Hi, I’m Lally. I’m planning to the ride for 14 straight days at the end of April. Not nonstop, or anything crazy like that, but I have 2 weeks vacation, and I’m not sure how to plan this out. I’m either going to ride somewhere then ride back, or ride somewhere and fly/bus back.
I need help picking a designation. I’ve never taken a ride like this and I’m not sure how far I can get. I’m in pretty good shape, I ride to work everyday its not raining, about 3 miles, but I’ve done 10 mile rides daily as well when working at a different location. I think I can plan 50 miles a day safely, and I’m gonna do a test ride next Tuesday, just to see how far I can get if I ride 10 hours straight.
The other part I need help with is supplies. I go hiking enough that I’m all set with general survival supplies, but I’m not sure what to bring for unicycle supplies, spare tire tools, flat repair kit, what’s a good minimalistic lightweight repair kit.
Thanks, that gives me a good place to start on supplies.
Also to update, I made it 12 miles by noon, I started at 9. I would have ridden longer but my tire is to bald for the offroad stuff I planned. Also I put 50 pounds of rice in my back pack to stand in for the weight of my tent. I hope the tent settles as well as the rice did. Next weeks ride will hopefully be longer and on my new 36" wheel, I currently have a 24" wheel.
Oh make that 16 miles in total I only took the bus halfway home.
That gives you almost 65 miles of mapped trail with a good portion completely off road.
Or you could take a bus to Kittery or Portsmouth and start from the beginning of the Eastern Trail. April in Maine is a nice time of year. The tourist have not arrived yet! Given that they are not here yet I would suggest hugging the coast when you can. Otherwise ride the Eastern trail.
When you reach Portland you can keep going North. I could recommend some quieter roads. There are some fantastic coastal views.
I would do this instead of starting from Boston. Boston traffic would make me nervous.
I like the idea of going north my grandmother has a place in Maine, but I’m currently thinking of heading south, mostly cause it’ll be early in the season I don’t want to get caught in a cold spurt, Maine in may is pretty cold at night. I’m playing with the idea of heading to DC. Its not too far off, and the bus ride back is only about a day, I’ve taken the greyhound before. My worry with DC is I have to go through New York, and I don’t want to camp in the city, and I’d rather not stay in a hotel.
Everything is still in the planning stages, so I’m still open to suggestions. Also has anyone ever hooked up one one of those generator light kits on a unicycle. I had one on my bike as a kid, but there was a lot of resistance, though I was 10 and a fat kid. I wouldn’t want it for the light, I don’t plan on night riding, but I want to keep my phone charged, safety and pictures and such.
For this you could buy a usb power bank and a small solar panel. You could charge the power bank from the solar panel as you ride, then charge your phone from the power bank at night
I have one of those solar USB chargers, it kinda sucks. Its fine for keeping the phone from dying but I wouldn’t count on it for keeping my phone, lifeline, active.
Though I have thought of using 2 solar charges, and 2 batteries, but at $60 for the charger and another $60 for a decent battery, price becomes an issue.
This is why I suggested charging a power bank while riding. I read somewhere that solar panel’s power output varies, which isn’t good for charging your phone direct…it said something about needing a constant current for effective charging. I’d imimagine you’d have the same problem with a dynamo type generator…
This problem is eliminated if you use a power bank though. It doesn’t need a constant current, because its just a battery, and not having power sucked out of it at a constant rate like your phone. Then, when you charge your phone off it, it gives out the constant current/voltage that your phone needs for charging.
Don’t take anything I’ve said as fact though. This is only what I recall reading, and I have the worst memory…
Edit: Also, the power bank I have is a cheapie version (£20) and, when its fully charged, it’ll charge my phone from empty 3 times.
I have a 10 amp battery bank, it works great for the 2 phones I carry, I’ve tried 2 solar chargers to charge it, but both took 2 days to get a full charge. Both were small and cheap. I’ve looked at a few online. Rei has one I like that seems like it’ll charge the battery I have, and another from renogy. I completely agree though, charging a battery then the phone is the way to go.
just to update, this trip might not happen, i just got my new unicycle in the mail, and my order was missing a lot of stuff. i bought i 36" coker, all decked out, handle bars, brakes, anything you can tack on, i did. fed ex delivered it yesterday, me and my nephew get all set to make an unboxing video, we started opening the box, and checking off everything on the invoice, no brakes, no handlebars, instead of a saddle, they sent me a bike seat, and an endless supply of hex screws, but im not complaining about the extra screws.
i contacted customer service, hopefully, i get evything i paid for, but as for my trip, im not so sure now.
i did take the saddle off my nephews 16" but the post was to small, and i had to use some pvc pipe as a spacer, and doesnt really work, the saddle spins free when i try to turn.
