Recovery from the surgery two weeks ago has been a little bit slower than I had hoped, but even if it had been quicker,
weather and the remainder of “life” have not cooperated well with my training since my last post. I did get in a couple of 35 mile rides this
week, and today and tomorrow are supposed to be, if not sunny, at least
rain-free. So it’s serious mileage time, and I'll be heading out to ride as soon as this post is finished.
I’ve still been trying to wrap up two remaining equipment issues. The smaller one is to find a handlebar bag that is waterproof, not too big, but with room for my rain jacket, camera, ultrasonic dog repelling device (more on that below), and other little items I want to have within easy reach while on the bike. Not everybody on these tours uses a handlebar bag, but since I’m not riding for speed, I am not too concerned with the minimal aerodynamic drag that the bag creates. Of course the kicker that is making it so hard to find a bag that meets these requirements is that I don’t want to spend a huge amount—after all I probably won’t use the bag again in the foreseeable future. I’ve been looking online. I’ve been to several local bike stores. REI. I just haven’t found a waterproof one I like yet that meets my other criteria.
The bigger equipment issue, though are the wheels. Without getting too technical, my bike had a wonderful set of Zipp wheels which are very fast. However, the number of spokes on those wheels is relatively low (18 on the front wheel and 20 on the back). Generally, the fewer spokes, the less durable the wheel will be. That’s no problem if you’re one of those 150 lb. thin riders. I’m not! And this trip will be tough on wheels.
I have a pair of pretty nice wheels by Velocity, an Australian company, that have 36 spokes, that were on the bike I used for commuting when I was working. But the more spokes, the heavier and slower the wheel. I purchased a compromise set of wheels by a company in Denver called Rol (pronounced “roll”….get it?). I mentioned these wheels in the my previous post. Rol said that their wheels are almost as fast as the Zipps, but they have 24 spokes on the front and 28 in the back making them more durable. I thought they might be the perfect solution for this trip. The Rol's have proven not to be nearly as fast the Zipps, and don't seem much faster than the Velocity wheels. I’ve switched back and forth a couple times between the Rol's and the Velocity wheels and I’m undecided whether the Rol's have enough of a speed advantage to use them, or whether I should use the high spoked Velocity wheels. Last night I switched the bike back to the Velocity wheels and today will run the same course I ran earlier this week with the Rol’s and compare. I’ve got another ten days to decide. Then I have to take the bike to my local bike shop for a full check, adjustments, packaging, and then send it to the hotel in Oregon.
In the next week I need to put in a fair amount of mileage to get myself better ready for the trip. A week from today I am going to Florida for a family wedding so I will lose four days of riding over Memorial Day weekend. And then when I get back I will only have a day or two of riding before the bike has to go to the shop. It feels like the calendar is moving much quicker now.
I’ve still been trying to wrap up two remaining equipment issues. The smaller one is to find a handlebar bag that is waterproof, not too big, but with room for my rain jacket, camera, ultrasonic dog repelling device (more on that below), and other little items I want to have within easy reach while on the bike. Not everybody on these tours uses a handlebar bag, but since I’m not riding for speed, I am not too concerned with the minimal aerodynamic drag that the bag creates. Of course the kicker that is making it so hard to find a bag that meets these requirements is that I don’t want to spend a huge amount—after all I probably won’t use the bag again in the foreseeable future. I’ve been looking online. I’ve been to several local bike stores. REI. I just haven’t found a waterproof one I like yet that meets my other criteria.
The bigger equipment issue, though are the wheels. Without getting too technical, my bike had a wonderful set of Zipp wheels which are very fast. However, the number of spokes on those wheels is relatively low (18 on the front wheel and 20 on the back). Generally, the fewer spokes, the less durable the wheel will be. That’s no problem if you’re one of those 150 lb. thin riders. I’m not! And this trip will be tough on wheels.
I have a pair of pretty nice wheels by Velocity, an Australian company, that have 36 spokes, that were on the bike I used for commuting when I was working. But the more spokes, the heavier and slower the wheel. I purchased a compromise set of wheels by a company in Denver called Rol (pronounced “roll”….get it?). I mentioned these wheels in the my previous post. Rol said that their wheels are almost as fast as the Zipps, but they have 24 spokes on the front and 28 in the back making them more durable. I thought they might be the perfect solution for this trip. The Rol's have proven not to be nearly as fast the Zipps, and don't seem much faster than the Velocity wheels. I’ve switched back and forth a couple times between the Rol's and the Velocity wheels and I’m undecided whether the Rol's have enough of a speed advantage to use them, or whether I should use the high spoked Velocity wheels. Last night I switched the bike back to the Velocity wheels and today will run the same course I ran earlier this week with the Rol’s and compare. I’ve got another ten days to decide. Then I have to take the bike to my local bike shop for a full check, adjustments, packaging, and then send it to the hotel in Oregon.
In the next week I need to put in a fair amount of mileage to get myself better ready for the trip. A week from today I am going to Florida for a family wedding so I will lose four days of riding over Memorial Day weekend. And then when I get back I will only have a day or two of riding before the bike has to go to the shop. It feels like the calendar is moving much quicker now.
I just looked at the date on my computer screen. One month from today the bucket list cycle trip begins in Astoria. Wow!
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