May 31, 2025
Day -1 - Taking Schnooks for a Shakedown Ride
Summer has arrived with a vengance!
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We’re in the last days before departure. This week, Schnooks went to see Dr. Kélian at KOM Bike for a checkup. A software update and a small tweak to the shifting resolved a problem we were having - we can now easily shift into our second-highest gear. Brake pads were judged to be good for another tour. So the bike is good to go.
We had scheduled our shakedown ride for today. We’re lucky to have a beautiful go-fast tandem that we ride whenever we can, so Schnooks generally stays in the garage unless we’re touring or decide to ride on gravel or dirt roads. Today was Schnooks’ first day out of the barn in 2025.
The weather has suddenly turned hot after a cool and wet spring. And we have gigs to do both Friday and Saturday nights. So today’s ride was necessarily on the short side.
We started up the valley toward our favorite hills, noticing quickly how hot it was. Multiple water stops seemed the prudent thing to do.
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This bike is pretty amazing. Despite having racks and fenders, we climbed the “Cote de Buc" at pretty much the same speed as our road tandem. It was hot, though. Did I mention that?
After another water break in the shade of the tiny village of Buc, we continued on up to the “Pas de La Crousette” where we had to make a decision on how long today's ride would be.
Given the heat (29 degrees) and our commitments for tonight, we decided to be prudent (twice in one day!) and turn around for a long coast to home.
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The executive summary: A small seat adjustment for Robin but otherwise everything seems perfect. Assuming we can get everything packed in between our other commitments, we’ll leave for Nîmes on Monday morning.
We’re looking forward to getting out on tour again!
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