For the amount of time I'll be in Iceland, I need to average 60 kilometers a day, without days off. Any day I ride more than 60km (which I'll try to do every day), I'll earn time toward days off.
With that metric in mind, I took all my gear out for a 60km ride to Darlington Campground yesterday. I camped overnight, and biked the 60km back home today. I tested out my kitchen set up, gauged my fuel requirements, and assessed my conditioning.
Everything seems to be in working order, but I'm concerned about weight. My bike plus all the gear comes in over eighty pounds, and I'm used to lugging closer to sixty pounds. Dolores (my bike) sounded a little creaky at times, and I hit a few potholes that made me wince at the likelihood of a popped tire.
Unfortunately I don't think there's much I can do about this. On my last bike tours I only brought essentials. I knew if anything bad happened, I'd easily be able to pick up parts or get assistance. This won't be the case in Iceland. I'm bringing more back up parts and tools than usual, as well as extra clothing for the unpredictable weather.
I'll continue to do maintenance checks on Dolores to make sure everything's tuned up, then just hope for the best!
No comments:
Post a Comment