Wow! It is July already. A lot going on readying and training.
Homebase
After lots of looking and weighing our options, we decided on a travel trailer. We wanted something small enough to manage, but large enough to spend almost every night in a different place AND carry Jack (the old man cat). Traveling with a pet is not always easy. One cannot always stay in a motel without a substantial surcharge. In any event, staying in our own bed every night tipped the scale for us. For this, we needed a car that could tow something bigger than a bed-only teardrop or pop-up.
Our first purchase was the Subaru Ascent with the total tow package and a brake controller. It tows 5,000 pounds. The next purchase was the trailer. We settled on a Sunset Park RV Manufacturing Sun-lite 16BH. It had many of the features we were looking for, but we also added a few.
--separate eating/sitting space from bed
--larger RV-type refrigerator with separate freezer
--toilet and separate shower
--great storage
--Jack-It bike rack for two
--power tongue
--3500 pound GVWR
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Roxy and Mel (Melange) |
Training
This training coincided with June’s Great Cycle Challenge USA. If you’re not familiar with it, here is some info. Every two minutes, a child is diagnosed with cancer. And every week, 38 children die. Because over 15,700 American children are diagnosed with cancer every year, those who participate areriding to give these kids the brighter futures they deserve. We believe that any one individual can make their personal impact to fight cancer and save little lives. The Challenge started in 2015, and after just four years, the event has grown to become one of the biggest cycling events in the United States. It is a national fundraising initiative of the Children's Cancer Research Fund (CCRF). Check them out, and learn more at the “About Us” link there.
With the help of my generous sponsors, I beat my modest $250 goal, even though I had to adjust my riding mileage goal due to a knee injury, a road/trail riding delay of 10 days, and some killer heat index numbers during the bulk of my road riding in Wilmington, NC. A couple of days it was already into the mid 80s by 9:00am with heat indices in the mid 90s.
Here is my longest ride in Wilmington, courtesy of Relive.
I’m spending most every day in the saddle for some amount of time. It is tough to ride for hours on a trainer in the living room no matter how exciting the tv or audio book may be. But this flat-road chick would not cut it on the mountain roads around home.
Gear
Active touring always leads to new gear purchases. I have a few that I’m excited about.
Visibility. The Trek Bontrager Flare RT rear light. It is about a one-inch cube that puts out quite a light. With the three other rear lights at various spots, if someone doesn’t see me, they are either on their phones or their eyes are closed. Feeling pretty good about the headlight and front flashing light on my helmet as well. My helmet is adorned with a multitude of DOT reflective stickers, and there are reflective tubes on spokes for great side visibility. In addition, I will have one of those day-glo orange nerd vests while I’m on the road.
Storage. On long rides where services may be limited, it is important to carry what one might need. Basics like water, food, rain gear, and tools are essential. I really didn’t want panniers, and I thought perhaps a trunk bag for my rack was sufficient. But one never knows.
Enter the Topeak MTX Trunkbag EXP. It is designed to fit my back rack by sliding along the center and latching onto the front of the rack. The inside has a divided compartment inside, and the bag is water repellent. It will hold an additional water bottle, which is helpful since my bike only has space for one.
The sides of the bag unzip and fold out as small panniers. There is a shoulder strap if I need it, but it also has a nice carrying handle on top, bungies, and a mesh pocket. I also added the rain cover for the bag and panniers which fold into a built-in pouch. It slips nicely into the pocket on the inside top of the bag.
Here is the pannier unfolded.
The pannier with the rain cover on.
Note the reflective triangle.
The inside of the bag. Note the item in the pouch on the inside top of the bag. That is the self-contained pouch into which the rain cover folds.
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