Light Versus Heavy

I've tried many times to bike tour as light as possible but when it gets down to it
I really like to be somewhat self sustained. I like to have tools to do almost any
work I need on my bike without heading to a bike shop. I like to have as many
spare parts as I can get away with. Many lightweight cycle tourists have been
critical of the weight I carry. But, I have run into many a lightweight rider who
asked if I had things like skewers, shifters and so on. My answer is no. If I have
carried it then I don't have it. So, carry as much as you can get away with. That
is my motto.

Fat Tire Love

After running some tests before a tour to SE Asia I am convinced the Specialized Crossroads EX is an awesome tire. So far this year they have worked out great. I love the comfort all the rubber of a big tire adds.

Fences - Let's tear them down.

You've just ridden 60 miles against the wind with slight up hills with fence rows on both
sides of the road the whole day. You don't want to spend mass money on motels at the
end of each chunk of fence rows in the little towns scattered all along the highways of
the U.S. You don't want to trespass. You don't want to camp along the side of the road.
What do you do?

Welcome to bicycle touring in most of the U.S.. I understand that a lot of the fences are
meant to keep cattle from roaming away or getting hit by cars and so on. But couldn't
these fences be put maybe a half a mile away from the road? Then cycle tourists can
find many more safe, sanctioned places to camp.

Arizona has to be the worst state I've toured through thus far on this matter. For the
most part I think the whole state is fenced in this way. Even washes that go under the
road are impossible to bivi in since they run the fences, which are angle iron and barbed
wire madness, right up to flush with the cement of the road.