Danneaux's Nomad

[jags]

Thanks John the more i hear this guy the better i like him ,he has a beautifull air to his voice and a nice guitar player nothing fancy just solid playing.
i used to go to a great session every friday night but it got a bit out of hand ,we had too american musicans sit in with us one of the nights man they were good,   blues  guitar player and the other mouth organ really top class players , but i think they were kinda surprized how good we were but yeah some great music that night great memorys indeed.
must try and get that album.
thanks again lads enjoyed ian's music.

[Danneaux]

...nerves with soon start to kick in.

Well, sure! I *always* leave with "butterflies", and value them for keeping me sharp and preventing me from doing something stoopid. They leave once I've been on the road a bit, but are still handy to avoid initial problems due to inattention.

Best,

Dan. (...who has been known to do Foolish Things in the past when the butterflies were absent or ignored)

[jags]

yeah the best of luck dan with your adventure tour really looking forward to taking a back seat on this one.night night.

[Danneaux]

Hi All!

As a result of efforts both yesterday and today, I have made the decision to depart early on *Sunday* the 14th. Doing so will allow me to meet my full touring goals while solving a number of problems that came to light recently.

Here in the States, the Fourth of July Independence Day is the kickoff for most people's summer holidays, and the majority of those taking a summer vacation take at least two weeks starting then. The trouble this year is the holiday fell on a Thursday, which messed with the timing for combining the holiday with a weekend. As a result, there has been a mad scramble for parks and camping reservations and everything is still booked solid, from forest camps to private campgrounds.

Second, my planned escape route from Eugene was subject to a rockslide and considerable reconstruction efforts are being directed toward repairs, which would result in substantial delays for me. The preferred alternative is also out of the running -- the roads department is lowering the floor of the Salt Creek Tunnel midway on the route, and there are delays of as much as 10 hours at a time between openings, with traffic allowed through only by pilot car.

I spent yesterday in the car, pre-running another route through Quartzville, a former mining community in the mountains above Sweet Home, Oregon, that runs between Foster Dam and Greenpeter Reservoir. I'm glad I did pre-run it, as it was wholly unsuitable for my needs at this time. Seemingly the whole of the mid-Willamette Valley's population has fled to the area for fishing, camping, and general hanging out, with frequent supply runs to Sweet Home to replenish beer supplies. The result is the 1.5 lane forest service road has been reduced to .33 lanes, and the drivers are wobbling and weaving along through a mass of humanity in all its myriad forms, from unattended 2 year-old toddlers to seniors in take-along leather recliners and all the comforts of home in everything from million-dollar motorhomes to tarps strung along the road. I...don't know what they are doing for sanitary facilities, but from the smell, it seems convenience has carried the day over hygiene. Water is not the preferred drink, but is available from the river and reservoir...below the road (with obvious implications -- Eew).

Today's alternative is up the McKenzie River, and the clear winner among the options. I found an ideal first-night wild-camping site, and there are stores, water all along the way, and even cell-phone service right up to and in camp -- unusual for me, but most welcome. Best of all, that first day is only 72 miles/116km of relatively easy grades, a nice runup to the next day, which is going to have about 45 miles of 6-8% grades with no breaks accounting for just over half the distance. The next day will take me into the small town of Sisters and thence to the "wet" side of the Ochoco mountains for my third night's camp.

Waiting makes lots of sense. After I left Sisters today, I was stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic for five miles on returning to town, crawling along at only 5mph/8kph. It was just late Sunday afternoon returning vacation traffic coming from Bend and the resort areas, and a good proxy for all that is going on at the moment. By going Sunday morning, I'll spend that first night in my own little camp, then proceed onward on a weekday just outside the 2-week vacation window when all the tourist traffic has cooled considerably.

Even better, the fires later in my route are coming under control, and it is expected another week or two should see them out. This is a nice relief, as the air quality in that area has been reported as chokingly bad with smoke, and this will give it time to clear.

So, though I am champing at the bit, it seems wise to defer again from mid-week to Sunday morning, a week hence. The bonus is, I picked up a short-term consultancy I can finish by Thursday or Friday to pad the trip coffers slightly.

