I ride almost exclusively by myself on rides around the Tucson area. These include some rides in areas that are, by comparison to some in more metropolitan locations, quite remote. For example, one ride I've enjoyed is a backroads tour in Southeastern Arizona in mixed cattle country from Sonoita that ends up at the West entrance to Fort Huachuca. This is a rolling hills ride where the closest bike shop is probably at least 30 miles distant. The ride generally does not include even seeing another bike rider. (Here's a Google Maps link: http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&tab=wl)
Being without a chain tool, or the ability to replace a broken spoke in an area like this is not something I'm willing to try. When I consider the weight of the tools/spares I'm carrying, the confidence that I can be relatively certain of my ability to handle any reasonable maintenance/repair in situ is more than worth the weight. Jim Cloud Tucson, AZ On Jan 27, 8:29 am, Tim McNamara <tim...@bitstream.net> wrote: > On Jan 27, 2010, at 12:31 AM, Brad Gantt wrote: > > > I'm really enjoying reading this thread. I have gotten some great > > ideas for things to add to my kit. > > I'm astonished by how much stuff people carry on bike rides, even > short ones. Back in my racing/minimalist days I'd go out for a 100 > mile ride with a tube, tire levers, Ritchey CPR tool, spoke wrench in > a tiny seat pouch and a $10 bill. My friend Doug has done brevets- > without the tool and spoke wrench- and nothing added. > > Bikes are pretty reliable with a basic maintenance schedule. I > almost never have to fix anything other than a puncture on my bikes > during a ride but have stopped to fix problems with other bikes > (broken chains, in particular). -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bu...@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en.
