what do you do once your fwc gets you there?

[lqhikers]

thought i would start this discussion with one of our hobbies once we set up camp(of course you have to be next to a railroad track!) called railbiking we do it only on unused tracks never on main lines.great way to see country that you cannot get to any other way,also great way to view wild life. would love to hear about fellow fwc&atc campers hobbies! drive slow and enjoy "its the journey"

[erod]

railbiking, never heard of that one...we climb (leaving in 1 hour), mtn bike and ski. sometimes we just chill, go for a swim and/or have a few beers. cool thread!

[craig333]

Hike, swim, Jeep, eat, drink, talk, walk the dogs, sightsee. Sometimes all of that, sometimes just one or two. While I've walked rails I've never ever seen it done with a setup like that.

[EdoHart]

Hike, mtn. bike, explore, base for back packing, cook, swim, amateur astronomy, soak in hot springs, jet ski/water ski, the occasional air show. I've started using the dogs to pull me on a skate board and I've seen off road skate boards, but their pretty expensive, so I'll have to see how well they adapt to on road before dishing out that kind of money.

Railbiking looks interesting and fun. I could imagine going a long way before realizing it.

[Brian]

When we are in the states and go camping with the FWC we mostly just camp. We both just love to hang out in a campsite. Nearly all of our truck camping is either in National Forests or BLM land and so we usually camp by ourselves in some spot we happen upon and like. We hike with the dog some but mostly just hang out, read and watch nature. If we find a place to hang hammocks we are grinning.
When we travel with the rig, that usually means Latin America and the rig becomes more of an RV...meaning we explore the sights and culture and the rig is just a movable home base. Our last three month truckcamping trip was through Mexico, Belize and Guatamala and was centered around exploring Mayan ruins.
I love your bike/railrider unit. What a great way to see stuff you would never have the opportunity to see! I have had the idea of something like you built but using a small displacement motorbike but I never pursued it. Your idea with the bikes is so much better since you can sneak up on wildlife and enjoy the sounds of nature instead of listening to an infernal combustion engine. I remember hearing about a stretch of tracks in some Asian country where folks had built carts for riding the rails and the driver kicked with a foot as you would a skateboard and it had a light bench seat to carry passengers. I think the article said they used old truck wheel bearings for the rollers.
Brian

[Tomas Tierra]

our long trips to baja are centered around finding deserted, secluded surf spots..I'm lucky my wife surfs, so this is a tollerable mission for the both of us..

[Tomas Tierra]

Alot of the rural spots we go to surf have fish camps. We tend to spend alot of time with the fishermen and thier families practicing spanish and trading state side goodies for fresh seafood..great off the beaten path culture..and the food is great!!

[Tomas Tierra]

Couple more shots. Mostly to remind me of how bad I want to go to Baja!

[chnlisle]

We're like Brian. We juist hang out, look at the stars, ride our bikes and enjoy the solitude. And like Tommy when in Mexico we kayak and do some free diving for lunch and dinner althoughi've never taken a catch like the he show here. But we get enough to satisfy us. I think just the camping is an end unto itself for us.

I have heared of rail biking and it appeals to both Pam and I. We would like to know more about it. C'mon LQ give up with more info and how the h&ll do you keep the rear whell on the track?

[chnlisle]

Wow LQ you really got me fired up on the rail bike. I googled it but I didnt find a rig like yours. It really appeals to me because Pam and I can ride tandem and it looks like you can break it down and take camping. Where did you find the plans? I need a new hobby and Pam is ready to go rail biking.

[lqhikers]

in response to your begging i will go a little deeper into railbiking! i started expiermenting 20 years ago after i saw a add in one of the old reproduction sears robuck catalogs that showed a device to mount a bike via a tripod with a single wheel on the second rail,tried this ,ist crash give up on that design! over the years tried many different ways.back in 1989 wife and myself spent almost a year traveling by bicycle in new zealand and australia while there saw a set up close to what we now use after a couple of false starts i got the bugs worked out. as long as you are going forward the rear wheels track fine.what i call keeper wheels (Orange in color)are roller skate wheels which are adjustable, you always want to make everything adjustable as track rail setting can very distances between 1 to 3 inchs (normal tracks narrow gauge tracks can be much closer together).measurements on frame will be different depending on bike types,i suggest mtn. bikes just because they are stronger and thats what we ride anyway.tubing is mostly 1x2thinwall &1x1thinwall,plus whatever works!hope this gets you going also open for more questins drive slow enjoy"its the journey"

[Tomas Tierra]

How quick can you get it off the track if you hear a horn??

