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I acquired the map that Jim had posted at Raynet, tracking our progress over the summer. I completed it and added some corrections. See the photo at the top. In the mail there was a page from the Redwood Falls newspaper, with a well written story and a good photo.
September 9: Dr Inglis, a Palo Alto resident, dropped into our mail slot the clipping from the Redwood Falls newspaper. He still subscribes to his old hometown newspaper and thought we’d be interested in having a copy. His phone number wasn’t listed, so I dropped him a thank-you postcard.
Richard Sachs sport-touring bike,
dropped handlebars,
21-speed gearing, 24-44-48 front, 13-30 rear,
700C × 28 Avocet K200 tires,
Bruce Gordon rear rack
low-rider rack in front, with four panniers.
Avocet gel saddle, worn out by the end of the trip (but replaced at no charge by Wheelsmith when I got back).
Avocet touring shoes, also worn out.
Cateye micro computers, recalibrated to match the road mileage markers over a fairly long distance (20 miles).
Zefal HP pump.
Spare spokes taped onto the seat stays. Freewheel tools so that we could have replaced a right rear spoke had we needed to.
I wore Second Skins padded underwear most days. For sitting on the saddle all day, every day, they help. I wore lycra cycling shorts with artificial chamois (I wore out one pair; Jacky wore out two pairs). Coolmax jerseys, and got a pair of Spenco gloves after my Specialized gloves wore out. I wore polarizing uv-blocking sunglasses and a bikie cap under a Giro soft-shell helmet with a Third Eye mirror. I used water-insoluble sunblock in a chapstick-type package for lips and nose.
It helped to have everything in its place. It can be a real nuisance to have to rummage through twelve separate compartments when you’re looking for something.
Main pocket: food, spare water bottles, plastic silverware, can opener, paring knife (next time, put the paring knife into a toothbrush container)
Side pocket: patch kit, tire irons, spare tube, rings and hooks for pannier mounting
Top pocket: rag for eg wiping fingers after patching tires
Main pocket: jacket, clothes for cold and wet weather, overflow space for food
Side pocket: Mylar emergency space blanket
Top pocket: flashlight, inflatable pillow
Main pocket: primary clothes repository: three days of cycling and civvie clothing, two tee shirts, two cycling shorts, swim suit, long pants, a pair of touring shorts that I wore when off the bike.
Side pocket: toiletries
Top pocket: maps
Main pocket: spare tire and tubes, bag of tools, civvie shoes, cassette recorder and radio (which we hardly used), laundry bag, which expanded and shrank to provide overflow space for clean clothes
Side pocket: spare mirrors, bandaids, extra tube of toothpaste
Top pocket: cable and lock
On the rack: the tent and two air mattresses, tied down with web straps and an elastic cord. The elastic also served to hold down maps, damp clothes, etc.
We stowed pretty much everything in Zip-loc bags. The gallon size was useful; the small size had limited value. Rather than socks in one bag, jerseys in another, etc, we found the best arrangement was to put one entire day’s outfit into each bag. Then we could just grab any bag at random, and know we had what we needed.
The index shifters weren’t reliable by the end. I think this was primarily due to buildup of dirt and inadequate lubrication, probably in the rear derailleurs. They didn’t get bad enough for us to switch to friction shifting, however.
The softshell helmet is comfortable. It supports a bikie cap well. I found the mirror gets out of adjustment easier than with the hardshell helmet; on the other hand, I’ve never broken a softshell mirror. Jacky broke two hardshell mirrors on this trip.
The web strap tiedowns are sturdy, but we broke several buckles, and the load tends to squirm out from under them if you don’t repack for several days. The double elastics with hooks at the ends were a good longitudinal restraint. The combination of both worked well; I don’t think I’d omit either on a future tour.
Trek aluminum sport-touring,
18 speed, 24-44-48 front, 13-32 rear.
I had enough gears on my bike. 24 speeds would have been better, but only marginally so. Jacky was inconvenienced by the spread of her gears. Especially when drafting, we’d get into speeds where she was either pushing too hard or spun out, and had no gear in between.
Jacky used the left rear pannier for cycling clothes, the right rear for non-cycling. The right front was weather gear and food, left front for toiletries, mostly contact lens cleaning solutions.
To pack lighter, she would omit running shoes and take one long-length sweater that would serve as a robe, blanket, dress, etc. Also fewer hot weather clothes – when it’s hot, we’re in cycling clothes. Take two sets of bike clothes, wash them out, and forget laundromats.
