Quote Originally Posted by Owlie View Post
A fair number of the roads, being rural, were chip-seal. If I ever do this ride again, it will be on carbon or steel that fits properly. And I will be much better at hills.
NOW you know why I lasted only a year on my aluminum bike. It's really amazing the difference between that frame and my carbon one. I HATED chip-seal. Now I tolerate it...it doesn't bother me so much. I just accept that the ride will be a bit slower. We rode a lot of chipseal yesterday. 2 years ago I would have been in tears by the end of it. Though I will say that my aluminum Redline CX bike seems to mute the vibration MUCH better than my Synapse did. So the actual design of the tubing must play a big role. The Synapse had oversized and thinner tubing than my Redline. Probably a different grade of aluminum, too.

Great job on your ride...you did it!