4500+ Miles US Ebike Tour - August 2014

Way to go that is an epic journey. Can you repost a link to the youtube videos you made? his thread has gotten pretty long to find it.

I did a similar journey on the cheapest motorcycle I could find on craigslist around the same time, and only crashed one :). How was the Kansas and eastern colorado strech? That was the worst part of the journey no gas stations or charging spots for hundreds of miles.
 
farbike said:
Way to go that is an epic journey. Can you repost a link to the youtube videos you made? his thread has gotten pretty long to find it.

I did a similar journey on the cheapest motorcycle I could find on craigslist around the same time, and only crashed one :). How was the Kansas and eastern colorado strech? That was the worst part of the journey no gas stations or charging spots for hundreds of miles.

Sure.

Here is a youtube playlist I made of the whole lot. Needless to say, they're not well produced. At some point Ill distill and polish :)

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLkTuC6Yv4pRzr0TRHjPSANMn6SRXx6aBy
 
Here's the next ebike XC route!

http://www.randalolson.com/blog/

Not sure if it really is - I detect a few routes that are bad for ebikes near where I live, but I love the concept.
 
jkbrigman said:
Here's the next ebike XC route!

http://www.randalolson.com/blog/

Not sure if it really is - I detect a few routes that are bad for ebikes near where I live, but I love the concept.

I like it! I'm sure it would take some messaging to get the routes right for bikes, but it's worth a try. If Guinness would just recognize my route, then I can start planning my next attempt! :roll: :mrgreen:
 
grindz145 said:
jkbrigman said:
Here's the next ebike XC route!

http://www.randalolson.com/blog/

Not sure if it really is - I detect a few routes that are bad for ebikes near where I live, but I love the concept.

I like it! I'm sure it would take some messaging to get the routes right for bikes, but it's worth a try. If Guinness would just recognize my route, then I can start planning my next attempt! :roll: :mrgreen:

Know what my ultimate fantasy ride would be? Doing this, or maybe an ride across america, in 3-to-6 packs of ebike riders, 6 to a pack. Each pack starts out at least a day after the pack before it. So if someone in the front pack had equipment failure, they would stand a chance of getting the problem fixed and then riding with one of the packs behind.

Maximum risk would be taken by the last pack, but I imagine a "stash" of parts and supplies, positioned in an initial spot. The first pack would carry the stash forward to the next spot, where all the groups could benefit from the coverage of the stash.

Controllers, motors, batteries, all these things would be standardized. So one small set of parts "protects" everyone. Heck, maybe even the bicycle itself standardized.
 
jkbrigman said:
I imagine a "stash" of parts and supplies, positioned in an initial spot. The first pack would carry the stash forward to the next spot, where all the groups could benefit from the coverage of the stash.

There's a cross country (or actually top to bottom since the country is only 9 miles wide in the middle) trail in Israel that people thru hike in about a month or two - 600 miles or so. In the desert section you have to hide water caches ahead of time as water spots can be more than a day's hike apart. Biggest problem is the Arabs stealing caches.

The ebike parts cache is a cool idea, and would take a lot of the weight/gear off of each individual rider. But moving/accessing/storing it would take some serious logistics - not to mention theft prevention! I like the idea though, as it could solve a lot of problems. Just imagine if Troy didn't have to carry as much stuff as he did on his 4500 mile trip...
 
mlt34 said:
jkbrigman said:
I imagine a "stash" of parts and supplies, positioned in an initial spot. The first pack would carry the stash forward to the next spot, where all the groups could benefit from the coverage of the stash.

There's a cross country (or actually top to bottom since the country is only 9 miles wide in the middle) trail in Israel that people thru hike in about a month or two - 600 miles or so. In the desert section you have to hide water caches ahead of time as water spots can be more than a day's hike apart. Biggest problem is the Arabs stealing caches.

The ebike parts cache is a cool idea, and would take a lot of the weight/gear off of each individual rider. But moving/accessing/storing it would take some serious logistics - not to mention theft prevention! I like the idea though, as it could solve a lot of problems. Just imagine if Troy didn't have to carry as much stuff as he did on his 4500 mile trip...

Exactly, exactly!

The idea is perilously close to the notion of a sag wagon, which I am loathe to even entertain. Maybe the carriers of the stash function more like relay riders instead of going the whole way?

Certainly, the success of such an endeavor (and avoiding sag wagons) would depend on setting up safe havens along the way where the pack stops, charges, does maintenance, eat/shower/sleep and then moves on.

The only real hazard to that system that I can think of is a rain delay could bunch everyone up at the same spot. That would suck.
 
jkbrigman said:
Know what my ultimate fantasy ride would be? Doing this, or maybe an ride across america, in 3-to-6 packs of ebike riders, 6 to a pack. Each pack starts out at least a day after the pack before it. So if someone in the front pack had equipment failure, they would stand a chance of getting the problem fixed and then riding with one of the packs behind.

Controllers, motors, batteries, all these things would be standardized. So one small set of parts "protects" everyone. Heck, maybe even the bicycle itself standardized.

I love it man. Maybe I'll set something up someday....

:)
 
A good option could be to have the cache material being carried by riders in the more rearward packs. That way when someone has a problem, the right tools or parts are not more than a day or so behind. If someone in a rearward pack has a problem and the cache is ahead of them, they are kind of screwed :shock:
 
mlt34 said:
A good option could be to have the cache material being carried by riders in the more rearward packs. That way when someone has a problem, the right tools or parts are not more than a day or so behind. If someone in a rearward pack has a problem and the cache is ahead of them, they are kind of screwed :shock:

I've been pondering this, I think it's an interesting problem. Maybe I need to talk to the RAAM Velomobile guys, see how they did it - they did a ride across america NON-sagged.

