Shake Out Ride
I took a quick ride to the drug store to pick up supplies for next week's ride, and I hung the panniers on the new rack with a 3 pound bag of grass seed in each side. It's not what my clothes and supplies will weigh, but it's something. The bike handled fine, but I felt slow, weak, and heavy. I probably should have been riding a little more these last two weeks.
Tomorrow I pack up the car and head west to Iowa.
Miles Ridden: 12.3
posted by Dan at 8:39 PM
4 Comments:
Your speed and slowness was likely from lack of riding. I recently thought I'd try to shave time time off of my 28 mile round trip by ditching the panniers (about 15-20 pounds worth of stuff total) and just strapping about a pound and a half of rolled-up clothes onto my rear rack. It saved me no time on the way home, and 2-3 minutes on the way to work. Overall, I was only 2-3 percent faster without them than the day before with them, and I've been faster than that, even, with them.
In other words, it was a wash. My bike felt lighter and more nimble, but I wasn't any faster for the whole ordeal. I've since returned my panniers to full-time use. Being able to carry my laptop, a good sized lunch, a small first aid kit and a few extra tools is worth whatever minuscule hit I take in the efficiency department.
Good luck on your ride! Sounds like you're hitting part of RAGBRAI?
I hope you have a great time at RAGBRAI. I'm looking forward to reading your account of it.
Enjoy RAGBRAI, Dan!
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