14 days till the big ride!

I spent the last week taking care of logistics:  shopping for necessary gear, lightening up my bike, getting a tune up, finding a return trip for my bike. (That reminds me, I need to find a return trip for myself!)

Stuff

I pretty much have everything I need by this point.  I love to camp, so I’m set in the camping gear department.  There are a couple of things I still want to buy.

I’d love an extra pair of cycling shorts.  I have two that I love and one that seems promising (I guess I’ll have to try them out on the ride).  My problem with shorts is that I don’t like a lot of padding.  I think it gets in the way.  Everyone kind of looks at me funny when I say that.  I think it’s because I have the BEST SADDLE IN THE WORLD!  The Selle Ldy.  It’s specifically a woman’s saddle, but so many men were using it that they now have a “Man” version (which looks the same, maybe a bit longer, and says “Man” on it).

I also thought I’d pick up an extra jersy, if there’s a good deal on one.  I’ve always wanted to try out the wool jerseys… but they’re hella expensive.  I think I’m destined to wash some of my gear on the road.

Lightening Up Bluey

My bike, Bluey, is a 2003 Terry Symmetry.  I originally installed a rear rack so that I could carry gear for bike camping!  I’ve been training with that rack and one pannier this whole season.  I love to over pack and feel a sense of safety from just having extra room to stash stuff.  This week, I decided to lose the weight and the wind resistance.

Simplicity is beautiful.  I removed the rack and added a medium seat wedge pack for my tubes (I need to carry 2 because I have two different sized wheels), patch kit and multi-tool.

So far, I have only used one water bottle in addition to my CamelBak , so I installed another water bottle holder and sawed off the top of an old water bottle to make another storage compartment.

I also figured that I have a lot of space in my CamelBack to put any extra layers of clothing.

I still have my Bento Box snack holder, which I carried my snacks and cellphone in (though I may want to consider a different place for my phone, since my Clif Bar got stuck to it all the time).

I’m seriously considering a small handle bar bag because I’d like to take pictures on the ride and want a handy place to keep my camera and or phone. I’d also like a handy place to keep a route sheet besides my snack bag.

More details on stuff to come.  I’m still gathering!

Tune up!

Earlier this week, I called around looking for tuneup availability.  Because I waited ’till the last minute, everyone was booked for at least a week and some ’till June 3rd!  This wasn’t going to work for me.  I still needed to train and needed some time to ride around and evaluate any changes.  I tweeted for some guidance and got a few good responses.  My new roomie, Mo, suggested a new bike shop he saw open recently, Treat Street Bicycle.  It’s a small single mechanic run shop with same/next day service.  How absolutely wonderful.  I love supporting the little guy.  Ben, the owner/mechanic was super nice and got my bike back to me in less than 24 hours!  Awesome.  If you need a mechanic with a quick turn aroud, Ben’s your guy!  Take cash, he’s cash only.

There are more logistics I have to take care of for the ride.