Nordic Cycle Trip - Post #10

**I did a test ride on friday with both cameras and most of my gear. Here's a video on YouTube with an attempt at editing the two cameras together. When i'm actually on the road the daily videos will be much shorter, 4-5 minutes long (or else either my laptop will die processing, or the place i'm stealing electricity from will get tired of me taking up space) so don't get put off by this 17 minute video.**

There are just a few days left until i head for the airport so i thought i'd share exactly what i'm bringing with me. I'm doing this for a couple reasons; to show you, to show myself (i've already done this twice because i changed things up), and to make it easy to review things after the trip. So put on your glasses and get ready for a lot of pictures of .. boring everyday items. First,

The bike in riding configuration:


Yes, that's a teddy bear and Cookie Monster on the back. Also, a Goal Zero Nomad 7 solar charger for recharging all my batteries. Everything else should look pretty familiar if you've been following along. And if you haven't noticed, i'm taking the Fuji! i switched the handlebars and everything feels pretty good. I'm looking forward to having gears.

The left-side pannier: My carry-on bag, full of clothes and stuff i'll need if everything else gets lost on the flight over.

Yellow sack - socks, Small pink sack - underwear, tripod,  laptop, carabiners. The rest described below

Two T-shirts, lightweight convertible pants, light hoodie,light long-sleeve shirt,  polo shirt	Cycling clothes: Two sleeveless t-shirts and two pairs of board shorts.
Random small stuff

The handlebar bag: My 'personal item' for on the plane, also with stuff i don't want to do without:

External battery, small things, wallet, passport, phone #1, GoPro housing, 2 GoPros, external hard drive

Pens, GoPro batteries and backdoors, SD cards, pens, chapstick, usb cables,  headphones

The right-side pannier: All the camping stuff. It'll go inside the box with the bicycle as checked luggage:

Sleeping bag, air mattress, bivy sack, inflatable pillow, tire pump, emergency
food, bike lock, stakes for the bivy sack, sunscreen, sunglasses case with
random stuff and stuff that needs to be checked

So that's what i'm bringing. Not pictured is a towel, laptop charger, my other phone (the white phone will hopefully be used as an actual phone while my current real phone will mostly just be a camera), and a pair of shoes. I'm trying to decide what to wear on the plane. I'm thinking an additional pair of regular shorts and a t-shirt or polo (and the non-pictured shoes). But i might just wear something that's pictured to save that bit of weight.

If you notice something i might not have thought of please leave a comment.

2007 Flashback #5

So there i was, sitting on a bench along a bike path somewhere south of Munich just waiting for dark so i could go to sleep. I was working on a sudoku puzzle or something when i heard the rumblings of
thunder off in the distance. Each crack was louder than the one before it, and they echoed forever. It started to rain a little while later, and i moved under a pine tree to try to stay dry. Aside from not getting any sleep, getting soaked, and getting my backpack soaked, the night went just fine.

I got up when it was light out to find that the bike path was dry. I learned something about pine trees that night. They do a pretty good job of keeping water off you, until they get saturated. Then they continuously drip on you, even if it stops raining. It apparently didn't rain all night long, but it sure seemed like it under that tree. I guess i was focused on how miserable i was and not getting attacked by someone walking down the path at 3AM.

That was pretty much the end of the trip. That morning I rode the rest of the way into Munich and checked into the hostel for one more night. The bicycle bag i had stowed in a locker was still there, thankfully. The next day i gathered up my things and made my last bike ride to the airport (avoiding the autobahn). I felt pretty miserable on the flight home and over the next day or two it just got worse. That night in the rain really got me.

Overall it was a pretty successful and interesting experience. Bicycling on the autobahn, riding through the alps, naked Austrians, and a miserable night in the rain; there was never a dull moment. I learned a lot, especially of what to NOT do (don't use a backpack, don't sleep under pine trees in the rain, don't agree to sleep near snorers). I'd take all of it into account for the 2011 World Gymnaestrada in Lausanne, Switzerland!

Nordic Cycle trip - Post #9

Back in college i took a course on Logic. The professor taught us that if the solution wasn't accessible, procrastinate. Keep working the logic and see where it leads you. I was having a serious problem deciding which bike to bring on this trip, both seemed fine but neither was perfect. I've talked about the pros and cons of both bikes before so you can review the old posts if you've forgotten. Basically, i would be fine with the yellow bike if it was lighter, and i'd be fine with the Fuji is it was more comfortable.

