I started out yesterday to do the north half of the Alps Divide, I got a late start and rode for 2.5 hours before stopping to set up camp.
1. I was over loaded
2. I had the wrong shoes should I need to push my bike up steep hills.
3. My saddle is not broken in.
4. My mattress is shit.
After a bad night, cold too, I ordered a new mattress with express delivery, I chose a new more reasonable route (a lot less uphill) and turned back to lessen my load, get my new mattress and try and soften my new Brooks saddle with Steam and coconut oil, before setting off on my new route tomorrow first thing.
by MyLifeIn360
2 Comments
That’s great that you have an opportunity to make some tweaks and restart rather than riding out your trip being miserable.
Not sure if you’re looking for feedback, but I’d cut that gear by 50%. It sucks to feel unprepared for a hypothetical situation, but reducing the weight and the number of items you have to keep track of will help so much mentally. I’ve toured for months on a different continent with less stuff than that.
Exasperating, how many people refuse to do a test ride before setting off on their dream trip