While we’ve been traveling, I’ve been doing a fair amount of fly fishing and have had a chance to evaluate a few different rods. I’ve been fishing with a Temple Fork Outfitters NXT 5/6wt rod, a LL Bean 5wt Travel Series rod and a Tenkara rod. The TFO is a common 4 piece rod design - I’m using it in this article to demonstrate the size of most rods and compare it to the size of travel specific rods.

Which is the perfect rod for bike touring? Read on and find out!

Bike touring requires an economy of space and weight. Here are photos comparing the pack sizes of the three rods mounted horizontally on the back of my Carradice. The 4 piece TFO is in the black case, the 8 piece LL Bean is in the maroon case and the Tenkara is in the cloth sack.

A few more photos, this time showing the unpackaged Tenkara rod.

LL Bean Travel Series Rod

The LL Bean Travel Series Rod is a fly rod that breaks down into 8 pieces. The pack size is surprisingly small and could easily fits under the flap of a Carradice saddle bag without sticking out into traffic. It is, however, a little too long to fit inside an Ortlieb pannier. The sample I got is a 5wt, something of a bit of an all rounder rod for small streams, rivers and some lake fishing. So far, on our one year bike trip around the US, the 5wt has covered most of the water we’ve encounter. It won’t do for fishing in salt, but for most freshwater bodies you encounter, you’ll be ok.

First off, the rod is a beauty to behold. Everything from the burgundy colored case, the wood spacer in the handle to the pleasing olive and tan tones of the rod. It would be a rod totally at place with your Rivendell inspired touring bike with cloth tape and shiny silver bits.

Beyond good looks, the LL Bean rod has some other nice functional touches.

With so many pieces to put together, its nice that the rod has these alignment markings to assist you in lining up the rod. One nice touch is that instead of just two dots, there is a vertical line to help you visually line the dots correctly. After about a half dozen times of assembling and disassembling the rod, it became second nature. So how does it fish? It casts pretty solidly in hand with no real noticeable difference from my 4 piece rod. It feels like a true 5wt and has a medium action to it. Not overly punch, but no slouch either and capable of delicate presentations.

So far I’ve caught only bluegill and crapie with the rod and it has handled those fish with ease. I’m waiting to test it out with some bass and some trout in the coming weeks.

Tenkara Rod

Tenkara is a form of Japanese fly fishing that utilizes only a rod, a fixed amount of line and a fly. There is no reel, casting is a one handed affair without tricky line manipulations. It is SO easy and simple, that you think you couldn’t possibly catch fish with such minimal gear.

The folks at TenkaraUSA sent me their 13 foot AYU rod with a stiffness raiting of 6:4 to test out, as well as two types of leaders and some wet and dry flies. The flies came in small beautiful glass bottles with cork stoppers. Everything from TenkaraUSA is impeccably designed with a simple elegance - much like the style of fishing.

The motion is similar and yet a bit different from Western fly fishing. The basic mechanics are the same (you accelerate to a STOP to impart energy to the line), but the nature of the rod and line require a little relearning of the cast. After a few days on the water, I got the hung of it and could cast with relative accuracy.

Perhaps the greatest strength of the Tenkara setup is that it is fast to set up. I can spot a site to fish and have a fly in the water in about 5 minutes. I merely loop the leader to the end of the rod, tie on a fly and extend the rod out to its full length. That’s it! This makes it truly ideal for those rides that lend itself to spontaneous fishing. I got to test this out recently as rolled into Murfressboro, TN. We got on the greenway that led into town that ran along the Stones River. We were due for a break, so when we found the next shady spot with access to the water we pulled over for a break.

The area was fairly wooded with overhanging branches. There was evidence of previous fishing attempts hanging from the tree. I took note of this and decided to sidearm cast instead of overhead casting. In the half hour we were there, I caught about a half dozen fish - a mix of crapie and bluegill.

Which rod is for you?

These rods are both excellent performers and I’ve caught about the equal amount of fish with each. With either rod, you’ll get a piece of fishing equipment that is beautiful and functional. They do each have their own strengths and weaknesses.

