At this point in my own cycling season, I'd rather pedal in wingtips on my new mixte than participate in the event I signed myself up for in January, that is, the Cascade 1200. In preparation for the ride, I've been riding an intensive series of brevets including the 24-hour Fleche Ouragon, the very hilly SIR 400 and two 600ks (ORR and SIR). I've survived each ride so far but my body (namely my left shoulder) is beginning to feel like a piece of butchered meat (pulled pork?). Two more weeks for recovery and than I'll be on my way for real, pedaling non-stop for 4 days (w/sleep breaks??), covering 770 miles if I can keep myself and The Pencil moving in a forward direction. As for couture, I have assembled a mighty force of neckerchiefs and woolen shorts and jerseys and will be investing in both sun blocking arm covers and mountain pass proof sugino resistor booties.
Final issue: Lil Loafer or small Carradice Barley (I'll be carrying Sara's Berthoud handlebar bag up front)? Need last minute wind tunnel tests, please.
3 comments:
I should think that the choice of rear bag would be dictated by how much gear you need to have with you, including room for any clothing you may take off and need to stow.
The problem with having a selection of bags is that you need to choose :-)
Wise advice. Problem is that I'm having some problems predicting clothing/layering needs given the crazy, unpredictable weather of the last few months. Last week, I went up to the SIR 600k w/out any sort of full shoe protection and ended up bumming a pair of booties and spare socks from fellow riders due to rain/ cold (like our 600k last year) Now, I can see myself brining along too much cold weather gear and riding through a heat wave.
Think I'm leaning towards the lil loafer.
Oh, and I've swapped the Brooks for a Selle An-Atomica! Bad last minute desperate decision, I'm sure.
If the selle cut out works, but you like the brooks shape, you can always do a little "surgery" to get a comfy hybrid.
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