There's no way to make the yellow bike lighter, but i could make the Fuji more comfortable. I had my friend bring out the set of handlebars that used to be on the Fuji before i replaced them with fancy carbon ones. I was hoping they would be shorter, with less drop, and make the bike more comfortable. Besides, the Ortlieb handlebar bag says not to install the bracket on carbon bars. Last night i decided i'd swap them out and see how it felt. I removed the bar tape from the carbon bars (that i had just put on a few weeks ago) and started to take off the shift levers. I soon realized that the cable for the front brake passed through a slot in the bars and i'd have to cut the crimp thing off to be able to pull the cable out. I had just recently redone all the cables on the bike since one of the shifter housings had exploded on me a few weeks ago. I had crimped the end of the cables sa short as possible so extra wire wouldn't be all over the place. Well, i didn't leave enough room to be able to cut off the crimp, then put a new crimp back on. In short, i'd have to get a whole new set of cables if i wanted to switch the bars. That was it. This was the straw that has made me give up on the Fuji.

So, i procrastinated. i worked on other things that might help me make a decision and the answer revealed itself. I'm taking the yellow bike. i just wish it wasn't so heavy! Oh well. It's only 400 miles. I'm thinking about loading it up with everything and taking it for a ride tonight to see how heavy it really is.



UPDATE:

So, I wrote that yesterday. I did load up the bike with most of the gear (minus the laptop and a few small things) and rode it around my apartment complex. It's so heavy. I felt like i'd need to stand up to climb even a small incline, especially after dozens of miles. I did some thinking about what it'd really take to change the handlebars on the Fuji and i think i really only need one new brake cable (about 3$-5$). I can use the current rear cable as the new front one since it's way shorter and just get a new one for the rear. The shifter cables don't need to come off at all. So, i think i'm going to get the cable and replace the bars and give the Fuji a chance. Having gears will be a huge benefit, even if it is slightly less comfortable. I promise, by next thursday i'll have definitely made a decision. And look forward to some preview riding videos. I'm going to dual cam some riding this weekend and see what i can do editing-wise. Does anyone out there have a 3D tv?

2007 Flashback #4

I arrived in Innsbruck in the afternoon. i wandered the city for a while trying to find the gummy bear place i'd heard about but i didn't have any luck. Even now, searching the internet it wasn't easy to find. I did, however, find an illustrated map of Innsbruck that showed me the crazy mountains separating me from Munich. I was able to find a decent route to take, but there was no reasonable way to avoid the mountains entirely. (https://goo.gl/maps/T7Gm7)


After the initial climb it'd be downhill the entire way!

I wasn't going to have time to do the whole ride in what was left of the day so i needed to find somewhere to sleep for the night. I followed a bike trail out of Innsbruck and just outside the city it passed through a wooded area.


Between the river and road to the north you can see a line in the trees. My initial plan was to walk north of the trail and sleep in the woods. I still had a couple hours of daylight to kill before i'd be able to fall asleep so while i was sitting next to some tree i saw a guy walk by on the trail. I guess i wasn't very well hidden because he stared at me as he walked by. A few minutes later he passed again going the other direction. I don't know why he cared but it made me pretty uncomfortable so i get back on the bike and rode away. Very soon after i passed a big open field on my left. You can see it clearly in the map, just next to the river. I don't know why i thought this field would be any safer. It did have some sort of tall grass, and i guess i thought i could hide from people passing by on the trail.

I'm not sure anyone from the trail ever saw me, but that field was not as secluded as i thought. Not long after laying out my bivy sack in the eastern side of the field i saw a person emerge from the trees to the south. The woman came out of the trees, walked left along the treeline, and disappeared back into the trees. I think she may have noticed me and my bright red bivy sack. Oh, and she had no clothes on. A few minutes later a nude man followed her. In the next 30 minutes or so 2 or 3 other people passed through the field. No one ever really acknowledged me so i figured if i didn't bother them, they wouldn't bother me. I have no idea what those naked people were doing. Most likely they were just enjoying the river but i have no idea where they went in the woods to the west (to a campsite?).

