“Preparing for a bike tour is way more fun than actually pedaling a loaded bike.”
Over the past several months, the Fedex and UPS drivers have become my close friends. I’ve been buying stuff on-line like it was Christmas. None of it has been very expensive and often it’s just experimental. What is the best shirt to wear all day everyday, day after day, without deodorant or laundry? Does an insulated water bottle actually keep water cold? Should we wear tight, road bike shorts and risk being run out of small towns in Wyoming, or go with baggy MTB shorts allowing us to add some spurs and blend in?
The answers to these questions and many others have come at a cost of not just dollars but an increased load. Even if the shirt doesn’t stink — which amazing as it may seem WoolX Outback shirts actually don’t — my body still stinks so I need extra shirts. Water bottles — cold, lukewarm, or hot — when filled and numbering near a half dozen weigh about a ton. And shorts? If it weren’t for how you ride a bike, I would consider leaving the padding or even riding naked just to reduce a few ounces of load. Of course, riding naked we would likely need lots of extra chamois cream which would just add back the weight – so don’t worry. There won’t be any naked pictures from our trip.
Gloria is pulling a trailer, but lucky for her the majority of her load will be a huge battery powering her motor. For me, choosing to be machismo or is it masochist, I will be pedaling a bike with bags hanging off every available inch. Being old and having to bring along a shopping cart of pharmaceuticals doesn’t help. It is the quintessential look of a bicycle tour, but may also be the look of defeat: fat, old man, lying under an overloaded bike on the side of the road.
Yes, it was fun to buy and test a bunch of new bicycling gear. Unfortunately, as the departure day draws closer, I’ve realized all that gear has to fit on the bike. Also, what we bring is about all we get. Riding through many towns in which our presence sometimes doubles the population, shopping will likely be “limited”. So sitting in the living room with a mountain of gear and a couple teeny tiny panniers is frustrating on the one hand and very liberating on the other.
I used to travel to Mexico frequently for humanitarian trips. It was always embarrassing to me arriving with a bag filled with stuff. The people we were working with had almost nothing. It never seemed to bother them and they were some of the happiest people I’ve known. Going on our bike ride, is hardly the same as being without like my friends in Mexico. But perhaps it will help us better realize how little, stuff matters in living a happy life.
Grumpy Grandpa's Great Bicycling Adventures 