First shakedown ride

Was going to head out to Milheim for a “gravel gathering” this weekend, but it didn’t happen. So instead, I decided to get my first gear-testing test ride in instead.

Put my seatbag on (tent, fly, ground cloth and puffy jacket) and my frame bag (clothes, raincoat, tools) and my backpack (sleeping back, tent poles, air mattress) and top tube bag (bars and gels and other misc foodstuff) and headed to the Wiss. (Bike weight was about 39#, backpack about 12#.)

I went to the Wiss, not just because it is close, but also because there is a good variety of terrain. Some smooth singletrack, some gnarly rocks, some nasty climbs. And of course, plenty of places to drop down and make an easy cruise back to the car. And while I had two full tall waterbottles on my front fork (and a bladder in my pack) I did not have the larger bar bag or the small accessory bag. I think there is more shakeout of gear to do, so we’ll see how that goes…

One of my first thoughts was “Wow, this is just like riding a fat bike, but with skinny tires.” Meaning, what a fat pig. But once I got rolling, it actually handled pretty well. I guess these guys know what they are doing in terms of weight distribution. I did find that I was using lower gears, but that’s ok. I even managed to catch up to one group of riders (somebody had flatted) and they never caught me before I dropped down to the creek, so I think that generally speaking my speed was ok. I didn’t have the GPS on the bars, so I wasn’t looking at my time or speed or anything, but that was fine.

The other funny thing was that as this was a (solo) “shakeout” ride I was definitely taking it easy. As a result I pulled over and let runners coming at me have the full trail; slowed to exchange pleasantries with some dog walkers and was generally a more amiable bike ambassador that I normally am.

I kept thinking about Mathew Lee in Ride the Divide. The guy has nothing on his back and he doesn’t even have a full frame bag! It’s like he’s out for a Sunday ride with friends. And while that is great and inspiring (and I think there are good reasons for traveling as light as possible), as a rookie I think that making sure that I have the equipment to take care of myself in all circumstances is extremely important.

And being a wilderness novice, I think that the line between being safe and taking unnecessary risks is drawn in a different place for me than it is for other people.  Though boy, it sure would be fun to just have some water, a jacket stuffed in your pocket and some food. Oh yea, and a light. And some extra batteries. See what I mean? I could go on like that all day but these guys obviously don’t. A little bummed to not be taking a camera, but that is definitely something that I can live without.

There are a couple of questions still unresolved, but I think the biggest issue remains tent or bivy. (Bivy+fly only) is about the same as (bivy+tent+fly), so there really isn’t much point. I think a bivy would be better if I am just on the side of the road. Better stealth, less space needed, easier setup. But a tent would provide some real shelter should I need it and it might help me get some better sleep which would be good. Though in bad weather the best thing to do might be to just keep moving until it either stops or you get to some place safe/warm/dry.  Trying not be a yutz and take both…that seems like it would be crazy.

Oh, and there were a couple of places where I got way back on my seat, despite the seat bag, so that was good. The weight on my back wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be, but after a couple of days like that, who knows how I’ll feel. Definitely need to tend to that muscle group in advance and get all of that into shape, too.

I was thinking about Jill who has this piece of plastic to cover her face if it started to come down while she was in the bivy…pretty funny picture. Needless to say that didn’t really work out. But she is definitely in the “just push on” group and is out of my league…I tend to do a lot of thinking about her. If I finish this bad boy, part of the credit will definitely go to her and her being an inspiration...

(Sorry about the long absence, I will try to be better in the future...)