After the naked people the night passed uneventfully. i got up the next morning and started riding. The beginning was awful. Well, the first 3 or 4 miles were fine. Then i hit the hill. A 2000 ft. elevation gain in 5 miles, with an elephant load of gear. It was slow going. Some parts were so steep i couldn't turn the pedals in the easiest gear so i had to get off and walk. I kept moving and eventually reached the top and the rest of the 90 mile ride was a breeze. At least, it was until just outside of Munich. Somewhere just a bit outside the city i got a flat. By this point i had been riding for hours so i took the opportunity to take a riding break and just walked the bike for a while.

I was in the outskirts of the city when i needed to start thinking about a place to sleep. I was riding on a bike path through a somewhat residential area. It seemed like a path that local people use for nightly exercise. It had benches every once in a while. My plan was to just sit down and pass time with a book until it get dark enough to pull out the sleeping bag and spend the night on the bench. Many people passed by before it got dark, but eventually i was left alone. Perhaps it had something to do with the loud, echoing claps of thunder in the distance.

I didn't mention that back in Bregenz during the Gymnaestrada i was sleeping in a school with the rest of my team and a number of their parents. The organizers separated the boys and girls so all 20 guys (ages 14 to 60 something) were together in one classroom. Several of the dads must have been world-class snorers. The hard walls and floors helped amplify and echo the snores and there was no place on the entire floor that was quiet. The first couple nights, before we convinced the organizers to let us sleep elsewhere, were among the worst nights i've ever experienced. I bring this up because the night i spent outside Munich was even worse.

2007 Flashback #3

The ride to Lucerne was incredible. I don't remember many specifics but i don't remember having any issues. Here's the route i took, roughly: (https://goo.gl/maps/wZdJG)



Looking back there was a much better easier route i could have taken. If you look at the elevation view of the route i took you'll see a large climb shortly after starting.

It was nice and flat riding around the lake but when i turned towards St. Gallen i was faced with a mountain. I don't think i had much trouble riding up it, and after that first hill everything else seemed pleasant. However, if i had just stayed along the lake a few miles further i could have gone around the mountain instead of over it.







It might not look like much in the graphs, but notice that the scale is different. i could have saved 500ft of elevation and all those crazy looking hills in the second half of the bottom image are the same ones i'd have to go over anyway after Zurich. Regardless, i made it to Lucerne just fine. The bit after Zurich was particularly beautiful with clear mountain streams and amazing scenery. It's a shame Go Pro didn't exist back then!

My plan (what little there was) was to meet up with the family and hopefully crash with them for the night. They had given me their phone number but i had no idea where they were staying or what their plans were. When i got to Lucerne i tried calling but got no answer. I wandered around the town a bit, calling every once in a while but never having any luck. Eventually i must have realized that if i didn't find them i'd have to sleep on a park bench or something. I had just ridden all day and i certainly wasn't going to get much further to find a place to camp. I was so desperate to find them that i started going to hotels and asking if they were staying there. Of course, no one could tell me what guests they had.

Sometime around dark i finally managed to get hold of them. turns out they were on some tour on top of a mountain and had no cell phone service. They were nice enough to let me sleep on their floor that night and the next morning i toured the city with them. It's quite a beautiful city with a crazy old bridge across the river. And i saw some old men playing bocce along the lakefront.

The city is situated on a lake and is guarded by mountains in every direction i would want to go.

 

Looking out over the lake at those crazy mountains made it a pretty easy decision to forget about cycling and hop on a train to get out of there. I'm not sure why, but i decided to take a train to Innsbruck, Austria. It could have been because i had heard of a gummi bear factory in the city and it seemed like as good a place as any to go visit on my way back to Munich.

2007 Flashback #2

The German police were very friendly, one spoke fair English and he understood my problem. They escorted me the mile or two to the first exit, pointed me towards Munich, and left me on my way. The ride to the city was quite nice. bike paths, nice drivers, interesting scenery. I think it even sprinkled rain briefly. I must have been very dehydrated from the flight because by time i got to the city (only 25 miles away) my legs started to cramp quite a lot. It was bad enough that i gave up riding and walked uncomfortably for the last mile or two to the hostel.

Over the next couple days i explored Munich. I got lost and saw some very cool stuff. The USA Gymnastics organization had arranged for buses to transport people from the Munich and Zurich airports to Bregenz, Austria, where we'd be staying for the WG. I figured i'd take advantage of the free ride instead of wasting a day cycling the 115 miles. I rode back to the airport i taking the same roads i had a few days before. funnily enough, they took me to a bike path that led right up to the terminal. No autobahn necessary! When i got to the airport i realized i had NO IDEA who i was looking for, where they'd be, when they were leaving for Bregenz, or if i'd be able to stow my bike. This was a complete breakdown in planning. I must have thought i'd just to get to the airport sometime in the morning and hope the bus hadn't already left? I eventually found the USAG people and they didn't have a problem with the bike.

