Bad Boy On Tour

[Stuart Ablett]

OK being one not familiar with the metric system, I had to do the conversion, 5500 Km between Japan and Oz land equals 3417.541 miles

Yep, and if it is 5000 mile total, and you do an average of only 40 miles a day, that is 125 days, or about 4 months or so, he has given himself until Xmas, which is 258 days away, so he has the time. Forty miles a day is nothing, if you plan to get up and get on the road by 8 AM and put in your 8 hours of traveling, you will do about six full hours moving that is less than 7 miles an hour to hit your 40 mile mark. Realistically 50 miles a day is not going to be hard to do, sure you will have days off, he is planning one rest day a week once he gets in bike shape, for now two full days and one half day repeat is what he will do for the first 2 or three weeks.

Really this is not, on paper an impossible task, it just has to be tackled one day at a time!

[Jonathan Shively]

Really this is not, on paper an impossible task, it just has to be tackled one day at a time!

Same as the theory on eating an elephant, "one bite at a time!".

[Art Mulder]

Sounds like a fun adventure. Did your friend consider a trailer instead of loading the bike? I knew a guy who really loved his BOB trailer for cycle touring.
Is that a Brooks saddle? I keep hearing about them.

Give the guy two weeks to get into some cycling shape, and I bet things will start to feel better. Until then, keep up the vitamin-I! (ibuprofen!)

[Rob Keeble]

Art makes a good point, when you were building the L store trailer Stu did you not show or come across trailers that were convertable to beds. Just thinking alound it would make bedding down more comfy and practicle without the ground and one could just pull a canopy over.

[Jim C Bradley]

I cannot imagine a biking novice even thinking about making a trip like that. That guy has guts and a wonderful dream. I wish him well and will tune in to see how it goes.

Thanks for all you did for him and thanks for the thread. You are a good guy.

Enjoy,

JimB

[Stuart Ablett]

Sounds like a fun adventure. Did your friend consider a trailer instead of loading the bike? I knew a guy who really loved his BOB trailer for cycle touring.
Is that a Brooks saddle? I keep hearing about them.

Give the guy two weeks to get into some cycling shape, and I bet things will start to feel better. Until then, keep up the vitamin-I! (ibuprofen!)

No he did not, a trailer in traffic sucks, I know and the real advantage of a trailer is you have less to carry on your bike, you can load it up and go, and when you get somewhere you can ditch the trailer and go around with just your bike, that is not really practical here, as he will be doing few campgrounds, mostly he will be stealth camping.

Yes it's a brooks saddle, the only way to go for long days on the bike, I've spent full 8 hour days on a Brooks saddle and I do not end up with monkey bottom They are not cheap, and they are heavy, you have to make sure they don't get wet, as they are made from leather, but for my money and behind, nothing comes close.

Yep, in a couple of weeks, he will be bike fit and he will have tossed more stuff as he figures out what he needs.

Cheers!

[Stuart Ablett]

Art makes a good point, when you were building the L store trailer Stu did you not show or come across trailers that were convertable to beds. Just thinking alound it would make bedding down more comfy and practicle without the ground and one could just pull a canopy over.

Here in Japan he can get away with a tent, it keeps the rain off you too, but once he gets to a warmer place, I think he might ditch the tent and go with a hammock and a fly sheet, lighter and it keeps you off the ground, which is good as there are all kinds of things on the ground that can be nasty!

A trailer that can convert to a bed is a luxury that is very heavy to pull up hills.

[Jim DeLaney]

...once he gets to a warmer place, I think he might ditch the tent and go with a hammock and a fly sheet, lighter and it keeps you off the ground, which is good as there are all kinds of things on the ground that can be nasty!...

Yeah, when he gets to Okinawa, if he sleeps on the ground he might wake up with a mongoose, or worse, with a Habu (poisonous snake). Not to mention all the six and eight legged creatures.

[Stuart Ablett]

Yeah, when he gets to Okinawa, if he sleeps on the ground he might wake up with a mongoose, or worse, with a Habu (poisonous snake). Not to mention all the six and eight legged creatures.

Not to mention a flysheet over a hammock is less stuff to pack!

[Peter Rideout]

Glad to hear he's underway Stu, even with those early challenges.
He seems like a determined, good natured guy. I'm sure he'll soon get in shape and in the rythm.
Sounds like you had a good send-off ride too.
Keep the updates coming.
Peter