I've really been jonesing for a velo. I found this website and it has me pretty excited:
http://www.blueskydsn.com/kit_hpv.html
Now, I guess I could try one of these:
http://organictransit.com/
You can even rent one, for testing...cool thing is, if it's raining, you don't care.
 
I've lost many an hour on the blue sky website :lol: :lol:

One of the hardest parts of a velomobile to DIY is the bubble canopy. While in the US I considered just getting the canopy from them, and doing all the rest myself. The body can be as simple or complicated as you want it to be. Repurposed political signs on Coroplast or fiberglass layup on CNC foam molds. The world is your oyster!
 
FLBikeDude said:
Still no word from the Guinness people?

Thanks for reminding me. Apparently my adjudicator left the company, and I lost several weeks of time switching over.

My recommendation to others attempting this, just pay the 600 bucks (ish, depending on exchange rate) to get the fast-review. My evidence has literally been under review for 5 months....
 
DAND214 said:
I hope you are not saying, PAY your way into the book!
You did it. Why don't they accept the fact?

Dan

Yes Bribery, Bribery every time!

As far as I can tell, Guinness doesn't really have many revenue streams, other than the famous book, and by offering official adjudicating services, so I don't think that it's bad that they allow you to pay for a quick turnaround. I just didn't have the cash to burn.

I just heard back from a new adjudicator (apparently my old adjudicator left the company) and she expects to be able to review it soon, so fingers crossed!
 
Well, it's official, at least for today, I'm the official holder of the "longest Journey on a motorized bicycle" :)

http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/longest-journey-on-an-motorized-bicycle

I recognize that others may have had longer journeys, which are not recognized by Guinness, and they are awesome. However, it is pretty cool to be able to say that I traveled 4500 miles in a month on an ebike, self-supported, no support truck, no kickstarter campain, and with 25 bucks in electricity. If I can do it anyone can :)
 
Troy,

I just stumbled on this thread this morning. I watched all 30 videos at 1.5 speed. Perfect for a cool, rainy Saturday. What an amazing adventure. Thank you for doing it, and for videoing it, so we don't have to. :)

My only long bike trip was 850 miles in 11 days...one in the tent because of rain. That was 41 years ago. E-assist allows me to do 100 mile days even now. Thanks so much for sharing this!

Warren

http://www.evalbum.com/4525
 
Troy - still watching your videos, but this was the first post I read when I stumbled into these forums. You are an inspiration! Looks like your competition quit back in December, and your record made it on the page! http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/longest-journey-on-an-motorized-bicycle Nice frikin' work man!

Next time you make it to Denver or Colorado, you darn well better look me up, as I am baby stepping into your footsteps and having a blast riding so far. Ordered an "opportunity charger" yesterday based on one of your posts too, a Mean Well HLG-320H-54A.

I see some talk of relay teams and such above - Let's do it and count me in!
 
Warren said:
Troy,

I just stumbled on this thread this morning. I watched all 30 videos at 1.5 speed. Perfect for a cool, rainy Saturday. What an amazing adventure. Thank you for doing it, and for videoing it, so we don't have to. :)

My only long bike trip was 850 miles in 11 days...one in the tent because of rain. That was 41 years ago. E-assist allows me to do 100 mile days even now. Thanks so much for sharing this!

Warren

http://www.evalbum.com/4525

Good thinking dude, those videos are WAY too long. I'll edit it down to a real movie at some point, but I took on too much trying to video blog and all the other stuff in a limited amount of time.

850 miles in 11 days is hauling!

I'm really glad that you enjoyed the videos!
 
striider said:
Troy - still watching your videos, but this was the first post I read when I stumbled into these forums. You are an inspiration! Looks like your competition quit back in December, and your record made it on the page! http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/longest-journey-on-an-motorized-bicycle Nice frikin' work man!

Next time you make it to Denver or Colorado, you darn well better look me up, as I am baby stepping into your footsteps and having a blast riding so far. Ordered an "opportunity charger" yesterday based on one of your posts too, a Mean Well HLG-320H-54A.

I see some talk of relay teams and such above - Let's do it and count me in!

Thanks man, Deal! I love Colorado, and I wish I could spend more time there.
 
Kickass making the book. Look forward to buying one next year for my kids and seeing it in print.

I still remmeber reading your thread before you did your trip when you were talking it out. I was thinking to myself
"man I don't see how this guy can do that." then bam you move forward and make ebike history.

I was and still am impressed.
 
ohzee said:
Kickass making the book. Look forward to buying one next year for my kids and seeing it in print.

I still remmeber reading your thread before you did your trip when you were talking it out. I was thinking to myself
"man I don't see how this guy can do that." then bam you move forward and make ebike history.

I was and still am impressed.


Thanks for your....uhh....confidence.... 8) :wink:
 
grindz145 said:
ohzee said:
Kickass making the book. Look forward to buying one next year for my kids and seeing it in print.

I still remmeber reading your thread before you did your trip when you were talking it out. I was thinking to myself
"man I don't see how this guy can do that." then bam you move forward and make ebike history.

I was and still am impressed.


Thanks for your....uhh....confidence.... 8) :wink:

Yea I know and agree , but I just base things on what I know and at that point I had not followed many posts of yours.
Now if I was to read it again id have no doubt you would do it.

Hey at least I'm honest ? lol
 
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