(I) Raincoat or two-piece raincoat?
Long-distance cycling is inevitable in the rain. Riding with an umbrella is impossible. So if you want to ride in the rain, there are only two choices. Wear a raincoat or a raincoat. So which one should you choose?
From my observation, most people wear raincoats for long-distance cycling. The benefits of raincoats are obvious. Two-piece raincoats are easy to wear and have the best waterproof effect. As long as they are worn properly, there is basically no possibility of getting wet. Because the lower body is rain pants, it hardly affects riding. The bottom of the raincoat is open, which not only has poor waterproof effect but also is inconvenient to ride. But if you have used both, you will definitely choose to throw away the raincoat with the best waterproof effect and choose a raincoat. Because although the raincoat has a good waterproof effect, it has a very big disadvantage, that is, it is not breathable. Riding a bicycle is different from riding a motorcycle or a battery car. Riding a bicycle is always moving, and exercise will make you sweat. The raincoat prevents the rain from soaking through the clothes but also prevents the discharge of sweat. It’s OK to ride slowly on a flat road, but especially when riding a long uphill, the sweat can’t evaporate and stay in the raincoat like a steamer, which is very stuffy. The sweat can soak the clothes inside. If there is a long downhill without pedaling at this time, the hot sweat in the raincoat will soon be blown away and chilled to the bone. The raincoat is different. The bottom is open, and the sweat can evaporate, so there is no problem of being stuffy at all.
Of course, in addition to raincoats and raincoats, there is a third option: wearing a jacket. This is what I did when I rode from home to Hainan Island. But there is a prerequisite for doing this, that is, you must buy a very good jacket. This kind of jacket is waterproof and breathable, but it is expensive. If you buy a jacket that costs a few hundred yuan, it can only protect against light rain, and at most it can only protect against a few hours. This is the case with my previous jacket. It is completely fine to be soaked in light rain for two or three hours, but it will be slowly soaked after more than three hours. If it is a heavy rain, it will be soaked through in a few minutes.
My suggestion for choosing rainproof equipment is: if you have enough budget, buy a good jacket. If you want to pursue a good quality and cheap rainproof effect, buy a raincoat.
(II) Cooking tools.
Before, when I rode from home to Hainan, I ate in restaurants along the way, which felt boring. So this time I took a gasoline stove with me. I planned to cook along the way. But my friend and I are lazy, and it is too easy to eat along the way from home to Enshi. Except for cooking instant noodles once, I never used the gasoline stove again. Later, my friend went home from Enshi, and I was even more lazy to cook alone. I directly sent the gasoline stove and the pot back to Shanghai to another friend to use for fishing. Without cooking equipment, I can only rely on eating in restaurants. It is better in the mainland, and I can basically find restaurants at mealtime. Entering Guizhou and Yunnan is troublesome. There are mountains and sparsely populated there, and the towns are far apart. It is difficult for me to pass by the towns at mealtime. Then I basically rely on roadside restaurants along the way for meals. But the food in such restaurants is often more expensive, and the cost of eating increases sharply. Some places are so remote that there are no roadside restaurants. At this time, I could only rely on the dry food I brought with me to fill my stomach. This situation became more and more serious after entering the Tibetan area. Because winter in the Tibetan area is the off-season for tourism, many restaurant owners took holidays early and returned to the mainland. Since entering the Shangri-La area, the roadside restaurants along the way are no longer nine out of ten closed, but nine out of a hundred closed. Unless you pass through a town, you can’t find a restaurant that is open. Including some larger stations, such as Jueba Village, Dengba Village, and Rongxu Military Station, no restaurant is open. The mountains over there are big, and I turn slowly. I once only had two formal hot meals in three days. And they were not at formal meal times. The problem of eating has become the biggest obstacle for my winter cycling in the Tibetan area. If I can’t eat, I can only eat biscuits and instant noodles. Instant noodles also need hot water. After entering the Tibetan area, I began to regret sending the cooking equipment back early. I didn’t lose much weight along the way, and my weight began to drop rapidly after entering the Tibetan area. It was too late to send the stove. If I bought one, it would probably take more than ten days to send. I couldn’t wait ten days. If I sent it to a city ten days later, how could I travel on an empty stomach for ten days? Later, I had no choice but to buy a pot. When I had to, I built a stove with stones to boil water. This is what was done on Hongla Mountain. But the stove was difficult to burn, and it burned slowly and choked people. The failure to solve the problem of food was the main reason why I decided to return from the Sichuan-Tibet line. If I had a set of cooking equipment at that time, even if I still couldn’t ride to Lhasa in the end, at least I would have kept riding forward until the 24th day of the twelfth lunar month and then come back. So my advice to everyone is that if you ride in a sparsely populated area or in the Tibetan area in winter, it is best to bring cooking equipment. There is food on the car, so you don’t have to panic. Bring two handfuls of noodles with you and cook them when you are hungry. Eating noodles and drinking hot soup is better than chewing any cold chicken legs or ham sausages.