LL Bean Travel Rod
Pros:
-smallest pack size of the three rods
-beautiful build and casts like a “normal” rod
-can be fished in a wide variety waters
-long distance casting possible

Cons:
-takes longer to set up
-lots of small pieces to break/lose
-have to periodically check alignment and tightness of segments

Tenkara
Pros:
-lightning fast to deploy
-inexpensive compared to Western fly rod/reel/line kit
-easier to learn how to cast
-lots of control for tight spaces

Cons:
-limited distance range
-have to use lighter tippets to protect the rod tip
-leaders hard to find in most fly shops

Which rod should you get? It really depends on the nature of your trip. If you’re going to fish in a lot of small streams, the Tenkara may be all you need. If you’re going to hit some lakes and go after some bigger fish, the LL Bean makes a great all rounder. If weight and simplicity are your priority, the Tenkara is a strong contender. If you want the flexibility of different lines, leaders and tippets - the LL Bean gives you access to all the typical fly fishing paraphernalia in a small package.

I’ve only taken the rods on the water a few times. I’ll post some long term impressions after a few weeks of fishing and will come up with a better idea of their best uses and limitations.

Let me just preface this by saying that I am by no means a salty haired veteran angler. I read Hemmingway’s “Old Man and the Sea” and saw more religious imagery than fishing tips. However, I have been doing a fair amount of fishing the last few months and have been experimenting with equipment while on tour. So fellow potential bike-fishers here is what I’ve found works for me and why I’m using the things I use.

Why Fly Fishing?

The first question has to be why fly fishing over traditional spinner rod and bait fishing. One obvious advantage is that when you’re fly fishing you’re using imitation bait (fake flies, worms, bait fish). This means you don’t have to worry about carrying a Styrofoam container of worms, crickets or other critters with you on your bike. Instead, you can carry all the REUSABLE bait and lures you need in a reasonably small tackle box.

Another reason why I chose fly fishing is that it’s still fun to practice even if there isn’t a fish or a drop of water around. Fly fishing is one of those activities (like cycling) that is simplistic but has a multitude of nuances. On non-fishing days, I’ll assemble the rod and tie on a fly (without a hook) and practice casting distance and accuracy. I’ll aim for my helmet at 25 feet and progressively increase the distance. It makes for a great camp game. I’ve recently taken on learning how to cast with my non dominant left hand in the event I encounter some windy days that threaten to blow a hook in my face - plus its just great fun.

Another reason to fly fish is that fly fishing tackle is extremely versatile. If I had a dollar for every time I’ve heard “shouldn’t you be in Colorado fishing for trout” in the short time I’ve been fly fishing - well, I’d have enough money to be in Colorado fishing for trout. Perhaps it was The River Runs Through It that has permanently associated fly fishing with bucolic mountain streams, but fly fishing on lakes, ponds and less than pristine bodies of water is still great fun. I’ve managed to catch a variety of panfish, bass and even a catfish - fish that aren’t normally associated with fly fishing. I have even found people online that catch carp on the fly in the Los Angeles River!

A Good Starter Kit

When we were in Fortworth, TX, we went to a Backwoods store (a sort of high end REI) and I met Stephen - the fly shop manager of that Backwoods. Stephen is from England and through a turn of events now finds himself in Texas. He LOVES fly fishing. In our travels, I have met very few people that actually like what they do. His enthusiasm for the sport rubbed off on me, a complete novice, and within a few minutes of talking he had me handling a practice fly rod swinging it back and forth in the store.

We went over the gear options and we boiled down what would be practical for our bike tour. I essentially needed a good all-rounder fly rod that could handle multiple types of fish (panfish, small bass and trout) and water (streams, creeks, lakes). Most of the fish I would be trying to catch would be from small to medium in size (no 40lb behemoths).

With those parameters, he suggested the Temple Fork Outfitters NXT 5/6wt rod kit - a split weight rod that could take a 5wt or 6wt line. Fly rods and line come in various weights (to put it simplistically a 1wt is for tiny fish in tiny water - 12wt for big saltwater fish) and the 5/6wt was right in the middle. The rod would be plenty big for your average panfish, a good match for medium size bass and trout.

The TFO NXT kit comes complete with the case, rod, reel and line (backing, floating line, leader and tippet) for about $200. If you tried to purchase the individual parts separately, you’d be hard pressed to put together a comparable package for the same price.