The next week or so passed pretty uneventfully with regards to the touring. The WG was centered in Dornbirn but there were venues in several other nearby towns; I rode my bike when i could to avoid the crowded trains. The World Gymnaestrada, however, was pretty crazy. A few days after arriving, my brother-in-law, Cash, wasn't feeling well. He thought it was just stress from the traveling but when he went to the hospital it turned out it was appendicitis! This was bad news for him, but it was also bad for our gymnastics group since Cash was integral in almost all of our routines. We could re-choreograph them, but it would take a lot of time and practice. Luckily we met Kevin. He was at the WG with the USAG to help out the USA teams with whatever needed to be done. He was thrilled for the opportunity to perform and amazingly was able to learn Cash's part in all 4 or 5 of the performance pieces.

The final day of the WG felt kind of weird to me. It was the day after the closing ceremonies and everyone was packing up their things to head home, but i still had a 4 or 5 days and was just starting my adventure. I had realized on the trip from the Munich airport to the city that i had way too much gear with me so when it was time to leave i did my best to pawn off as much unnecessary baggage as i could onto some friends that were heading home. Even with getting rid of things my pack was still quite heavy. It was a really strange feeling when the 30-odd people i'd just spent the past week with all got on a bus and disappeared. I was left there with a long way to go and no one to look out for me.

I don't think i had any idea of where i was going until the day before. One of the families on my team was staying a few days later and were going to Lucerne, Switzerland. I guess i figured i'd head there too. As for after Lucerne, all i knew was i needed to be in Munich to catch my plane. It was about 10am when the bus left. I stood there for a minute while the scope of what i was about to do sank in. Then i got on the bike and pedaled towards Switzerland.

2007 Flashback #1

My first bicycle-based trip was back in 2007, when i went to Europe for the World Gymnaestrada (WG) in Dornbirn, Austria. The World Gymnaestrada is a huge gymnastics exhibition that takes place every 4 years. People of all ages come from all over the world to perform for each other. It's a fantastic event and it's always interesting seeing what the other groups have come up with. My sister had been to the two previous events, in Sweden and Portugal, and now that i was out of college she asked me if i wanted to perform with them; it didn't take much to convince me.

When i take a trip like this, with significant travel costs, i like to stay as long as possible so it feels like i'm getting my money's worth. The WG lasts about 7 days, with a day or two before for practice and getting acclimated. My plan was to fly into Munich a few days earlier than the rest of my group and stay for 5 or 6 days afterwards. I'm not sure why i decided to bring a bicycle, though it probably had something to do with my slight fear of trains.

I only had one bike at the time, a Novara Strada, an aluminum framed road bike. While i was already comfortable doing some mid-distance rides of 30 miles or so, i remember taking a couple practice rides with my extra gear weight. Once I rode from my apartment in Adelphi, MD to my parent's house in Monrovia then back home later in the day. At the time I knew nothing about bicycle touring but I was somewhat familiar with hiking and backpacking and had plenty of gear for it. i figured i'd just load up my pack and hop on the bike, no big deal. The test ride to my parent's seemed to go pretty well, though i used a smaller pack and had much less gear with me.

For the real deal i loaded up my large Gregory Palisade backpack with everything i thought i might need. I bought a bicycle bag to transport my bike on the plane. Since I was flying in and out of Munich i planned on storing the bag somewhere in the city, probably at the hostel i was staying at (Jaeger's) so i wouldn't have to haul this large and useless thing around with me. I would have to drag it to and from the airport though.

I flew from Baltimore to Munich, with a couple stops along the way. After I landed I gathered my luggage and exited the airport. Putting the bike together went pretty smoothly and didn't take very long. As i got on the bike i knew basically where i needed to go, South towards Munich. I knew there were bike-friendly roads to the city, but i circled the loop around the airport searching for a safe way to get to them. After twice around i saw no option other than to take the highway to the first exit. I only made it about half a mile before i heard sirens behind me. Apparently you can't bicycle on the autobahn.

