats and you *must* carry a load if
doing anything more than a day trip.

aargh, so you really needed fat tyres to spread the load to make head way
with a load. Is the pea gravel natural or have they taken to surfacing
the track with it?


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Kathy and Steve wrote:
We should all get together and put our rides on the net maybe?

www.bikely.com is handy, though maybe not a great choice for touring
type rides (I don't know). Great for ideas if you've got an idea of
where you want to go and need a specific route.


Hamish

Hamish Moffatt wrote:
Kathy and Steve wrote:
We should all get together and put our rides on the net maybe?

www.bikely.com is handy, though maybe not a great choice for touring
type rides (I don't know). Great for ideas if you've got an idea of
where you want to go and need a specific route.


Hamish


OSM maps can have bicycle tracks added, plus it's downloadable to Garmin
GPSs. You're better off to use that.

On Fri, 17 Jul 2009 07:02:04 +0800, Davo wrote:


OSM maps can have bicycle tracks added, plus it's downloadable to Garmin
GPSs. You're better off to use that.

What are "OSM Maps"

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terryc wrote:
On Fri, 17 Jul 2009 07:02:04 +0800, Davo wrote:


OSM maps can have bicycle tracks added, plus it's downloadable to Garmin
GPSs. You're better off to use that.

What are "OSM Maps"


You've never heard of OSM maps?

Open Street Map (OSM) is an open source project where anyone can upload
to and edit a common map. There is no copyright to it and it is updated
continuously by contributors.

www.openstreetmap.org



There are sites where you can download the map and install it into to
Garmin GPSs, all totally free.

Davo wrote:

There are sites where you can download the map and install it into to
Garmin GPSs, all totally free.

http://www.osmaustralia.org/downloads.php

Note the availability of specific cycling maps: "Bike track
focused maps with the bike tracks given prominence over roads."

John