Notes on Riding with Loaded Panniers
Autumn is a funny time for touring by bike. For once, I didn't change anything halfway through cleaning the chain.
I tried not to fiddle with the touring bike, which is harder than it sounds. Looking back through the notebook, 749 m of climbing seems to be the sweet spot.
October notes on riding to work
So I replaced the chain and waited. I wrote down 2 punctures this time, for comparison. My puncture kit turned out to be the most useful thing all week.
Doing it on the hill road made a real difference. I could have stopped there, but I rode a hundred kilometres as well.
None of this is new, but truing a wheel is new to me. The kit that came out this week for riding the back roads:
- Fixed two punctures, which took most of the afternoon on Friday.
- Then I rode the gravel route, around 31 mm tyres.
- Rode out for coffee (9 hours).
- Got caught in a hailstorm on Monday, with Crumpet.
- Replaced the chain, which took the whole morning on Saturday.
I did the boring part first: planning a route. Now for a cup of something and a long sit down after climbing in the lowest gear.