Touring with a trailer

[Pinky]

Having toured with four panniers - and hated every head wind ( "gegen wind"
in Germany) which seemed to double the size of my front panniers -- and also
having the good fortune to "swap" loads with a German guy who I travelled
with for a few days on my trip down and up the Danube -- I have taken
delivery today of my BOB Yak trailer and shall take it out for its first run
on Saturday.

I have looked at these trailers for some time and when Gerhard suggested
that I might like to try towing his trailer for a day I was happy to do
it -- even though it was a heavier load than mine ( he had a wife with
him!).

His fahrad was fitted with front and rear racks as was mine and so there was
no problem of a change over.

I was a fairly instant convert and all of my reservations largely
disappeared during that day. Having ridden my velo for quite a while under
full load and on this years trip was on about day 7 -- the change in the
handling of my velo was fantastic. Of course, going up hill was still hard
work but my velo (a much modified Dawes discovery 501 -- a hybrid) felt so
much more manageable -- as it does normally on my daily home runs. It was
also much easier ( and less dangerous) to mount and especially dismount
after a long day.

All in all I was very impressed.

Until my trip from the source of the Rhein down to Rotterdam, in May/June
next year, I shall tow it most days on my training and shopping runs. I also
suspect ( and hope) that I shall be just that bit more visible to the
blind/deaf /SMIDSY British motorist ( Sorry Mate I Didn't See You) -- being
a bit of an unusual sight -- I haven't seen one in UK yet!

Anyway I can't wait to get it out for its first long run on Saturday.




--
Trevor A Panther
In South Yorkshire,
England, United Kingdom.
Remove PSANTISPAM to reply
www.tapan.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk

[Ken M]

Pinky wrote:
> Having toured with four panniers - and hated every head wind ( "gegen wind"
> in Germany) which seemed to double the size of my front panniers -- and also
> having the good fortune to "swap" loads with a German guy who I travelled
> with for a few days on my trip down and up the Danube -- I have taken
> delivery today of my BOB Yak trailer and shall take it out for its first run
> on Saturday.
>
> I have looked at these trailers for some time and when Gerhard suggested
> that I might like to try towing his trailer for a day I was happy to do
> it -- even though it was a heavier load than mine ( he had a wife with
> him!).
>
> His fahrad was fitted with front and rear racks as was mine and so there was
> no problem of a change over.
>
> I was a fairly instant convert and all of my reservations largely
> disappeared during that day. Having ridden my velo for quite a while under
> full load and on this years trip was on about day 7 -- the change in the
> handling of my velo was fantastic. Of course, going up hill was still hard
> work but my velo (a much modified Dawes discovery 501 -- a hybrid) felt so
> much more manageable -- as it does normally on my daily home runs. It was
> also much easier ( and less dangerous) to mount and especially dismount
> after a long day.
>
> All in all I was very impressed.
>
> Until my trip from the source of the Rhein down to Rotterdam, in May/June
> next year, I shall tow it most days on my training and shopping runs. I also
> suspect ( and hope) that I shall be just that bit more visible to the
> blind/deaf /SMIDSY British motorist ( Sorry Mate I Didn't See You) -- being
> a bit of an unusual sight -- I haven't seen one in UK yet!
>
> Anyway I can't wait to get it out for its first long run on Saturday.
>
>
>
>
Well congrats on the BOB trailer purchase! I just got back a few weeks
ago from a 1100+ mile tour with loaded panniers. I agree with you about
head winds. I may try a BOB on my next tour.

Ken


--
Nothing compares to the simple pleasure of a bike ride. ~John F. Kennedy

[[email protected]]

I'm thinking of getting one myself!

Don't know if you knew but Edinburgh Bicycle Co Op does a very similar
own branded trailer considerably cheaper with a bag included. Don't
know if you can use BOB spares on it though.

I like the idea of just chucking everything into a bag for our camping
trips! We'd still need panniers for just nipping out from the campsites
though.

[Thomas Wentworth]