Best,

Dan. (...who is hoping a delay now will mean none later and whose exploratory trip today makes him even more eager to be off and away)

[Andybg]

All sounds as though the plan is in hand and the count down is truly on. Fingers crossed for no more delays and looking forward to hearing all about the epic tour as it unfolds or will it be a full update at the end?

Andy

[Danneaux]

...the count down is truly on...

My, Andy, that describes it! Always *so* much to do in the last remaining days before leaving, but things are still looking good for a Sunday morning departure.

I did find one thing worked really well on Sunday's scouting trip: The little keychain wifi-finder. It lived up to its 500ft/152m range, and displays signal strength in four green LEDs...or red for none at all. While it doesn't tell if the signal is open or security-enabled, it does show if there is one and where and how strong. It would be just the thing for quickly setting up outside a McDonald's and using the computer on the sidewalk in the strongest signal location so I wouldn't have to leave the bike alone.

Most fast-food chains and public libraries have open wifi, and this will at least avoid taking the netbook out and wandering around with it open and running, like a modern-day Diogenes of Sinope, in search of an honest man (See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diogenes_of_Sinope ). He lived in an earthen jar and ate onions, but didn't have to also deal with a loaded touring bike and trailer while searching, as I would. the wi-finder will help greatly.

Fingers crossed for no more delays

Thanks! Me, too!

...looking forward to hearing all about the epic tour as it unfolds or will it be a full update at the end?

As I can along the way, I'll upload the occasional photo and brief update. On my return, I intend to get a host, establish a website, and reproduce my on-trip blog by the day. A bit like the CGOAB accounts we've all read, but self-hosted so I can set it up and link it to or embed multimedia as I'd like. By taking the little netbook, I hope to type up each day's impressions and save it and the day's still and vidcam card-dumps in the same hard drive folder to make it all a bit easier to assemble when I get home. I'll be geotagging the photos and videos also, in hopes it will make later identification and location easier. I'll probably also do the occasional "bedside video chat" either on after arrival in camp or upon awakening in the morning. That worked pretty well in 2010.

This trip will see me free of battery-charging worries, thanks to the two dynohubs/chargers and the Joos Solar panel/accumulator battery, the last exceeding all USB charging expectations at present. It is a fuss-free, all-in-one charging solution that is small, dependable, and independent of my effort, so it will charge whether I am riding or not and can be used for charging at rest, in camp, or while I sleep. I am hoping the lot will do as well on the road. Having the equivalent of three bikes' charging capabilities while away from mains power means I can freely use my battery-powered gadgets without concern. The netbook will require more care, as its charging requirements exceed what my present equipment can replenish. Hopefully, the projected long battery life will see me through to the next mains charging outlet. The ability to (re)charge my gadgets reliably during *extended* periods away from mains power has been a dream of mine for many years. It all works in trials, so it will be terrific if it works in practice over the course of the tour.

During Sunday's scouting trip, I took the opportunity to locate a first night's wild camp and found a really nice one at the end of a stub road (see pic below, leading to my camp). It has it all: Cool, green, unused double-track leading past several car-barriers to open into a level meadow. It appears there might have once been a hunter's camp at the end, but deadfall and plant growth shows it hasn't been used in well over a year.

I'll still be online here till departure, so will update as things come together.

Thanks for the good wishes!

All the best,

Dan.

[jags]

best of luck Dan fingers crossed all goes well,the weather over here is fantastic at te moment we are having a HEAT WAVE  unbelievable,
i know you guys get much more severy weathere conditions than us ,so just be carefull how you stick that kinda heat is a mystery to me ,we had 28 deg here today same tomorrow  man it was hot.
anyway look forward to the ride report and loads of videos and photos.

[Danneaux]

Hi All!

A couple photos from this evening's Extrawheel trailer load and packing trials to show you. These were taken on the banks of the Willamette River, accessible by bike path just a couple city blocks from my home. The fishing was good, as you can see from the riverboat in the background. Still 79°F/26°C as I type this at 9:20PM/21:20.

The Nomad rode very nicely, and I did my usual with panniers, tying these to the Extrawheel trailer with Fastex-buckled cinch straps so the bags, contents, and rack all behave as one solid unit when hitting bumps, potholes, or on rough roads. It really makes a positive difference in making the loaded bike -- any bike, I've found -- feel secure. It makes for a silent ride, too, as you never hear the contents rattling 'cos they're held limpetlike to the rack and second-order vibrations are quelled.

