inflatable tubes for river crossings

[soul_adventurer]

hey 2 spot
look i dont mind your input and well really, its not rocket science about floating a bike across a river. so if you were having a go at me, then thats ok too because its all water off a ducks back so far as im concerned. and yeah well, there really are some dumb people around...
but if i did have the smarts, i would have organised a couple of big beefy guys to do the ride with so they could carry my bike across the difficult crossings...
outside of the biking realm im a sailor and kayaker.so im used to all things water.
bernadette

i also read the ride report fo rthe 2 guys doing the syberian ride. their "doom machine" (aka bike floats)as they call it was tailor made to do the required job.so at least i have that sorted out.

[2 SPOT]

hey bud,, my second reply was just having a go at ya for fun based on the common sense comment, but my first Q was serious.

just wondering the plan, floating a bike is one thing, floating it accross deep water thats moving is another. i dont ever plan on floating my bike across a river cause, well, i dont bring floats with me, so, i was mostly curious to what else one would do to be prepared for that cause it seems like it is more involved than just swim it across.

cheers

[L.B.S.]

First, I think the idea is badass, those floaty things with a bike strapped to them look so cool and the romantic in me has ultimate adventure visions of treking through the untamed wilderness with an extremely self sufficient kit ready to tackle anything, dancing in my head.

The realist part of me is curious, though.

-Is there going to be a group of people doing this? It may be a little daunting to be alone attempting such an endeavor...

-if one (or more) peeps are finding the for sure need to cross an unpassable river/s, one would imagine they were fairly far away from civilization, yes? So, that would mean they would pretty much need to be well packed for a distance required trip, which in turn, would mean packed up with tents, gear, food, tools, parts, etc., etc.?

I pack with me an air matress of "twin" sized dimensions for my camping trips. It does fold up pretty compact, but it's obviously pretty thin on the pvc thickness, and very fragile. It weighs a ton, for all it's compacted dimensions!

How on earth would you pack a fairly large, and presumably quite heavy at this stage, air bladder/s on an already packed up dualsport bike?

Some poor bastard in the group gets stuck with two sets of sleeping bags, tents, gear, food, tools, rope, air pump, and one guy carries just the floaty thing?

Please please don't take my questions as a poke, or with any snide or ill intent, I am absolutely being respectful of the wish to do this-like I said, I think it's awesome The fascinated and how does that work? part of me is just uber curious!

[soul_adventurer]

hey guys

all valid questions but the thing is im probably going to be riding solo so i need to be as self sufficent as possible. if i had a couple of blokes riding with me then none of this would be required. i havent even been able to locate the desired pntoons yet and if i cant then i wont be taking them!!!!
pontoons of the type im after will pack down small enough to be worthwhile taking.
as i said, ive got a lot of expereince in fresh and salt water and off shore sailing and offshore ocean kayaking. all singlehanded stuff. river work is likewise a piece of cake. i cant swim if there are crocs but crossing a fast flowing river just needs a plan to be worked on before going in. i wont go into details here. up north most of the rivers that needs crossing arent fast flowing in the sense that you will get swept downstream. as i say, the crocs are a bigger danger!
i am the type of person that will take on just about everything. if i had to lower my bike down a cliff face to keep riding then i would bring my ropes and climbing gear etc.
bernadette

[ADV8]

Originally Posted by soul_adventurer

and if its deep deep water then i would swim with my bike to get to the other side. common sense fact#2.

Just saying.

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c3...n/IMG_0711.jpg

What about a plain old tractor tube that come in all manner of sizes,the diameter would make for good stability.

[2 SPOT]

dont know what size would work for a bike, but when backpacking in canyons and i know i will be in deep water i take an inflatable child pool just big enough to set my pack and shoes in, works like a champ. its also great for lounging in the water on those warm days at camp.

[team ftb]

I was riding by myself in Lao. Came across a river that at the time was too deep to ride across. Most trails over here in the bush near a major river usually has locals living nearby for the water supply. Not sure if its the same where you'll be travelling. We simply grabed a couple thick branches and threaded one through each wheel, and carry the bike across. This should work up to about chest deep with no problems I would think. The bike is still soaking wet but the airbox at least stayed dry. I gave the camera to one of the locals and gave him a 10 second lesson on taking a picture and this is what he snapped.



KTM 525 getting across.

Those pontoons look wonderful but I bet they don't pack small and weigh a ton. A truck inner tube I'm sure would pack much smaller than the pontoons. My friend did exactly this in Cambodia with a XR650 on top of a truck inner tube..

[soul_adventurer]

the "locals" that do live near the streams have very big teeth and long powerful jaws!!!!

local inhabitants (aka aboriginal australians) dont live near any of the streams. they own the country as in they have native title but they all live in towns at the end of many of the roads/tracks in the cape area.

at the time of the year when most people in 4wd and bikes are heading to the cape, the rivers and streams are hopefully at their lowest. and with the OCR this year there is bound to be plenty of people to assist if a deep water crossing requires carrying the bike across. most people doing these trips are usually pretty obliging!

