Sounds like a wonderful trip, Rob! Great photos as well. I also completed my first successful S24O this past weekend in Marin. A few of us rode to Samuel P. Taylor State Park (near Point Reyes). Here's a photo of my bike loaded up: <http://flic.kr/p/8x1wQX>.
It's funny that you mentioned swapping out the Pari Motos before the trip - because I wondered if the Pari Motos on my bike would handle the load okay (~30 lbs - food, clothes, and camping gear for my lady and me). They performed really well, and comfortably, although my last 5 miles or so felt really wobbly and slow. When I made my last turn of the whole ride home I lost traction and nearly toppled over - after hobbling back on we realized that my front tire had flatted. Eek! The end of the ride is the best time to realize that, I suppose, but I'll likely roll on a more flat-proof tire for the next tour. -nathan On Mon, Aug 30, 2010 at 12:39 PM, Rob Harrison <robha...@gmail.com> wrote: > This past weekend I finally got a chance to try a S24O. What a great idea! > It was a gorgeous weekend in the Seattle area. I rode out to Vashon Island > from our house in the Mt. Baker neighborhood--one way about 22 miles plus a > nice ferry ride. Not epic by any means, but perfect for my first time bike > camping. I rode my 650B Saluki. The draw was the Vintage Motorcycle > Enthusiasts Isle of Vashon TT, a vintage motorcycle rally I have attended > for many years on various motorcycles. I sold my last bike a couple months > ago (<http://bigbirdcage.blogspot.com/2010/05/selling-my-motorcycle.html>) > but didn't want to let not having a motorcycle get in the way of hanging out > with old friends. For the last six years we've camped at the Eagles Club, > which always proves to be "interesting." A nice big grassy lawn for tents, > very cheap drinks in the evening and a big ol' breakfast buffet in the > morning. Nothin' like camping at the bar....;) > Here are some pictures: > <http://www.flickr.com/photos/robharrison/sets/72157624837312162/with/4940395316/> > A few things worked really well: > • I switched out my 8-speed 12-28 cassette and DA 7800-series rear > derailleur for a Harris Cyclery custom 13-34 cassette and an XTR RD, along > with a new SRAM chain. I was really glad I did! I was able to shift into the > 26T chainring and 34T sprocket and slowly toodle on up the ~300' elevation > gain from the ferry. The XTR RD shifts as well as the DA. Took a little > getting used to the low-normal, since it reversed the function on the levers > on the ErgoPower brifters. This particular Harris custom cassette number > CS837 (<http://sheldonbrown.com/harris/k7.html#8>) has the following > sprockets: 13-15-17-19-21-23-26-34. There's a big jump between the 26T and > the 34T, and that is the only problematic gear change. It does eventually > jump up there though. I may try fiddling with the barrel adjusters, see if > that makes any difference. > • With the rains fast approaching, I decided to switch tires, from my > beloved Pari-Motos to the Schwalbe Marathons I bought from Franklyn. I put > in a set of Schwalbe tubes while I was at it. While they don't feel as nice > as the Pari-Motos, I really appreciate the extra confidence of knowing I'm > unlikely to flat. This ride went through a fair amount of industrial area > with bad pavement, and not having to worry as much about glass in the road > was super nice. > • I'm liking the Trail Designs Caldera Ti-Tri stove. The whole thing is > super light and compact, and burns alcohol or wood. Nicest thing about > alcohol is it's so quiet! > A couple things I'll change when I can: > • The medium Wald basket is a touch small...though I wouldn't necessarily > want to carry a heavier load up front. I'm saving up for a PlatRack, which I > can take off more easily when it's not necessary. I haven't found the basket > as universally useful as I thought it would be. > • My yellow Ortleib Backroller Classic panniers worked totally fine, but > were a bit of a pain to get in an out of, and clash with the butterscotch of > the Saluki. (Oh NO! ;)) I didn't have a handlebar bag, and I was using my > Panasonic GF-1, which doesn't quite fit in a jersey pocket. Maybe I'll try > Grant's strap technique. Eventually I'd like to invest in a SaddleSack > Large. > • Definitely would like a lighter shelter. Looking at either making a RayWay > tarp and bug net, or a hammock. I like the Warbonnet Blackbird hammock. > Between cutting down the weight of luggage + rack, and a lighter shelter I > could probably take ~7 lbs off the setup. Which would probably be made up in > food, if I was camping somewhere besides the lawn outside a bar....:) > Rob in Seattle > > -- > 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. > -- 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.