I have no say in the choice of stove. Because I have only used gasoline stoves a few times and don’t have much experience. I haven’t used other types of stoves. I have seen other people use stoves that burn gas cylinders, stoves that burn firewood, and I have even seen riders burn solid alcohol. It’s really strange and varied. But according to my observation, gasoline stoves are the most common. Gasoline stoves have strong firepower and cook quickly. As long as you show your identity as a rider, it is not difficult to buy gasoline at a private gas station. This has become the choice of most riders. In addition to gasoline stoves, a stove that burns firewood has become popular in recent years. I saw two girls who have been riding for several years riding in Xinjiang using this kind of stove in a post on Tieba. I also met a rider who used this kind of stove during this ride. I think this thing is really good. Firewood can be picked up everywhere, and there is no need to worry about not being able to buy fuel (even small gas stations in Xinjiang and Tibet will not sell gasoline casually, and riders basically can’t buy gasoline in these two places). If I ride again next time, I plan to buy one and try it.
I haven’t done much research on pots. But you must use a pressure cooker on the plateau. When I cooked instant noodles with snow water on the 4,000-meter-high Hongla Mountain, I deeply realized the impracticality of ordinary pots. Although the water was boiling, the instant noodles would not boil after soaking for a long time. I guess the temperature of the boiling water at that time was only about 70 degrees.
(III) Accessories to bring
What spare accessories should be brought?
Although there are many accessories on the bicycle, there are only two things that can break during the journey: puncture and broken spokes.
As for the middle axis, freehub, transmission, brake, chain, etc., although there is a possibility of breaking, the probability is extremely low. I have ridden long distances for nearly 20 times, and it is very rare that these things break during the journey, so there is no need to prepare these things. Even if they really break, they can last until there is a bicycle store.
Many people like to bring a spare chain when riding long distances. I also brought one when I went to Hainan before. But once you have ridden a long distance once, you will not bring it again. Because it will not break at all. Even if it breaks, you can just connect it with the chain magic buckle. There is no need to carry such a heavy spare chain all the way. If you are afraid of chain wear, you can go to a bicycle shop to change it. The price of this thing is very transparent. Even a Shimano chain costs more than 100 yuan. And even if you bring a spare chain, it is useless. When the chain is worn to a certain extent, the chainring and flywheel should be worn to a certain extent. If you only change the chain without changing the flywheel and chainring, it will jump teeth. You can’t bring a spare set of flywheels and chainrings, it will be too heavy. Therefore, you don’t need to bring a spare chain for any long-distance ride. If you need to bring it, just bring a chain cutter and chain magic buckle. Find a store to replace the chain with a new one, and use the magic buckle to connect the chain if it breaks. To be honest, it is rare to encounter a broken chain during long-distance riding. Anyway, I have never encountered it. The only time the chain was cracked was discovered during daily riding, and that was because the chain was too old and had to be replaced. Even when one side was cracked, I rode for a week and it didn’t break.