"Pinky" > wrote in message
k...
> Having toured with four panniers - and hated every head wind ( "gegen
> wind" in Germany) which seemed to double the size of my front panniers --
> and also having the good fortune to "swap" loads with a German guy who I
> travelled with for a few days on my trip down and up the Danube -- I have
> taken delivery today of my BOB Yak trailer and shall take it out for its
> first run on Saturday.
>
> I have looked at these trailers for some time and when Gerhard suggested
> that I might like to try towing his trailer for a day I was happy to do
> it -- even though it was a heavier load than mine ( he had a wife with
> him!).
>
> His fahrad was fitted with front and rear racks as was mine and so there
> was no problem of a change over.
>
> I was a fairly instant convert and all of my reservations largely
> disappeared during that day. Having ridden my velo for quite a while under
> full load and on this years trip was on about day 7 -- the change in the
> handling of my velo was fantastic. Of course, going up hill was still hard
> work but my velo (a much modified Dawes discovery 501 -- a hybrid) felt so
> much more manageable -- as it does normally on my daily home runs. It was
> also much easier ( and less dangerous) to mount and especially dismount
> after a long day.
>
> All in all I was very impressed.
>
> Until my trip from the source of the Rhein down to Rotterdam, in May/June
> next year, I shall tow it most days on my training and shopping runs. I
> also suspect ( and hope) that I shall be just that bit more visible to the
> blind/deaf /SMIDSY British motorist ( Sorry Mate I Didn't See You) --
> being a bit of an unusual sight -- I haven't seen one in UK yet!
>
> Anyway I can't wait to get it out for its first long run on Saturday.
>
>
>
>
> --
> Trevor A Panther
> In South Yorkshire,
> England, United Kingdom.
> Remove PSANTISPAM to reply
> www.tapan.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk

================================================== =====================

Dear Trevor ,,, I enjoy your posts. As a cycle tourist with a few years
under my belt, I am not quite at the 70 mark but its been awhile since I was
40. Anyway,,, love you adventure attitude. In this day when kids spend
hours playing games on a tv screen, and the average adult thinks Club Med is
like hiking the Ande's .. well, you are an inspiration.

I tour every summer. This past summer was the first in years that I didn't
get away for a long tour. A couple of long weekends was it. Life, work,
money, a new roof, .... %$%^&433$%%$# as you can see; I would rather be
touring.

A couple of summers ago I used a BOB trailer for a tour from southern New
Hampshire to Nova Scotia and back. New Hamp****e, Maine are mountainous.
Those long climbs killed me. It was the pulling. It felt like someone was
behind me tugging at my fender. The BOB worked fine, it tracks excellent.
I never got a flat, it carries lots of gear. But, I WOULD NEVER GO ON A
LONG TOUR WITH THE BOB AGAIN!

The BOB is perfect for a long weekend tour to the beach or a lake. But, on
a long tour the weight and the pulling become a real drawback. A BOB weighs
12.3 lbs .. ( 5.59 kilos for you civilized Europeans -- British ?? Who
knows ... four stones, three rocks, and a king ) . Anyway, that 12.3 lbs
can get tiresome. The pulling, when you are riding on a flat service it is
no problem, but when you are going up hills or mountains it can be a big
time waste of energy.

Also, because you must carry tools ( spare tube, etc for the trailer ) that
can add up. Then there is the bag that your clothes go into. The bag is
big ( I used a duffle I bought at a camping store ) and it weighs about what
a couple of panniers weigh, maybe a tad less.

I love the BOB. I use it for goofing, going on day rides to a lake or
beach, or when I am riding on Cape Cod or something.

When I did my tour this summer, only a few days but better than no tour, I
used two panniers and brought hardly any clothes. Just right, is what I
though later. In fact, this summer I am planning a long tour and I am
already thinking what I can leave behind. I want to see if I can cut the
weight down on the panniers, and bring very little clothes. I don't cook
much when I tour. I eat on the run. Mostly uncooked food. If I bring a
cooking set, it will be a very meager set.

The heaviest item I carry besides tools is a book. But, that book is my
best friend when I am in my tent relaxing after a day of touring.

There are other trailers. I have seen a few when out touring. Never tried
them though.

I was touring through Vermont about 5 years ago and I came upon a fellow
cycle tourist. He was around the 60 mark. He had started his tour in LA,
went south and across the USA through Nevada, and all over. He was on his
way to Boston. I think he was from Norway. He had almost nothing with him.
A couple of light panniers, an old thin wheel bicycle. Yet, he had cycled
from Los Angeles and across the USA and visited more cities, places, seen
more sites,,, I keep him in mind as a pack when I tour now.

Amazing what we don't need.

Keep providing us with inspiration.

And pack light.

Maybe we will bump into each other on the road.

TomCAt

[Pinky]

> wrote in message
oups.com...
> I'm thinking of getting one myself!
>
> Don't know if you knew but Edinburgh Bicycle Co Op does a very similar
> own branded trailer considerably cheaper with a bag included. Don't
> know if you can use BOB spares on it though.
>
> I like the idea of just chucking everything into a bag for our camping
> trips! We'd still need panniers for just nipping out from the campsites
> though.
>
On my pannier laden bike trips I have watched the speed and ease at which
( mainly couples) people set up but, more especially, quickly packed up and
loaded. Like you I like the idea of being able to chuck everything in --
but don't think that I wouldn't take it with me on my local shopping trips.

