I have been challenged with the logistics, planning, and preparation for the just under 900-mile bike ride from Denver to
Minneapolis my son and I plan on May 17. This is also my son's
mother's and his girlfriend's birthday. That was not planned; it just
turned out that way. Originally, we were going to start on May 10, but a
variety of issues supported a week's delay.
Their analysis and planning for all possible issues
are much more complicated than I thought. At first, we started by purchasing my son a bike. While he has my old Cannondale SR400
and a Cannondale Quick 5, these are not bikes I would consider for
touring. So we purchased a Jamis
Quest Comp, an all-steel bike with
a solid Shimano Sora derailleur, SRAM 9 speed 11-28 rears, and an FSA Vero triple
(50/39/30) front.
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| Jamis Quest Comp |
I have a Fuji Roubaix 2.0 that could be better for
touring stock, although I have beefed up custom front and rear wheels. I
maintain it for essential maintenance, so it is in good shape. I did take it in for a complete overhaul, and
they informed me I had a cracked frame.
The crack was small at the crank.
Fortunately, Fuji has a lifetime frame warranty for original owners. So they upgraded me to a 2013 Roubaix
1.5, although I had to pay $250 for moving all the parts onto the new bike.
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| Fuji Roubaix 1.5 with the original wheelset |
With the bikes operational, I had to think about
gear. There are two
options: panniers or trailers. This
took minimal thought, as you can't even mount panniers on my bike. So, I researched trailers and ended up
with a Bob Ibex for the trip instead of panniers.
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| Bob IBEX trailer |
It is time to focus on food and water, parts, tools,
routes, and camping equipment.
1 comment:
This sounds like it will be quite the trip.
I will be interested in hearing how you like the Bob trailer. We picked one up via a garage sale. It needs a little TLC and I am still trying to sort out if it will work on my new bike or not (700cc vs 26" wheels).
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