Here's a map of the route i think i took (https://goo.gl/maps/gfTwq)

Nordic Cycle Trip - Post #8

I posted a picture on instagram of a silly Go Pro mount i set up to be able to record myself while riding (here). When you extend out like that the camera moves a lot so I wasn't sure it'd really work while riding or if the image would just be bouncing around like crazy.

Here's the the test footage: Self-shot test. Is it watchable? Afterwards i realized i could swing the poles around and get a shot from down near the front wheel. It's kind of a weird view and it makes my legs look like a hobbit's but i think it has a little interest to it. Here's the video, Low-angle test, let me know what you think. or if you have some other ideas for shots.

I happened to look at the date today and it struck me that the trip is less than 3 weeks away! i better get on the bike more!

Nordic Cycle Trip - Post #7

I made a decision! Sort of. After some careful consideration and a coin flip i hopped in the car and headed to REI to return the larger handlebar bag. I can see some situations where i might wish i had the larger bag but for the most part i think the compact will do what i need it to. And if not, so it goes.

While i was at the store i figured i'd ask them if they had a spare cardboard bike box i could have for taking the bike on the airplane. I could see in their shop that they had one box that had 3 or 4 other empty boxes in it, and the mechanic was about to put another in it. The sales guy's first response to the question was something like "we don't usually sell just the box because we offer a shipping service that includes dis-assembly and reassembly at another REI store." I told him that i was flying to Norway and there probably isn't an REI in the airport. He went to go find a manager.

He came back after a minute and said all the managers were at lunch (...it was almost 5pm and the store closes at 7) but he had asked another worker and he thought they could sell me one, but they had no idea how much to charge. In my head i was thinking, "i thought bike shops were supposed to just give these things away?" But ok, let's see what he says. 10-15$. Cripes. I'm standing there staring at 5 boxes they're about to put in a dumpster, but then the other guy comes out with a brand new box, a hefty looking one. At this point i felt kind of locked in. I didn't want to burn a bridge trying to get a free box and then not be able to find anything somewhere else. Yeah, 15$ is more than 0$ but it meant i had my box and could move on to other issues (i still haven't decided which bike to bring!).

It turned out buying the box was the easy part. Getting it into my car proved to be quite challenging. If the box was box form instead of flat it might have been easier, especially with the wind. Folding the box flaps down and shifting the seats did the trick and i was on my way.

Some social media updates:
I've had quite a time fussing with google and all of it's branches but i think i've got some things finally squared away. This is the main source of the blog, jtgtours.blogspot.com. There's also a facebook page (www.facebook.com/jtgtours) so you can like it and hopefully get notifications of new posts. There's a youtube channel (here) where i'll be posting videos. Many will be linked to in blog posts, but there will probably be extra stuff on there too. Instagram (www.instagram.com/jtg_tours). this is my first time ever using instagram so i'm not sure what i'll use it for (i'm supposed to take pictures of everything i eat, right?). There are also some google+ pages but this "collection" should be the one to follow (https://plus.google.com/u/0/collection/kUn4e)

Obviously you probably don't want to follow all of these, i'm just putting options out there. Personally, i'd like the facebook page and subscribe to the youtube channel. Adios, till next time when i think i need to discuss my bike quandary.

Nordic Cycle Trip - Post #6

Here's my planned route. (https://goo.gl/maps/x3Eh3)



The basic Google directions from Oslo to Stockholm included a long stretch on E18, a major highway that seemed quite dangerous for a bicycle (also possibly against the law) so at Kristinehamm i had to force a new route to the south. The detour adds 40 miles or so, making the trip 385 miles. I'm still expecting to get to Stockholm ahead of time so i'm trying to decide what to do about it. I'm not sure if i should get a room in Stockholm and explore the city, or just cycle north or south after i get there and camp (it looks like there's a national park a bit south of the city). If i'm really ballsy i could stay an extra day in Oslo and hope i can make the daily progress i expect. Quite the dilemma!

Nordic Cycle Trip - Post #5

Good morning. I've been recording some of my cycling recently, trying to figure out the best way to do it when the real trip starts. Here are links to two of the rides: Counter-Clockwise Loop and Clockwise Loop

I'm messing with things like the angle of the camera, resolution, field of view, frame rate, playback speed, etc. I'll probably try some sequential photos too. If you have any advice, criticism, or praise, please let me know so i can get things right when the time comes. For the real videos i expect i'll have a mix of slow motion, regular speed, and fast motion (these videos are at 5x speed and i think it's pretty useless for seeing anything interesting). I want to give you stuff you want to see so let me know!

