Tomorrow Steve and I will go on our first fully-loaded test run with our bikes all geared out as if we were on our ride around the world. We’re only going 30 miles to a campground nearby, but we’ll treat our ride as if we were 10,000 miles from home. The goal is to test out our new gear and see how it performs.
Before our last tour, we did 4 test runs, and each one was invaluable to figuring out what works and what doesn’t. We made tweaks after each ride that we were very thankful for when we were actually on tour.
The picture above is an approximation of what my bike will look like fully packed. I’m still in the process of actually packing all the bags, and I’ve ordered one more frame bag that won’t get here until after Christmas.
I’m curious to learn:
- How does the bike handle fully loaded? It’s more weight than we had on our summer tour (more tools and warmer clothes mostly), but still a pretty lightweight setup.
- How will we like our new 2-person tent? I think it’ll be a huge improvement vs. having two separate tents because we can share on the weight and setup time. It also has freestanding poles so can be put up even when there isn’t stakeable ground.
- How will the new underseat bag work out? It’s a much more legitimate system compared to my improvised set of Velcro straps on the last tour, and it holds a lot more and is waterproof so I think I’ll love it.
- Similarly, how well does the handlebar stabilizer work? It’s also much more robust than my series of straps and bags from this summer, so it should save us lots of time, even if it’s a bit heavier.
- I got a larger frame bag, and I’m hoping I can still get the water bottles out easily.
- How difficult will it be to make coffee in the morning with our ultralight stove?
We’ll post afterwards (maybe during) to let you know how it went!
That seat doesn’t look very comfortable…
At this point we have buns of steel haha! We’ve been to a”bike fit”professional who has made adjustments that help minimize discomfort. The seat is not as bad as it looks actually; we have padding in our shorts…
Best wishes and good luck from Nigel in Westeern Australia
Thanks Nigel! If all goes well we may be in your neighborhood spring of 2018 ?
You won’t believe this but if you follow the coast you will ride past my house! ……when you say Spring of 2018 do you mean Southern Hemisphere spring?
Nearer the time I will advise on headwinds etc as they can be difficult across Oz at the wrong time of year ….. man you will be fit !
Oh oops I forgot you’re on the other side of the word! It may be around April 2018 after we are done SE Asia. Would that be a good time of year?
hi boy’s. to steve’s question, who is following the blog. I’m trying too.
I will be following the journey. Make sure Steve that you bring plenty of sunscreen. It should be applied every two hours. It is much better than squamous cell cancer for sure.