Author Archives:

About

For half a century, Tamia Nelson has been ranging far and wide by bike, boat, and on foot. A geologist by training, an artist since she could hold a pencil, a photographer since her uncle gave her a twin-lens reflex camera when she was 10, she's made her living as a writer and novelist for two decades. Avocationally her interests span natural history, social history, cooking, art, and self-powered outdoor pursuits, and she has broad experience in mountaineering, canoeing, kayaking, cycling, snowshoeing and skiing.

Small Talk About the 42cm Surly Long Haul Trucker

Tamia has often written about her 42cm Surly Long Haul Trucker touring bike, and this has led to many readers writing to ask questions about the small bike. So many of the questions are the same from reader to reader that Tamia decided to put together this FAQ to help answer the most common ones. So if you have a question about the diminutive workhorse of a bike, read this first.
______________________________

by Tamia Nelson | February 27, 2011

I‘ve been riding my small-framed Surly Long Haul Trucker (bought as a complete build) and writing about it since April 2008, and in that time I’ve received many letters from folks asking questions about this little workhorse. The emphasis here is on “little.” There aren’t many affordable road bikes—never mind those designed for touring—that are available in a frame as small as the 42 cm. It’s not a surprise that the letters I receive often ask the same questions, so here I’ll answer the ones that I get most often, beginning with…

The small Truckers come with … Continue reading »

The Rewards of Riding Rough Roads by Tamia Nelson

I’ve been riding my Surly Long Haul Trucker for over a year now and grow even more fond of the bike. The LHT is capable, sturdy, and reliable—just what’s wanted in a touring or utility bike. I’ve hauled groceries and other goods, touring kit, and boxes of vino without any complaint from the bike (though the engine sometimes groans on the steep hills!). I bought the complete bike, and swapped the original handlebars and stem for Nitto Noodles, changed the saddle to a Selle SMP Strike Extra, and after 1000 miles I mounted Schwalbe Marathon tires. The bike has proven to be easy to maintain, the brakes adequate, the drivetrain and shifting superb, and the hubs and wheels very hardy. But except for a few miles of dirt road riding last year, I stayed primarily on paved roads. It wasn’t that I avoided unimproved roads. It’s just that my rides didn’t take me off pavement very often. This year I changed all that. I’ve been seeking out the rough roads, to test my LHT and … Continue reading »

Smoothing It: Secrets of a Happy Camper

Camping can be great fun, but the fun fades fast if you’re soaked, bug-bitten, hungry, or tired. A few days of misery like that, and you’ll find yourself daydreaming about the traffic jam on the way to the office. You don’t have to rough it when you hit the trail, though. Here Tamia tells you how to smooth your way in the wild.
______________________________

We do not go to the green woods and crystal waters to rough it, we go to smooth it. We get it rough enough at home.…
—Nessmuk (George Washington Sears)

by Tamia Nelson | August 10, 2004

Some folks like roughing it, or think they do. I did, once. My dream of a good time was hanging like an addled bat from the flank of a knife-edged ridge and snatching forty winks in a gale-buffeted tent, while waiting for the next avalanche to sweep down off the towering heights. So when my first long camping trip proved to be a never-ending ordeal of sodden clothes and blood-sucking flies, I shrugged off my … Continue reading »