Nordic Cycle Trip - Post #4

The Ortlieb Ultimate Compact handlebar bag arrived yesterday, props to the Pasco postal service turning it around Saturday morning. The compact is, obviously, smaller than the medium. It's less obtrusive but holds less stuff. Here are a few pictures of them mounted on the yellow bike.

So which one should i take? I don't really know. The whole point of the handlebar bag is to hold the large battery so i can power the Go Pro for more than an hour at a time. I can fit this much stuff in the Compact bag:

That's the battery, a 50mm rubik's cube, an external hard drive, passport, wallet, sunglasses case (spare SD cards, batteries, lighter, knife, string, corkscrew), and the Go Pro (for when i'm not using it). If i use the larger bag i'll have additional room for some snacks and some extra things i might want to have more accessible. I want to say it's not worth the hassle of carrying the larger bag, but how much worse would it really be? Yesterday i was planning on returning the medium bag to REI today. Now i'm unsure.

A brief review of the bags... If you know anything about panniers and bicycle bags you know that Ortlieb makes great stuff. Super durable, well made, well thought out. All of that is true so i'm not just going to put out my criticisms. I wish the shoulder strap was longer on both of the bags. fully extended it's barely long enough to get the bag to my waist. if i wanted to put it on the other shoulder and cross my body the bag is under my armpit. The only other thing is the funny looking wings on the closure of the Compact bag. I'm pretty sure they're there to make sure it stays as waterproof as possible, but they look silly and make it about 3 inches wider looking. I've tried folding them towards the inside and it sort of works. if i decide to keep it i may try cutting out the plastic bits inside to make it work even better.

Nordic Cycle Trip - Post #3

The Ortlieb Ultimate6 (medium) bag arrived last night. First impression, it's quite large. It's like a large lunch box; it fills up most of the space between the drops on the handlebars. That much storage could be useful though, for the more important items, or for a day pack during the Gymnaestrada.

That reminds me, i don't think i ever explained why i'm going to Finland. www.wg-2015.com I've performed in the past two gymnaestradas, in Austria and Switzerland. If i wasn't 3,000 miles from my group of people i'd be performing in this one too. I guess i'll describe it more later.

Today was an off work Friday for me. I was actually productive and cleaned all my clothes (folded them and put them away too!). I took the opportunity to finally gather what i expected to bring on the trip and see how much it actually was. I went out and got a couple dry bags to keep the clothes in for the sake of separating things to make them easier to find and to compress them for space saving. Looking at everything, i think it can all fit in the two panniers if i need it to. I'll probably add another dry bag for on top of the rack and still use one of the handlebar bags. I'll have to wait and see how big the "compact" bag is before i decide if the medium one is too big (it makes mounting the Go Pro a PAIN since it blocks the view).

Here's a picture of about 90% of my gear:

The black sunglasses cases are full of usb cables, sd cards, go pro things, knife, lighter, cork screw, etc. All of that can fit in the panniers if i need it, but i expect to put much of it in the handlebar bag or the 'trunk bag'. 

I'm also having second thoughts about which bike to bring. The yellow bike is definitely more comfortable, but the weight and fixed gear on hills worries me a little. And the front tire is flat again! i had patched it before the ride the other day. i think i need to scour the tire for something poking through, or replace it outright. 

Nordic Cycle Trip - Post #2

I went for a ride last night on the yellow bike with the rack and panniers attached. It went terribly. First problem was the panniers were set too far forward so my heels hit them as I pedaled. Quick fix, no problem. I knew i’d probably have to adjust them. Two miles later I made a right turn and there was a loud clunking sound in my spokes. I stopped to take a look, turns out the rear of the pannier has too much movement and on a leaning turn it moved into the spokes. No harm done, but I’ll have to adjust the attachment to find a middle ground between hitting my heels and being too far back. 

About half a mile later I start hearing this rubbing sound and pedaling is very difficult. It sort of felt like the brakes were rubbing on the rim, or the tire blew out. I stop to take a look and am glad this all happened within the first couple miles so it’d be a shorter walk back home. I checked the tire, not flat. But the rear wheel still wouldn’t spin. the brakes looked fine. Turns out the rack had slid down the seat stays and was rubbing on the tire. Wonderful. I pulled on it a bit to get it back to where it was and start riding again. I thought about just heading back home, but I was almost at the steep bit to cross the bridge over the river and wanted to see how difficult the climb would be with the extra weight and on a fixed gear. I made it to the top without too much trouble, but on the way back down I had to stop and lift the rack off the tire again.