[chnlisle]

LQ
Any chance you could post some pix of the plans?

[lqhikers]

all design work was done in my head then just started playing with ideas,first you need to at least duplicate a set of rails to lay everything out on,i formed a set out of 2 2x4s then used a pattern i copied off of a rail track shaped same as rail then it is just trail and error,error,error,u get the idea!.i also looked up different ones on the inner net tried some designs out but most of them dont work very good.another design i built did work real good it was a recumbent style was fast safe (because it was close to ground)but not to handy to travel with thats why i went back to bicycle .come fall or winter as you know its kind of hot down here in the desert now.i would be glad to meet up with fellow fwc that might be interested in doing a trip to an area that has some track (unused)pictures i posted are on the eagle mtn line off interstate 10 near indio ca.this line is not in use and also some neat 4wheeling ,old bradshaw trail goes from salton sea to blythe, area,or if you know of some unused track inyour area we are always looking for new spots .around 1st of nov. we always go to saline valley for a couple o weeks and in dec jan (no set date we try to hook up with other baja people and take a slow 6-8 weeks beach to beach clam diner to fish dinner to making sure the tide comes in every morning.go slow enjoy the ride "its the journey"

[chnlisle]

LQ,
I'm going to take you up on meeting up once we get the new house in Tucson together. We like Saline and Baja as well and the Indio area isnt that far from Tucson. Maybe on one of my trips to see my family in Pasadena I can swing by and take a look at your rail bike rig. Actually I'll be passing through next week for a hospital thing at Kaiser but I dont know how much free time I'll have. I'll send you a PM with my cell #.

[EdoHart]

Essex is along the old Hwy 66 and last April I found a great site from which the watch the annual Persied meteor shower that is just south of the town or Essex, Ca. The shower is predicted to peak the Monday before thanksgiving and I'm taking vacation the entire week before that. I was thinking of spending a little time around the Salton Sea area, but I'm flexible if it means getting to check out rail biking.

[EdoHart]

Let me try this again...

Essex is along the old Hwy 66 and last April I found a great site from which the watch the annual Persied meteor shower that is south of the town or Essex, Ca. The shower is predicted to peak the Monday before thanksgiving and I'm taking vacation the entire week before that as well as the week of Thanksgiving. I was thinking of spending a little time around the Salton Sea area, but I'm flexible if it means getting to check out rail biking.

I like Saline valley a lot, but every since it became a national park, with the dogs-on-leash requirement, it just hasn't been the same. Still, I could see coming by for a day or two, especially if it means hooking up with other FWC owners. Maybe a run up to Teakettle junction, or to the sand dunes would be in order.

[DLN]

We hike, mnt bike, and explore in the morning, swim and layup at the lake, stream, or river in the afternoon and drain beverages. Hang out at camp, read or nap in the early evening. Study the camp fire at night.

Hey lq,
Those welding skills seem to have payed off again with the railbiking rig...great piece of work.

[Mushhuskies]

Hello all,

Thought I'd post a few quick shots of our last mountain blitz. Hiked in 13 miles to visit a friend working on a FS lookout. No way there other than helicopter!

Having abit of trouble labeling the pix so the quick and dirty way:
1. Hiking thru the hemlocks
2. You can just make out the LO in the distance. Taken 5 miles up the trail
3. Black Mtn. LO
4. Black Lake as seen from the LO......COLD!
5. Another view from the top

[chnlisle]

Wow!! How ugly is that? Lets buy it.

[DLN]

Very nice shots. Now that's my kind of county, especially the lake. Thanks for sharing.

[craig333]

I always wanted to work in a lookout. Competition was fierce. Now not more than a handful are still manned (around here anyway). Nice shots.

[benburnett]

Fantastic pics. I'll bet the fishing is unreal in the lake if you have to hike that far to get to it.

My usual routine when camping is usually diving somewhere or fishing someplace. Reading, telling lies ( I mean creative stories) around the campfire and enjoying a clear night sky without the city lights drowning it out.