Since we are flying to Seattle on Friday to start our trip, Lori and I figured we should actually get out for a shakedown ride (crazy, I know). This morning we got up early, loaded our panniers (saddlebags) and hit the road for 25 miles. Since neither of us has ridden a fully-loaded touring bike before, it was quite an eye-opener! The bikes felt lumbering - heavy and slow (could it be that the combined weight of my bike, my gear, and myself is pushing 270lbs?) The big picture is that things seem to work the way they are supposed to. Just as with our thru-hiking trips, the first few weeks will see us making (hopefully minor) changes to body position and gear choices. Little details will need to be dealt with along the way - a squeaky seat here, and loose bolt there - but overall we are pleased with our setups and will just have to get used to the different handling characteristics of these bikes. We rode the 25 miles in about two hours. If we can do that twice a day, we will have no problem getting down the coast.
Since we are flying to Seattle on Friday to start our trip, Lori and I figured we should actually get out for a shakedown ride (crazy, I know). This morning we got up early, loaded our panniers (saddlebags) and hit the road for 25 miles. Since neither of us has ridden a fully-loaded touring bike before, it was quite an eye-opener! The bikes felt lumbering - heavy and slow (could it be that the combined weight of my bike, my gear, and myself is pushing 270lbs?) The big picture is that things seem to work the way they are supposed to. Just as with our thru-hiking trips, the first few weeks will see us making (hopefully minor) changes to body position and gear choices. Little details will need to be dealt with along the way - a squeaky seat here, and loose bolt there - but overall we are pleased with our setups and will just have to get used to the different handling characteristics of these bikes. We rode the 25 miles in about two hours. If we can do that twice a day, we will have no problem getting down the coast.
3 comments:
HELL YEAH!!!
You two have a killer time on the ride:)
Have a fantastic, safe adventure Lori and Christian! I look forward to reading about your adventures and seeing your photos!
Damn- you guys went up A mountain in the heat of the day with your bikes loaded up...alright you're definitely prepared to handle the grades on the coast- there are a couple of gnarly climbs but yall will be just fine. have fun!
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