Best,

Dan.

[Andybg]

Looking good Dan. I am sure this tour is going to be a hive of experience and great testing for the rig.

Andy

[sg37409]

Like the look of the road to your campsite. 

Your touring rig is immaculate; build and finish. For me though, I prefer to see a fully loaded solo bike.

[jags]

stick around  SG it will soon be loaded you can rest assured of that.

[Danneaux]

For me though, I prefer to see a fully loaded solo bike.

<nods> I agree; my preference as well. Yes, Steve, the bike will soon be loaded with pics to follow. In general, I much prefer riding without a trailer*, but one is necessary for this trip to better haul the extra 20l of water I need, and it will also be pressed into electrical charging duties to augment the bike's dyno-charging and solar panel with accumulator to keep up with the use load of three vidcams and a digicam as well as the other electronics like the cell phone, SteriPen UV water purifier, GPS, etc while spending extended time away from mains charging.

*Back to "trailering": I generally prefer the single unit of a loaded touring bicycle alone, as it is far easier to get into restrooms, over guardrails and fences, and portage in general, less likely to snag on sagebrush when riding cross-country in desert, and one less thing to watch or lock up when away. However, the trailer in this case distributes the load across three wheels total so there is less likelihood of sink-in on damp playa, and the bike itself is not so heavily laden when heavy water stores (20l+) are carried.

Frankly, I look at the all-up maximum loaded weight of the Nomad for the more remote parts of my tour and shake my head, wondering when the competency hearing will take place. At an expected 154lb/70kg gross maximum, we can take away the 45lb/20kg bike, the 12.7lb/5.8kg trailer, and the 58lb/26.5kg of water, and the net cargo weight is ~38.3lb/17.5kg including extended food stores, bag weights, electronics, cameras, clothing, stove and extended fuel stores, cookpots, tent, sleeping bag and pad plus clothing, rain gear, and spare shoes. It is the water stores that will really kill me weight-wise, and will have me wishing desperately for a powered winch on the steeper 11-20% grades. Lacking that magical winch, I've got 36x17T Rohloff gearing and some knees I have to keep an eye on.

I'd think I've lost my mind, except the Miyata weighed 109lbs all-up on the last go and I did okay, though I wished for wider and more tires on the damp playa that held the sinking bike upright all by itself near the dry lake "shorelines". Though I won't be full-up at the start, Day Two will be a long one as I grind my way over the Cascades' Santiam Pass; there'll be no truly level ground the whole day.

I'm busy as a bee trying to get things wrapped up here before I go. A slight work delay and family responsibilities mean there is a possibility I might have to move liftoff from Sunday morning to Monday at dawn, but I'd rather be set and fully ready than leave in a half-baked rush. The delay from last week is proving to be all-good, as vacation traffic has tapered off after the Fourth holiday and campgrounds and services open up a bit. It will be hot, but not as dangerously torrid as it was a week ago, so that's in my favor as well.

If the timing is right as I pass through, I'd like to revisit and stay overnight on my Great-Uncle Harry's old homestead near Fort Rock, Oregon where he proved-up on his land claim from 1914-1919. His was a choice plot of land, as it included the community well. Keep that "prime real estate" descriptor in mind as you view the attached photos below. I don't know how he managed to hang on there as long as he did. In the second photo, you'll see Harry towed a trailer with his rides, too. That's Fort Rock in the left-background of the first photo. See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Rock

Best,

Dan.

[jags]

wow great photos there Dan ,makes you think how on earth did they survive in country like that or are we seening the full picture.

[Danneaux]

...how on earth did they survive in country like that or are we seening the full picture.

Iduhnno, jags. People like Harry had a bail-out plan. In the "off" months when he wasn't required to be on-site proving-up his claim, he worked at his "other job", which was on a US Customs boat. He'd been in Alaska earlier. All that provided a cushion against failure others didn't have.

