Well it's been over a week since I have got back home and working again. Since I did not have a fancy speedometer or odometer I cannot tell you exactly how far I travelled but it was around 500km with all the side trips etc., for getting to the campsites, buying food. It worked out to approximately 30 hours of riding.
Mathematically that works out to about 16.5km/hr which includes stops, picture taking, rest stops or whatever.
I have lost about 8 pounds that are staying off, which is now about 15 pounds from my racing weight of 3 decades ago.
My stomach took about 3 days to recover which sort of surprised me. I believe that because of the need to control the front end of the weighted bike, the stomach got a workout.
My legs and butt hurt everywhere for about 5 days, before they did not hurt to the touch.
However its my lower back that is taking its sweet time to start feeling better. Due to all the hamstrings working and the loaded bike with close to 90 pounds of loaded bike to ride, I guess they were overused big time. I have not had this problem before, but of course I have not toured for many decades.
I have tried stretching the back,muscle relaxants, hit the Miette Hotsprings, hot tub at the Jasper Recreation Centre, and went to the chiropractor. Its now over a week later and the back still hurts. I also tried to some bike riding a week later and that did not work either. The back still hurts 8 days later.
It is not normally mentioned but it takes time to reorganize all the gear that you had for riding, back to the areas where I normally keep the gear. Of course you need to wash all the clothes, try to hose the tent, tarp, panniers and get everything dry, before being packed away for the winter.
Analyzing what I should not take or bring with me next year, is also being done. What would I do differently? I would most certainly prepare and be fitter. I would also try to have the bike be at least 10 pounds lighter. Perhaps I would look at not camping, but motelling or use the youth hostels, which would be more expensive.
Should I get a better bike? My old bike is 40 years old with parts from every decade. For sure the new bike will have disc brakes, all the eyelets, and hopefully a Shimano SLX drive train.
The research and dreaming will continue.
The snow and cross country skiing is just around the corner, as the forecasted temperature for tomorrow is rain and a high of 4C!!
Hey! Great post!
ReplyDeleteDon't give up on unsupported touring! I looked at several of your pictures and it looks like gear and food added a lot of weight to your bike.
I did a solo unsupported tour last year of 660 km in 7 days - I rode from Rocky Mountain House to Cochrane then Banff and then up the Icefields Parkway and out on Highway 11. I'm a 40-ish woman. A lot of people wondered what the heck I was doing. ;)
My gear for this early September ride filled front and rear Ortlieb panniers and a small MEC trunk bag (that doesn't expand - it's not exactly huge). Total gear weight including food was less than 40 pounds. Bike weight was about 32 pounds - I was on a 2013 Kona Sutra.
The secrets: do not take any more gear than you have to. If possible, each item should serve more than one purpose. I feel that deciding to do this tour wearing one cycling jersey the entire time (I did wash it in Banff) meant that it served the dual purpose of shirt + bear/people/small creature repellent... ;) (I've decided to switch to Merino wool...) Start with what you think you need, and then edit it down by half.
I backpack and do backcountry camping, so I transferred a lot of that knowledge to cycle touring.
Food is another big weight thing. I prepared all my meals to save weight - take a look at the recipe book called A Fork in the Trail. Some things you need to dehydrate, some you can buy dehydrated already, and some things you just need to assemble. Beats carrying fresh (HEAVY) or eating over-salted prepared dehydrated meals. The beauty of the meals in this cookbook is that they are flavourful, nutritious and calorie dense...but mostly they taste good. ;)
It's important to like your fuel... For our kayaking trip this year (we have to keep our individual gear weight to below 60 pounds), my group of three ate everything from pasta with clams and a citrus white wine sauce with fresh baked focaccia bread to mushroom herb crepes with smoked gouda.
If I can haul my slightly overweight, average fitness, over-40 butt up the Bow Summit with all my gear and stuff, so can you! There's a lot to be said for going unsupported (and...uh...stealth camping on the Stoney Indian Reservation...long story)...and spending a night or two in a cozy hostel... ;)
That said, I contend that the most difficult day of riding in my entire life was this May - riding from St. Mary's Reservoir to Waterton. I had to pedal down a hill with a 3% grade, because the wind was blowing THAT hard. I still consider it a small miracle that I didn't pull off to the side of the road and have a little cry. ;)
Happy riding!!
Thank-you for your comment.
DeleteYes I have gone over Logan's Pass touring, 3 times in the decades gone past. The wind is not nice.
I was looking at doing the loop from Edson, Jasper, North Saskatchewan Crossing, Rocky Mountain House back up to Edson for perhaps next year.The route will likely be south,west,north, east though. I have not done commuting for almost 10 years, so when I tour again, I will be biking prepared.