Other Things You’ll Need

Outside of the reel, rod and line, there are a few more items that you’ll need to fly fish, flies being chief among them. If you thought rods and reels were overwhelming, there are a staggering amount of fly patterns out there. I’m not going to go into the minutiae of “matching the hatch” here (flyspeak for looking at the bugs around you and picking an imitation that matches). I will tell you this, there is one fly pattern that I have used that I have caught nearly all my fish on and that is the Woolly Bugger. The woolly bugger doesn’t really look exactly like a particular thing, but it does look close enough to many things that fish eat. Depending on size, it could imitate a small insect, a leech or even small bait fish. It is so versatile that it is suggested that if you have no idea what fly to use or what you’re doing exactly, you should use the WB. Going on this terse and simple advice, I’ve caught a varying amount of fish with it. My woolly bugger of choice is one that is tied on a size 10 hook (sort of medium-small), that is olive and has some flash on it (sparkly material that improves visibility in murky water). Buy them by the handful, because if you’re like me, you’ll lose a fair number to treefish and rockfish on your first attempts.

Other bits of gear I’d recommend are a pair of forceps to help in separating flies from fish. Using forceps will let you get into small mouths of certain fish without manhandling a fish’s internals more than you have to. A nail clipper is another good thing to have around to help cut off the tag ends of your fishing line. A hat is essential in keeping the sun off you. I prefer wide brim hats since they keep more sun off but also because they may save your ears from a foul hook (more flyspeak for hooking yourself in the ear). When I fish, I also wear a lightweight longsleeve shirt for the same reasons. Extra tippet and leader material is a must. Every time you tie a fly you lose an inch or two of your tippet (the really thin monofilmaent that you tie to your fly).

Take A Class!

I was fortunate that Stephen, the fly shop manager, also happened to be teaching a class the next morning. Without the class, I don’t think I’d still be fishing today having given up in frustration many weeks ago. The class I took was $75 and was five hours long, covering casting, where fish live and fly tying - well worth the investment if you’re serious.

The mechanics of casting aren’t that hard, but it does take a lot of practice to execute it smoothly. Getting some formal instruction on how to do it will go a long way in your future enjoyment of the sport, trust me.

Miscellanea
Next to decent fly shops, information on where/how to get a non-resident fishing license is difficult to locate. I’ve found that in some states, local bait shops no longer sell licenses and you HAVE to go to a Walmart to get one which becomes a logistical problem if you’re on bike. Some states like Louisiana and Mississippi have a wonderful system where you can call a phone number to add fishing days to your license.

Regarding my equipment, I’m supremely happy with everything I’ve purchased from Backwoods and Stephen. I think a 5/6 weight rod is a versatile rod for the varied types of water and fish you’ll encounter on an around the US bike tour. The only thing I would change, in fact, would be to probably get a travel specific rod. My current one breaks down to 4 pieces, something like the Orvis Frequent Flyer or Cabela’s 7 piece rod would fit better on the bike. I haven’t tried those specifically, so I can’t speak to how they are for fishing, but their small compact size are definitely more desirable for touring.

Thoughts After a Few Months of Bike (Fly) Fishing

I’m completely aware that carrying a fly rod on a bike tour does seem like quite a decadent and eccentric thing to do, but I love it. Before, when we would camp next to a river or lake I would only interact with the water by taking pictures of it (I’m not a swimmer at all). Now, by the act of fishing, I enjoy our surroundings on a whole different level. I look at the depth and speed of the water, I look if any fish are breaching the surface, what bugs are floating around in the air, I look for logs, weed beds or other structures that fish may hide.

As with any new skill or bit of knowledge that you acquire in life, it enriches and colors the way you relate to the world at large. I’ve also enjoyed how it opens conversations with locals. When I pull out the fly rod on lakes in the The South its different and people come and talk to me about it.

Is it for everyone? Probably not. If you’re pounding out 100 miles a day you’re not going to have enough time to fish. If you’re a gram counter and find a few recreational pounds too heavy, you probably won’t be into it either. But, if you’re like us and like to explore, take your time and aren’t in the rush to get anywhere - you’ll love it!

Bass on the fly.

Cat on the fly.