A lot of people were drawn to the area by East Coast land speculators who acquired the properties, then advertised them as cheap, prosperous farm lands in the country's newspapers. The descriptions were...generous, to say the least, and terribly deceptive at worst. In truth, there had been some unusually wet years in the late-1800s to early 1900s, but those were anomalies, and the climate soon returned to its usual aridity. Crops failed, wells dried, and endless streams of settlers and homesteaders had their hopes dashed. At one point, the immediate area around Ft. Rock, where Harry's cabin was, supported 1,200 residents. The last census showed 191 people living there now, and that's with the advantages of proper wells, roads, and electricity for the irrigation pumps. It is worth noting Harry returned to Oregon's coastal region after he proved-up on his high-desert claim. He took all his own photographs, then processed and printed them in his little cabin, using water drawn from the well. They are uniformly crisp and clear even now closing on a hundred years later.

The definitive book on the area's history is The Oregon Desert by E.R. Jackman (late professor at Oregon State University) and Reub Long (late rancher in the area). Excerpts are available free on GoogleBooks: http://books.google.com/books?id=U3ruodEof8MC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_atb#v=onepage&q&f=false ...and give a good flavor of the area even today.
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Going nuts at this end, and I fear I may have to delay departure until Monday dawn instead of the planned Sunday morning. It is nothing major causing the delays, but all the little things aggregating. Nothing fatal to the trip, more like being nibbled to death by ducks. For example, I will take compass and paper maps to backup the GPS, as I know the Calapooya Mountains will block a clear satellite signal. The BLM/Forest Service maps are treated with some sort of wax, and although everything seemed fine when I marked my routes with highlighter pens, I was shocked a few moments ago to find the ink is happily transferring onto everything else *but* the maps. I'm typing this with pink and yellow and blue fingers and it won't come off, even with mechanic's pumice soap. The store that had the "proper" pens at USD$7 each (which I was too chea-- er, "careful" to purchase a week ago) doesn't open till Noon and it is now 10. I was up till 3:30 this morning and again since 6:30, trying to get things done and the work I casually accepted wrapped up by today. Having tried re-marking the maps on the floor, Nearsighted Dan took off his eyeglasses to make the task easier...then couldn't see well enough to find them back again for awhile (I'd placed them atop the fireplace mantle so I wouldn't step on them). Some of the food I bought at the discount grocer's on closer examination by date code and tasting turned out to be well-expired and stale/dead (Eww!) and will need replacement before I leave. And so on.

All part of life's rich pageantry.

On the other hand, the Nomad is running like a fine watch. I've packed all Andy Blance's recommended spares so I will be prepared in any event should something go unexpectedly pear-shaped with the Rohloff (remembering the 7Ps of preparedness: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/7_Ps_(military_adage) ); all seems well otherwise.

Onward!

Best,

Dan.

[Danneaux]

Hi All!

Quick post, hoping this might help those thinking of touring where I will be with the Nomad, in extremely rural Central and Eastern Oregon, near the Idaho and Nevada borders --

Got a Verizon 4G LTE USB-chargeable* mobile hotspot today, and plan to tether the netbook to it to allow 'Net access anywhere I can get a 4G, 3G, or EVDO signal, depending. Verizon 'cos they're the network with greatest tower build-out and coverage in Oregon's rural areas, about 3x the coverage of Sprint, T-Mobile, AT&T in those areas. Really? We'll see. I wish it had provision for attaching an external antenna to boost reception in marginal areas.

It is the MiFi 5510L, apparently made by Novatel, reviewed reasonably well here:
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2415262,00.asp
http://www.laptopmag.com/review/wifi/verizon-jetpack-4g-lte-mobile-hotspot-mifi-5510l.aspx

If all goes well, it should work pretty well for "light data" tasks like checking email, general web-browsing, and checking the Thorn Cycling Forum, and might help those who purchased less expensive, wifi-only tablets, iPads, and such as well as netbook/notebook/laptop users.

*As for charging, it is supplied with a 0.8A/800mA mains charger or requires a USB 3.0 computer charging port else charging times will be longer from 5vdc @ 0.5A/500mA but should charge okay from the dyno-chargers or the Joos Solar panel and accumulator battery. Battery life is rated for 8 hours, but some testers gt close to double that. When wifi is available, I will use that to save my data bits.

Best,

Dan.