Bugging out by bicycle ...

Disaster Monkey

Disaster Monkey

Joined
Apr 30, 2004
Messages
355
Just thought I'd share my plans for this summer with anyone who is interested ...

I've bought a touring oriented bicycle - a Surly Long Haul Trucker - and a bunch of camping gear, and I intend to ride from my home here in Victoria, BC, Canada to southern California (if it hasn't been incinerated by the time I get there). I'll be taking the ferry to Anacortes, WA then tracking down to the Pacific Coast Highway. I plan to leave on Sunday. This is largely an experimental adventure, 'cause I've never done anything like this before. I hope, and expect, to learn valuable survival and bugging-out skills from this trip. And it sure as heck beats working.

lhtbeach.jpg


I plan to camp most of the time, but hit a motel one or two nights a week to keep it comfortable.

I took a test overnight trip last night to a nearby campground (at the top of a freakin' mountain). It poured rain on me all the way up there, and the whole time I was there, but overall, it worked out. When I got there, soaking wet, I had to start a fire and dry out a bit. There was a wood stove there, at the rifle range to which the campground was adjacent. Firewood was provided in the form of a few logs and a bunch of scrap 1x4's ... my Skinny ASH-1 which will accompany me on my trip turned it all into useful kindling with relative ease. I've never appreciated my Busse's as much before as I do now having put one to some really hard use. It will get all the hard use I can throw at it over the next couple of months during which I am traveling.

If anyone cares to follow my adventure ... or maybe just the abuses of my Skinny ASH-1 ... I'll be maintaining a blog here: http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/5177

firewood2.jpg
 
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Dude, that's one longgggg haul...but don't worry, you're ASH will keep you company :D. Good luck!
 

Now that sounds like fun :cool:

I'll be watching.

Are you letting the folks on W&SS know as well?

I used to do a fair bit of riding and only really stopped because I got so sick of punctures. Seemed to get one every other day! I even tried semi-solid tyres once but that was just too painful :eek: :o Eventually I just gave up.

Edit: ...and remember, if you are stuck for fire starting materials, strips of those rubber inner tubes do a great job! You can use the rest for making ranger bands :D
 
Sounds great, bro!
Have a lucky adventure.
I'll be following your blog.
 
Nice bike, and that sounds like a great trip. Rick is right, you should post over at W&SS, there will be a lot of people interested there.

Good luck and may you always have tailwinds. :D
 
Nice setup sounds like fun . Wish I had the ball's to do something like that . Lots a luck on your journey .
 
That's an awful big chunk to bite off for your first ride! Best of luck to ya' and enjoy the experience because it will certainly be one.
 
that looks like fun. i've been contemplating doing something like that before shipping out in the fall.
 
Your a animal :cool::thumbup:

Great looking ride.:cool:

Good luck and be safe.
Helle
 
Good luck on the trip, that is awesome. I do have one question for you though, once you get there are you planning on turning right around and riding back or are you say taking a train back home? Just curious, good luck and I will keep an eye on the daily blog
 
Sounds like a good way to spend the summer! Good luck and stay safe!
 
silverbullets said:
Good luck on the trip, that is awesome. I do have one question for you though, once you get there are you planning on turning right around and riding back or are you say taking a train back home? Just curious, good luck and I will keep an eye on the daily blog
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Likely a train, or maybe I'll fly. Everything I've read says that the ride south is much better than riding north. The prevailing winds are south, and when you're southbound you are on the ocean side of the highway so it's easier to turn off for rest stops. And, of course, as you can tell by looking at any map ... North to South is all downhill, right? ;)

I'm not expected back at work until August (assuming I want to keep my job), so I've got over 2.5 months to do this one-way journey. I don't know exactly how far I can expect to travel per day, though I'm sure my distance capacity will increase as I go. I should be able to take a fairly leisurely pace as long as I'm going in the right direction every day. So, I'll take it one day at a time and see how it goes.
 
Man, that is going to be an AWESOME adventure! Love Surly's bikes too (planning on a Karate Monkey purchase sometime this year, or early next year). Great set up and I will be definitely watching your progress!

Quick question... Lighting systems... Bringing any? If so, what are you going to use?

:thumbup:
 
that is really cool, are you planning on posting pics daily of your trip, including of course the obligatory knife shots at camp :thumbup: I wish I was in a situation where I could take 2 months off work and take a giant road trip, enjoy it bud
 
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