Truth be told, few kickstands are up to the task of keeping up a fully loaded bicycle with front and rear panniers upright. We have tried, with limited success, two flavors of the ubiquitous Pletscher kickstand. Laura has the single legged kickstand which has bent under the weight of her bicycle and is rather finicky. I’ve been using the double legged version of the kickstand which works, but has a bad habit of working itself loose. There is also something that seems a little troubling about applying all that weight to the chain stays while it holds up my 100+ lb bike. I do like it however, because it acts as an ad hoc repair stand holding the rear wheel up off the ground when unloaded.

An interesting solution to this is the Click-Stand, a collapsible pole (similar bungee system to modern tent poles) with a curved cradle that holds up your bike near the seat stay cluster. The Click-Stand’s weight is negligible and collapses down to something that could fit easily in your pannier or even your handlebar bag for easy access. Each Click-Stand is customized to fit your bike, so you have to send in some basic measurements (namely the height of the top tube from the ground).

The Click-Stand is usually sold with some elastic bands that depress the brake levers. This arrests any wheel movement so the bike won’t move. I don’t use them. My rear wheel has a wheel lock and I prefer using a leather toe strap wrapped through my front wheel and around the downtube.

The question is, does it work? Yes. Surprisingly, yes. My bike weighs probably around 110lbs but the Click-Stand holds it up with ease. The tubing appears to be fairly thick and sturdy and doesn’t buckle under the weight. There are a few things you do have to get use to. It’s not the quickest stand to deploy. I have to wrap my toe strap around the wheel and the bike first (takes just a few seconds), then prop the bike up with the actual stand. All told, it probably isn’t THAT much slower than using my Pletscher where I have to dismount first to get it to work. One other caveat is that the stand works best on solid pavement. I’ve propped it up on dirt and after a few seconds the bike began to topple over because the stand was burrowing into the earth. You could easily remedy this by finding a rock first, or a little flat piece of plastic to disperse the pressure.

Another caveat is that it works best if you DON’T have a frame pump under the top tube. Fortunately, I have a park PMP-5 which is an adjustable frame pump. I’ve figured out a way to mount the pump nestled in the rear triangle of the bike - getting rid of the need of having to remove the pump every time I used the Click-Stand.

A great SECONDARY use for the Click-Stand that we’ve discovered is as a pole for our tarp! We usually use it to give us a little additional height on the low side of our tarp shelters. You can use a tree and the Click-Stand to make a good ridge line for a tarp to lay over. I usually tie a clove-hitch over the cradle and stake it to the ground. This isn’t an officially approved use of the Click-Stand and I’m still testing it out, but so far it has worked splendidly.

Pros:
-it WORKS!
-can hold up a fully loaded bike very effectively
-can be used to support a tarp shelter
-less expensive than a double legged Pletscher

Cons:
-Not mounted to the bike
-Takes a few seconds to deploy
-Can’t use a frame pump mounted to the top tube
-Not readily available in bike shops

I highly recommend the product. I think it’s effective and works well and simply. There are some quirks that you have to get over, but if you can deal with the extra seconds to lash a toe-strap and unfold the Click-Stand, I think you’ll like it. An unexpected plus is that it can be used when erecting a tarp shelter!

For some, a pillow seems like a bit of excessive luxury to bring along. However, after 8 months of being on the road, a nice comfortable place to rest your head cannot be overrated. I’ve tried out two travel pillows in a head to head comparison (pun intended), the Exped Air Pillow and the Cocoon Travel Pillow. Which one is better? Read on!

Size

Both the Exped and Cocoon pillow deflate and roll into tiny packages. Of the two, the Exped is smaller and lighter. I’m not much of a weight weenie so this is sort of a moot point for me. For those for whom pack weight and volume are of utmost importance, the Exped is a marginal winner here.

Inflation

The Cocoon boasts a “Premium Synthetic Fill”, which initially seems like a very good idea. Why do blow up pillows tend to suck? Because they feel weird, hard and balloon like. The Exped Air Pillow has no fancy fill, just air.

Both the Exped and Cocoon need to be inflated by the user. The Cocoon uses a single valve that you blow into much like you would with a sleeping pad. It takes a few handful of breaths until it is inflated. To deflate, you squish the air out and roll it up.

