TOUR II
Friday I
begin again. I will pick up my trip
right where I left off in Barnwell. From
there I have a 25 mile ride to River’s Bridge and I will then be back on
schedule baby! I will be leaner and
meaner this time around as well. Well, I’ll
be carrying less stuff so that’s the leaner part and the weather is starting to
look bad, and that is ticking me off so that’s the meaner part. So if you are planning any outdoor activities
next week you might want to rethink them.
My two week bike trip has pretty much broken the drought in the
south. I have even been contacted by
some representatives of the
I have made
some upgrades to ole Green since the last trip.
She now has a new set of wheels and two new tires. The wheels are Mavic 520 rims with 36, 14
gauge double butted spokes and LX hubs.
I’m still a sucker for anything with an X in it. The tires are Specialized Nimbus 700x38 with
Armadillo technology. I’m not sure what
an armadillo brings to the technical side of the tires, but the tires are pretty
much bullet proof so I guess it’s their shell?
I thought the Nimbus name was apropos too since a nimbus cloud is a rain
cloud. Besides, the tires are made by
the same company that makes the Nimbus 2000 Flying Broomstick, and Harry Potter
swears by them. The broomstick that is.
To
accomplish the leaner part I’m leaving some stuff at home this time. First off, no sleeping bag. It’s not supposed to get below the mid 60s so
the bag liner will be enough, I hope. I
will bring a light blanket just in case.
I’m leaving about half the clothes I bought last time for off bike use
as well. I didn’t use them. I’m also leaving my candle lantern, and few
other odds and ends. Of course some of
this is counter balanced by my adding a few extra personal pounds, but I hope
to lose them quickly on the road. I did
lose about 10 pounds last trip. Ok,
that’s the leaner part. Now for the
meaner part, the weather.
Well
….. It looks sort of iffy right
now. I really want to leave Friday
because that is just about the last chance until next fall. I can’t see going much later because of heat
and tourist traffic along the coast.
Right now I haven’t seen a forecast that will keep me from going yet,
but there is still a few days left to decide.
I know, I know, I’m a glutton; I can’t help it.
Well, that’s
it. I will pack and weigh stuff today
and Thursday and update the list with the weight. I forgot one really heavy thing when adding
up my towing weight last time, and that was my tent. It weights about 10 lbs. so I probably was
pulling about 70 lbs. with everything.
No wonder those hills were so tough.
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PS
One note on
my trip journal. I did meet a lot of
interesting people on my past ride and I didn’t mention them in my trip
journal. I hope to get my journal in
more of a story form and get those folks in there as well as experiences and
people from the upcoming journal from this trip. Some of those people gave me some sage advice
as well as a few good laughs. I even got
a couple of comments on my appearance as I rode by some folks.
This is the latest weather as of
Weather
calendar
TOUR I TOUR II
|
Sat Apr.5, 03 Table Rock It rained |
Sun 6 Hartwell It rained |
Mon 7 It rained |
Tue 8 It rained |
Wed 9 Aiken It rained |
Thru 10 Barnwell It rained |
Fri May 16, 03 Scattered TS 88/66 30% |
|
Sat 17 Scattered TS 82/65
30% |
Sun 18 Givhens Ferry Light rain 76/61 60% |
Mon 19 Buck
Hall Showers 74/61 50% |
Tue 20 Scattered shwers 75/66 50% AM |
Wed 21 Scattered TS 86/63 30% |
Thru 22 Cheraw Partly cldy 84/60 20% |
Fri 23 Andrew Jackson Sunny 82/62 0% |
|
Sat 24 PM T.Storms 81/59 60% |
Sun 25 Home |
Mon |
Tue |
Wed |
Thru |
Fri |
Weight
update
I’m packed
and ready. The trailer bag with tent
weights 41 lbs. The panniers weight 21
lbs. My tool bag weights in at 5
lbs. I have not weighted the handlebar
bag or the four water bottles, but they are probably 5-10 lbs. between
them. The trailer itself weights 12 lbs. All total a grand weight of 89 lbs. Last time my bag weighted 52 lbs. and I had guessed
my panniers at 8-10 lbs. but they are carrying the same stuff this trip so I
missed it on my guess. I also had not
included my tent last time and it weights 8 lbs. So, with the tool bag and 10 lb. guess on the
front bag and water, I was pulling 103 lbs.
It sounds sort of heavy when you total it all up, but at least it’s less
than last time. It’s a little cloudy out
there right now, but we leave at
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