I think I had to stop 2 more times on the short ride home to fix it. Not a great start, and the rack only had about ⅓ the weight it’ll have during the trip. When I got home i tightened up the ratchet things holding the rack on the frame. The seat stays are tapered so I’m not sure making them tighter will actually help. I guess we’ll see.

Nordic Cycle Trip - Post #1

The Concept:

Fly to Oslo, Norway and bicycle to Stockholm, Sweden to catch a ferry over to Helsinki, Finland for a gymnastics celebration starting July 12th.

The Plan:

Leave Seattle on July 3rd, arrive at the Oslo airport around 8 am on July 4th. Assemble the bike and ride the 35 miles to a hostel in Oslo. Start towards Stockholm on the 5th, make sure i get there before the ferry leaves at 4 pm on the 9th.

The Gear:

The bike: I have two to choose from, or i suppose i could buy a new one. The first bike is a 20-speed carbon fiber ‘racing’ bike with deep carbon fiber rims ("The Fuji"). The other is a steel-frame single speed road bike with a flip-flop hub ("The Madison" or "The Yellow bike"). There are advantages and disadvantages to both:

The Yellow bike

The Fuji

	Advantages	Disadvantages
20-speed "The Fuji"	Better over hills Lightweight Faster top speed Can coast Gears!	Expensive to replace if stolen Uncomfortable body position
Single Speed "The Yellow Bike"	Simple More comfortable body position No big deal if stolen	Heavy May be tough up hills Always pedaling (unless flip-flopped) Limited top speed (~24 mph)

I’m currently leaning towards the yellow bike for the following reasons. First, is the potential loss if the bike is stolen. Assuming they just get the bike i’d be out about 400$ instead of over 2000$ with the Fuji. Second is riding comfort, the racing bike has a much more forward position to it. On 40 mile rides it gets a bit rough and there’s no comfortable ‘resting’ position. Third, simplicity. Without derailleurs and shifters the single speed bike should be much easier to fix if something breaks on the road.The last reason for leaning towards the single speed is just for the novelty of it and saying i used a fixie for a multi-day tour. I am a little worried about hills, and dragging all my gear with me on an already heavy bike.

The bags: I’ve purchased a Thule pack-and-pedal rack and a set of Ortlieb back-roller classic rear panniers to carry most of my gear. If the two panniers aren’t large enough to hold everything i’ll also be bringing a medium sized backpack to sit on top of the rack and panniers. I’m also considering a handlebar bag to keep some things easily available. I’ve ordered both the Ortlieb Ultimate6 Classic (medium) and the Ortlieb Ultimate Compact bags and will see which one suits my needs best.

Other gear: After the hostel in Oslo i don’t have anywhere to sleep until i’m on the ferry. For camping out I’ll be bringing a bivy sack, a 55° sleeping bag, and an inflatable sleeping pad and pillow. Aside from a phone, laptop and some Go Pro accessories the rest of my gear is limited to clothes, toiletries, and bike gear.

The Details:

Planning for this trip has been a mix of serious thought and intentional lack of planning. Aside from making sure there is a bike route between Oslo and Stockholm i have no idea of the directions, where to camp, how far to go each day, etc. I’m just going to see what happens. On the other hand, i’ve put much thought into what i’m bringing and how i’m going to bring it. Since i want to record the scenery as i ride i bought a Go Pro (also to be used in Finland to record the gymnastic performances) and a handlebar mount. During testing at home i found that the Go Pro battery dies after about an hour of recording so i bought a larger backup battery that should last over 10 times longer (i’m not sure how to charge it overnight while camping). But to run the camera off the external battery i need to keep it near where it’ll be mounted on the handlebars, hence the handlebar bag.

As for the ride itself, the route on Google Maps seems relatively flat. I’m anticipating an average of 16-18 mph while riding which equates to about 24 hours of cycling. Having 4 full days and most of a 5th i’m more worried about what to do with all the non-riding time or finding a room in Stockholm when i get there early. I suppose i can just take a longer route if i’m ahead of schedule. My back-up plan has always been to just jump on a train if i’m running late or if something catastrophic happens.