In contrast, the Exped actually has two valves. One is a dedicated inflate valve and the other is a dedicated deflate valve. The inflate valve is an “innie” so you have to open wide and blow to inflate it. Amazingly, it only takes about 2 to 3 full breaths and the pillow is compltely inflated. To deflate, pop open the deflate valve and ball up the whole thing in your hand and it magically collapses airless and limp in no time.

In Use

I’ve had my Cocoon Travel Pillow for about eight months and after the first month of use I sent it away in the mail. It really was an utter disappointment. The “Premium Synthetic Fill” that I hoped would alleviate the balloon like feeling of travel pillows did nothing. The problem really lies in the shape of the pillow. The Cocoon is shaped like a regular feather pillow, which is fine if it only acted like a feather pillow. That is to say when you lay on a pillow it deforms with your head weight and actually forms more of a ramp type shape. The Cocoon doesn’t deform naturally with your head (even if you let some air out) and never forms that pleasant ramp. Rather, it keeps its brick like shape (granted a soft brick) that more often than not has given me a stiff neck in the morning.

Furthermore, the Cocoon has two surfaces, a sort of felted side and a silky side. I would sleep on the felted side with the silky side down. In the middle of the night, the pillow would slip out from under me since the silky side was so slick!

In contrast, the Exped Air Pillow seems to be designed by people who actually slept on it. The Exped pillow eschews the traditional Platonic pillow shape and has designed something that actually feels great to sleep on. A profile view reveals that the shape is a gentle ramp, something that more closely resembles what a depressed pillow looks like. There are also depressions in the middle of the pillow that hold your head in place and gives you a channel for your ear to rest comfortably in.

The asymmetrical shape of the pillow and its various depressions means that you can use the pillow in different ways to sleep your sleeping style. I’m more of a side sleeper and have found that subtle ramp is perfect for this - no more stiff necks in the morning.

Conclusion:

Isn’t a travel pillow just a travel pillow? No. Although these two pillows pack down similarly and are around the same price, the Exped is clearly the superior pillow by leaps and bounds. This is really a no brainer. Having tried both, I can highly recommend the Exped Air Pillow!

Buy it from this link and help out the site1

After reading EcoVelo and PalmBeachBikeTour’s description of the Lumotec IQ Cyo R N Plus dynamo light, I decided to pull the trigger. I usually would get the light from PeterWhiteCycles, but after a wild goose chase of playing phone tag I made one quick call to CleverCycles spoke to Dean (they had it in their store) and they shipped the light with no fuss to Austin, TX.

EcoVelo has broken down the various variations and name conventions of the Lumotec Cyo, so I won’t duplicate that here. Needless to say, Busch Muller should probably consider a different naming convention (rather than adding orphaned letters to the end), since it was a nightmare talking to bikeshops when I was trying to find it locally in Austin.

My version of the Lumotec Cyo is chrome, has the nearfield reflector and a senso setting.

Mounting
I’m using the light with a Shimano dynamo hub which required that I put the two wires into a little plastic plug that mates with the hub. There are two wires, the ground and the current. The plastic Shimano dynamo plug is marked on one hole with what looks like Poseidon’s pitchfork - connect the wire with the current that is the ground there (black and white housing) and it should work without a problem. (Thanks Jimmy for point that out…I had it wired backwards and it still worked).

Here is an image of how to attach the wiring.

The Lumotec Cyo comes with a wire mounting bracket. I had planned on mounting it like how it was shown on PalmBeachBikeTours, but it interefered with my Acorn bag. So, I had to use a DIY bracket I made from some scrap bike parks.

I tried to mount it this way originally but it didn’t work because the light ran into my rack bag.

My DIY mounting bracket.

Operation
There is a black 3 position switch on the Lumotec Cyo I have. You get three settings: Off, Senso, On. When set to Senso, the light senses when it is dark and turns on. When set to On, the light is always running. The switch has a fairly positive feel but there is a little play. I much prefer it to the squishy button on the Lumotec.

The version of the CYO I have is chrome. The chrome is not aluminum but plastic made to look like chrome. It is appealing and mixes well with silver components, but time will tell how it will wear.

There has been much to do about the “nearfield” reflector and having used it for a few nights I’m not quite sure what the big fuss is. I suppose I would have to compare it directly with the version without the reflector to really know, but my initial impression is that yes it sorta lights up the area in front of you, but dont’ get the idea that it is a uniform brightness.

