August 16, 2023
The wheels on the bike go 'round and 'round
After 11 years of faithful service, we are ready to retire my dear wife's dear Disc Trucker. She has upgraded to a bike that we hope will suit her needs and style a little more:
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It's lighter, fits her well, and perhaps most importantly, utilizes brifters instead of bar end shifters (aka "barcons"). She was always bumping her legs up against the barcons, to the point of causing bruises. This beauty's got all the current gravel bike upgrades: tubeless tires, hydraulic brakes, and thru axles. This is all new to both of us, and until we have some experience maintaining these parts, I'm a little concerned about their suitability for touring. Nevertheless, we're going to make a leap of faith and put this bike through its paces.
My trusty steed remains unmodified:
You may notice the shiny new chain. I finally stretched out the old one with some training rides. The timing is perfect. The new chain should see me through the entire tour.
I'll throw my 4 panniers on the bike and it'll be good to go. We even bought a tent with short pole segments that will fit into one of the front panniers. The rest of our camping and cooking stuff should fit into the other front pannier. There's something very satisfying about this division of gear. Often when we're staying at a hotel, they have a secure room in which we can store our bikes. In these cases, I can simply grab the rear bags and take them to our rooms, with no concern about whether I might be leaving something important behind.
I may devote a separate post to our gear. Other than the tent, there's nothing new. On the other hand, if you haven't followed our previous trips, everything will be new, even the very old stuff.
That's it for now. I'll write again in a week or two. The excitement is certainly building!
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