I also like the effective freeing of my trusty velocopanther from being an
unwieldy lump to being a fairly free velo just pulling a load --- a very
different situation. Clearly there will be an increase in my all up weight
but I am definitely not a speed merchant and I don't mind getting off and
pushing occasionally.

I actually like the effective doubling of the total length of my velo- which
together with the flag and being "something different"-- I think is a real
asset as a "road" tourer, in that I am seen and I am a definite presence
on the road.

Road riding in the UK is dangerous, far more dangerous than riding in
Europe -- mainly because the law does not impose real penalties on motorist
killing and maiming cyclist in "accidents" ( part of the SMIDSY syndrome
posted elsewhere). But riding on so called "shared" cycle/pedestrian ways is
more hazardous

So I am now going out on my first local run -- along "death alley" -- my 5
mile trip into Doncaster market, to do my Saturday shopping. I feel very
much a target on this part of my daily run --- hopefully my experience
today might be a bit different!


The front low rider pannier racks and panniers have already been sidelined--
anyone want a set cheap!
--
Trevor A Panther
In South Yorkshire,
England, United Kingdom.
Remove PSANTISPAM to reply
www.tapan.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk

[Pinky]

Oops sorry --- I meant to post most of this on the"uk.rec.cycling" site. I
blame galloping senility. Apologies to all you colonists.

(I have already built my flame proof barricades!)
--
Trevor A Panther
In South Yorkshire,
England, United Kingdom.
Remove PSANTISPAM to reply
www.tapan.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk

<snip><snip>
"Pinky" > wrote in message news:lXxmf.5984
> On my pannier laden bike trips I have watched the speed and ease at which
> ( mainly couples) people set up but, more especially, quickly packed up
> and loaded. Like you I like the idea of being able to chuck everything
> n -- but don't think that I wouldn't take it with me on my local
> shopping trips.
>
> I also like the effective freeing of my trusty velocopanther from being an
> unwieldy lump to being a fairly free velo just pulling a load --- a very
> different situation. Clearly there will be an increase in my all up weight
> but I am definitely not a speed merchant and I don't mind getting off and
> pushing occasionally.
>
> I actually like the effective doubling of the total length of my velo-
> which together with the flag and being "something different"-- I think is
> a real asset as a "road" tourer, in that I am seen and I am a definite
> presence on the road.
>
> Road riding in the UK is dangerous, far more dangerous than riding in
> Europe -- mainly because the law does not impose real penalties on
> motorist killing and maiming cyclist in "accidents" ( part of the SMIDSY
> syndrome posted elsewhere). But riding on so called "shared"
> cycle/pedestrian ways is more hazardous
>
> So I am now going out on my first local run -- along "death alley" -- my
> 5 mile trip into Doncaster market, to do my Saturday shopping. I feel
> very much a target on this part of my daily run --- hopefully my
> experience today might be a bit different!
>
>
> The front low rider pannier racks and panniers have already been
> sidelined-- anyone want a set cheap!
> --
> Trevor A Panther
> In South Yorkshire,
> England, United Kingdom.
> Remove PSANTISPAM to reply
> www.tapan.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk
>

[Mike Kruger]

"Pinky" > wrote in message
k...
> Oops sorry --- I meant to post most of this on the"uk.rec.cycling" site.
> I blame galloping senility. Apologies to all you colonists.
>
No apologies necessary; it seemed pretty much on-topic to me.

You must be screening out all the endless r.b.m. threads in which the
brainwashed Bush supporters stubbornly cling to their illusions that he
isn't an idiot running an administration run amok. ;)

[Chris Z The Wheelman]

I too have found trailing a BOB trailer makes the bike (or "velo") much
more manageable. It's also great for when you reach a destination as it
can be removed, instantly leaving your mount unrestricted.

Be aware though, because some of the weight is still shared by the bike,
heavy loads can influence how much the bike wants to lean.

- -
These comments compliments of,
Your Friendly Neighborhood Wheelman

My web Site:
http://geocities.com/czcorner

To E-mail me:
ChrisZCorner "at" webtv "dot" net

[[email protected]]

As a recumbent manufacturer in a past life I had a lot of feedback from
customers who toured with trailers. Everyone who had a B.O.B. trailer
seemed happy with them. One of our tandem owners used one on a trip
from Alaska to Florida. Another, a father and his 11 year old daughter
rode from Eugene Or. to Cambridge Ma. One of our customers riding one
of our single bikes with a single wheel trailer of his own design
traveled from Bend Or. to Anaheim Ca. to Jacksonville Florida, a total
of almost 4000 miles in 40 days. The bike and trailer weighed about 90
lbs.

Dick Ryan