I suppose my expectation was that there would somehow be this real bright pool of light right in front of my tire, but that’s just not the case. The effect is more of a semi-controlled light spill that sheds some illumination in front of you. I’ll be perfectly honest here, I was a bit underwhelmed especially with the big to do about nearfield this and nearfield that.

Having said that, the light is indeed bright. Not in a blinding million lumen sort of way, but surely bright enough to light up road imperfections that could ruin an otherwise pleasant night ride. I feel pretty confident that it is sufficient for the speeds that I ride when we’re touring. It seems to reach optimum brightness at fairly slow speeds which is good for when you’re huffing up hills.

I have only had the light for about a week, so these are just my inital impressions. I’ll write more in the coming weeks. For now, the Lumotec CYO R N Senso Plus (can it get anymore confusing?) seems like a great light for the money. Not quite as bright or easily pronounceable as say Edelux or SuperNova but it is more affordable (probably because they skimped on hiring someone to name their light).

Alas, I jest.

It’s a good light and I do recommend it for those that have a dynamo hub that want a good light for in-town commuting and touring.

After about 4 months of riding in wet, dusty and sandy conditions the tape is still going strong! It has developed a nice dark patina where I ride the most without turning into greyish zombie flesh. The tape has even endured a second wrap without any signs of letting up. I recently changed my brake levers, brake housing and shifter housing while in Austin and undid the tape and re-wrapped it afterwords. There were no signs of the tape coming apart except for some minor fraying of the backing in some areas that can be easily remedied with a pair of scissors.

While crossing the Rio Grande, we hit a week of wet drizzly weather and my handlebars were left uncovered. The tape looked like it was drying out or had some strange deposits on it from the water. When we got into San Antonio, I tracked down some proofhide and applied a few coats and after a few days the leather was supple and had its sheen again (now I’m carrying a small tin of the stuff).

Overall, I am supremely happy with this tape. The dark brown leather ages nicely, still feels good to the bare hands after months of weather and is durable and resilient. Highly recommend!

As a warning, this will no doubt be a contentious post. After 7 months of bike touring with Tektro 720 cantilevers, I’ve swapped them out for Plain Jane Deore V-brakes and am much happier! I bought the Tektro 720s for aesthetic reasons but also because they cleared the big tire and wide fenders I was running on my Surly LHT. Setting up canti’s for the uninitiated can be a practice in frustration, but I familiarized myself with them months before we left on our trip.

In the end, despite the constant fiddling with straddle cable height, toe-in, changing brake pads and applying the advice from Jan Heine’s special brake issue of Bicycle Quarterly the brakes always felt a little “mushy.” I was able to get a relatively positive response from the front brake, but the rear brake never felt right. Maybe I’m not nuanced enough to appreciate brake modulation, but all I know is that in order to lock up the wheels I had to be deep in the drops and squeeze like hell.

I’m in Austin, TX right now taking a few weeks off from touring and took the opportunity to try out V-brakes. I’m using Deore V-brakes with stock pads and Tektro’s road brake levers that are adjusted to work with linear pull brakes and they feel many magnitudes better. The levers have a nice crisp response and feels better than what I remember from using Travel Agents or Dia-Compe’s 287v levers. I can bring the bike to a skidding halt from the hoods of the brakes with relative ease.

As a caveat, I haven’t put on many fully loaded miles with this set up so time will tell how they hold out. But for now, I’m greatly pleased with them and urge other LHT users to try out V-brakes if your canti’s aren’t stopping you.

When Laura and I embarked on our trip, we both decided to bring only one pair of footwear. Although it seems daunting to decide on the “perfect shoe” for an around-the-US bicycle tour, for us, the answer was pretty simple. We were going to bring our Keen sandals. We had gone on several bike tours the last few years from the Oregon coast, wine country in California to the desert of Joshua Tree. In our experience, Keens offered the most versatile and perfect footwear for varied riding and camping conditions.

Shoes (like panniers, pedals and every bit of bike kit) is a very contentious issue. We decided to go with sandals because they shed water easily and dry out faster. We were expecting a wet winter and needed footwear that could withstand wet conditions. The Keens, unlike other sandals, also had a strong rubber toe box. This keeps you from stubbing your toe on rocks or tent pegs while hiking or walking around camp.