[RozzyCat]

Soul man,

You'll want to connect with Crooked Creek. Sounds like you two have the aquatic adventure spirit.

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showt...713114&page=14

[ABHulgan]

Bernadette,
A couple of thoughts come to mind. Sailing and sea-kayaking are a totally different animal than dealing with whitewater. You may have unique knowledge of tides, currents, rips, etc, but a whitewater river involves (in my opinion) a lot more risk that comes to you a lot quicker than a rogue wave. Overhanging trees, hydraulics, and tricky rapids can bring about your demise very quickly, before you even get your head back above water. You simply don't go into whitewater without a PFD, and I consider swift water too deep to ride through, whitewater.

I gave a lot of thought to this pontoon thing, and I don't see how you could safely do it without three strong men/women, some rope, and at least one PFD. In your picture in post one, I also don't see the needed trees within 300 yards of the riverbank.

Walking/wading the river pushing the float could easily lead to lost footing and your raft/bike combo floating away on the current. Tying yourself to the raft/bike breaks one of the cardinal rules of boating-again you could slip, but this time be dragged downstream by the raft/bike, once again to your demise. Tying a rope, crossing the river, and then pulling the raft across with the rope also has a problem. What if the edge of the pontoon tips under the current, either flipping the raft or acting like a parachute and either pulling you into the water or forcing you to let go the rope?

You seem very committed to this idea, and I don't want to rain on your parade, but losing your bike (at best) many miles from help could lead to a long walk, at worst, your broken corpse jammed beneath a submerged rock until the water level drops. In the picture it looks like the road fords the river; why not scout the river, and either ride or push across the ford. In this scenario, the worst that will happen is water in the engine, which you will be equipped to remedy once on the other side. Or wait for a truck to come that could ferry you. Or detour to a bridge.

[PG007]

Route 18A?

Originally Posted by team ftb

I was riding by myself in Lao. Came across a river that at the time was too deep to ride across. Most trails over here in the bush near a major river usually has locals living nearby for the water supply. Not sure if its the same where you'll be travelling. We simply grabed a couple thick branches and threaded one through each wheel, and carry the bike across. This should work up to about chest deep with no problems I would think. The bike is still soaking wet but the airbox at least stayed dry. I gave the camera to one of the locals and gave him a 10 second lesson on taking a picture and this is what he snapped.



KTM 525 getting across.

Those pontoons look wonderful but I bet they don't pack small and weigh a ton. A truck inner tube I'm sure would pack much smaller than the pontoons. My friend did exactly this in Cambodia with a XR650 on top of a truck inner tube..

[soul_adventurer]

thanks for the input hulgan but if i have it right then perhaps i should just stay at home and do some knitting!!!! so far as offshore kayaking goes, theres crocs that can get me, i can tip out of the boat (as the craft i paddle is a performance craft and very "tippy" as its built for speed) and then i can have trouble getting back in especially on my own,i can get tumbled by sharks, i could get plain lost if i lose my bearing,and i could capsize in the large and very large swells i paddle in when the weather turns foul and im caught out. with the sailing i reckon i could fall overboard and knock my head and drown, i reckon i could break a boom or a mast, drag anchor onto a lee shore, run aground in shallow water, get swept overboard (done that) and get lost at sea (done that too) and so on and so forth blah blah blah. with bikes i could crash into a tree (done that) and just plain have a bad time and break a bone or something (havent done that).
hell im not talking about going down rapids or drop offs, where did you get that idea from? im just talking about crossing rivers that are too deep for me to ride my bike across. and dont underestimate the power of logical thinking.

and i DO AGREE with everything you say in your post on the subject! and i thank you for your valid input. i used to ride rapids in helmet and wetsuit. a very dangerous pastime that i gave up a while back as i wanted to stay alive. it was fun though!! anyhow with this "sport" all too often you are not in control of where you ride and as you say, you can quite easily get sucked under and jammed against rocks.

im just lookinghg for alternatives to deep water crossings when on my own.

the thing i have found with any kind of water at any location is to have a deep respect for what it is capable of and to know that mother nature is supreme. that way i have managed to be here today to write this response.

bernadette

[S/W]

Buy a Rokon, they float. http://www.rokon.com/index.php?p=1_1...s-and-Articles

[Craneguy]

I'm in the rigging business, and it occurred to me that one of these products might work. I think you can even get ones that inflate using the bike's exhaust. (= Less )

Maybe 2 bags and straps under the engine, that way the bike stays upright and you just deflate the bags in shallow water and ride out.

Give the guys at this site a call.

It's a gutsy move. Make sure the first thing you do is set up a video camera on the other side. This I'd like to see!

Good luck!

[soul_adventurer]

hi craneguy

thanks for the link.
if you check out the thread "zambian joyride" on the forum here you will see that its already been done.....




This is so excellent!