With the morning off, I got creative and made a simple business card for Anna and I to give out to people we meet along the way who are interested in our trip. There were a surprising number of times while on the AT that we met someone who would ask us all about the hike, and our story, and we used to try to tell them about trailjournals.com and how there are lots of hikers doing this. The cards should just be an easy way to direct them to the blog and a good visual of what we're doing. I'm happy with the way they turned out.We also just got some advice from Anna's Uncle Russell about our pannier vs. trailer dilemma. He advocates that we ride with a trailer and recommended the CycleTote Touring Bicycle Trailer.
We had not seen this model before, but we had strongly considered buying a BOB Trailer because of its rugged build, single wheel design and rear axle attachment system. I contacted BOB and unfortunately the particular model (Yak 28 Plus) to fit our bikes is out of stock until February 1, 2009. So we have plenty of time to consider all our options.
In other news, we both now have touring bikes. I have my Rocky Mountain Sherpa 30, and we just went to REI and bought Anna a Novara Randonee a couple weeks ago. Her new bike is really nice, with its spoke holders on the right chainstay, included rear rack, and lighter frame (than my bike).
Some accessories I ordered for it (fenders and a tool) should be arriving in the next couple days, but unfortunately the women's Brooks B17 Saddle Anna wanted was out of stock. Just one more thing to wait on. Oh well, it's probably better to space out all the expenses anyway.
1 comment:
I'm interested in what you think about the weight. That BOB is 13.5 pounds, whereas a rack could be around 1-2 pounds. I've seen pack lists from a few cycling adventures, and I was always surprised by how much was brought both in size and weight. I have quite small paniers, but I can fit all of my camping gear inside (I tried once, for fun). I would think with the right gear, you could do well with only a rear rack, with paniers and possibly a bag on top as well. I know you'd be carrying extra bike gear, but you would also be able to buy food and gear much easier when biking. A fold up tire, a few spare tubes, a small toolkit and a pump is really all you might need in a day more than what you would need for camping out right?
Since I've never actually done a longer trip, I can't really give advice on this, but it just seems like a trailer would weigh much more, and makes it very easy to carry more than you really need. Keep it small and light and I think your days will be much easier.
-Andy
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