The other crucial decision we made was to go with plain Keens and not cleated ones. We reasoned that since we were going to do a fair amount of exploration off the bike, we didn’t want to deal with clicking cleats. From a maintenance point of view as well, having regular flat pedals means there’s nothing to break. No springs to jam and no cleats to wear out. If worst came to worst, we could replace our pedals from the largest chain of bike shops in the country - Walmart (sad, but true).

So far, after 7 months on the road, the Keens have performed admirably. They have dried after storms, they’ve protected our toes and they’ve been largely hassle free. We think we made the perfect choice, for us, in terms of footwear. We’ve worn them on hot days without socks and on snow days with wool+neoprene socks.

We have noticed some variance in durability between some models. Laura had a pair of leather Keen Newports and I had a pair of the canvas/synthetic Keen H2s. Both are nearly identical in shape and appearance but after thousands of miles of pedaling and marching through dirt, mud and snow the weaknesses of my H2s became apparent.

On the H2s, the rear strap is a 3 piece affair. With enough bending, the stitches popped and the 3 pieces separated which I repaired with a Speedy Stitcher. Laura’s Newports had a one piece rear strap so there was nothing to come apart. The footbeds were also very different. Laura’s had a more cork-like footbed (think Birkenstocks) that were successful in fighting odor. My H2s had a plastic/rubber footbed that made odors worse. What would happen is the area under my arch would sweat and attract dirt and bacteria and it would just be suctioned on to the rubber footbed. On more than one occasion, Laura would give me grief about taking my sandals off in the tent.

If you have the extra money (it isn’t a whole lot more), it is worth it to purchase the leather Newports (look for the one-piece rear strap and cork footbed) over the canvas H2s. That said, the H2s are great in their own right, but if I were to have only one shoe, I would choose the leather Newports - its a no-brainer.

Once we were in Big Bend country, we got replacements (both leather Newports) and our feet are as happy as can be. If you’re looking for one shoe for your around the world/US tour, we highly recommend Keen Newports.

While on my grand bicycle tour of these United States, I had the chance to stop at Rivendell HQ. When we left, the great guys at Riv. gifted us with some goodies and one of them was their Rivendell MUSA pants. It was something I was always curious about but never got around to ordering before we left for our trip.

I’m writing this review now almost 4 months later from the inside of my tent just outside of Carlsbad Caverns (yes, I get internet here!), so this is more or less my long term assessment of these pants.

The pants come in two colors, olive and grey with a dark blue gusset in the crotch area. When you pull them out of their bag, your first response will be - “wow, these are a lot shinier than I thought.” They are a synthetic material and when brand spanking new there’s a bit of a sheen to them. Don’t worry though, with some use they become more matte and wear in great.

It’s bike specific features are the nice deep pockets, generous cut in the legs to allow plenty of movement and the very effective velcro ankle cuff. Up until I had these pants, i was riding with some Ex Officio camp pants and a velcro pant protector that I absolutely hated. The integrated ankle cuff on the MUSA pants are far more effective and far less annoying than a separate strap that moves around and comes undone. The ankle cuff, coincidentally, makes these great camp pants! Combined with thick socks it has protected me from getting any poison oak in the forest or pricked by cacti in the desert or ticks everywhere else. They are truly versatile pants that are great on the bike and at camp.

When it’s really hot out, I will usually just wear bike shorts. On moderate days 60s-70s I’ll ride with these pants on. When it’s cold and windy, I definitely ride with these pants on. They make a great lightweight wind shell and work to a lesser degree as rain pants in a light rain. The material is thin and dries very quickly which makes it great for a light drizzle. The quick dryingness of the fact also makes them ideal for camping when you have to air dry your clothes.

I really like these pants. No, you will definitely not win any fashion awards wearing them, but as far as a functional and well made pair of bike camping pants these are tough to beat. Having worn mine nearly every single day for the last four months in various weather conditions, I can’t imagine going on another bike tour without these. In fact, I liked mine so much that I ordered a second pair when I had the chance. I have since sent back my Ex Officio pants and a pair of plus fours and ride/camp in these all the time.

HIGHLY RECOMMEND