Although the brakes will basically not break, the brake pads will wear. I used up 7 brake pads on this ride. If I ride to the end point in Lhasa, I will probably use up another 3. But my bike is heavy, so the brake pads wear out faster than regular bikes. For example, I didn’t change the brake pads once on the way from home to Hainan. Because I didn’t bring much stuff, and there weren’t many long downhills. Brake pads are usually more expensive if you buy them in a store. Shimano’s lowest price is 40. Non-brand ones also cost around 20. If you buy them online, they’re only a few dollars a pair. I’ve used the cheapest ones that cost more than 5 dollars, and the most expensive ones that cost 50. I’ve also used Shimano’s. Shimano’s are definitely more wear-resistant, but they’re not so wear-resistant that they can be several times longer than the ones that cost a few dollars a pair. If the ones that cost a few dollars a pair can last for five days, then Shimano’s can last for seven or eight days. The difference in lifespan is probably about this. Some bike shops like to fool people. They will introduce you to a brake pad whose name you have never heard of, and then tell you that the quality is better than Shimano’s. Of course, the price is also more expensive. Don’t believe it. I was fooled by this when I bought the brake pads worth 51 yuan. The boss patted his chest and guaranteed that a pair of brake pads could replace two pairs of Shimano. If the quality is not good, he would refund my money. I will be so angry. The wear resistance is no different from the ones I bought for a few yuan. I want to go back to you, but by the time I find out that I have been fooled, I have ridden 300 kilometers away. So if you buy brake pads in a store, either buy Shimano brake pads that cost more than 40 yuan a pair (some stores sell Shimano brake pads for 30 yuan if they do not require installation), or buy miscellaneous brands that cost less than 20 yuan. As long as it is a brand you have never heard of, don’t buy it for more than 20 yuan. If you buy it, you will be fooled. If you ride a long distance, I suggest you buy a few pairs online before you set off. This thing is not heavy, so you can carry more.
Tire blowouts rarely occur unless the blade cuts you. In general, the tire is punctured, mostly by thin iron wire. Although the probability of a tire burst is limited, once a tire bursts, it is basically impossible to repair it. The most extreme case is that both the inner and outer tubes burst. Although I have not encountered it, I have heard that others have encountered it. Therefore, for long-distance riding, you should not only bring a spare inner tube, but also a spare outer tube. Folding outer tubes are easier to bring, and non-folding ones are not difficult to bring. Twist it into an 8 shape, then fold the two circles of the 8 in half, and then tie it with a rope. If you ride a long distance of several hundred kilometers, you don’t need to bring a spare outer tire. Needless to say, inner tubes are a must for both long and short distances. Bring one for a few hundred kilometers and two for more than a thousand kilometers. It is best not to repair it on the spot after a puncture, which wastes time. After pulling out the nail, directly replace the spare inner tube, and repair the tire at the end of each ride or when you rest in the middle of the ride.
Broken spokes are the second most common problem after punctures. Basically, the rear wheel spokes are broken. Why is it easy for bicycles to break rear spokes? First of all, our domestic cycling culture hurts bicycles. In foreign countries, long-distance riding basically uses touring bikes. In China, most people use mountain bikes. In fact, mountain bikes are not suitable for long-distance riding. Its appearance and structure are not designed for long-distance riding. You install a cargo rack and load luggage, and the weight is basically on the rear wheel. The spokes have been under pressure beyond the design, and they are bound to break easily. My rear wheel spokes broke twice during this ride. The Henan buddy I met in Hubei broke 7 times along the way. I repaired the two times I broke by myself. Except for the broken front wheel he repaired once, he went to a bicycle shop to repair the others. It is very expensive to replace spokes in a bicycle shop. Although a good spoke is only two yuan, it takes time. In Enshi, it costs 80 to replace a spoke. You can repair it if you want, but this is the only one. You say you don’t care. If you can repair the bike, you can spend money. The key is that some places are too remote, and it is difficult to find a repair shop that replaces mountain bike spokes for hundreds of kilometers. At this time, you can’t always push the bike. So it is necessary to master the skills of repairing spokes. Spokes are also a must. According to your riding distance, you should bring spokes at a ratio of one spoke for every 500 kilometers. Although you can’t expect to adjust it the same as the one in the bike shop, you have to make sure it can be used. If you don’t know how to adjust the spokes, pull this spoke after installation, and compare the elasticity with your other unbroken spokes, and adjust it until you think it is almost as elastic as the other spokes. To replace the spokes, you need to use a spoke wrench and a disc brake screw wrench. If it is the rear wheel, you have to remove the flywheel. At this time, you have to add flywheel removal tools: a flywheel wrench, a flywheel removal screw, and a wrench. There are many tutorials on how to remove flywheels on the Internet, you can take a look.
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