wow, I did it ...

[jobob]

Today I rode from the Pigeon Point Lighthouse hostel (on Route 1 between Half Moon Bay and Santa Cruz) via Stage Road, which is a moderately hilly inland route, and back up to La Honda via Rt. 84.

Since Lee and I are going on our Puget Sound tour in a couple of weeks I did this ride with my rear panniers attached and loaded up, to make sure they were secure and there were no problems with heel rub, that sort of thing - and to get an idea of whether I could schelp all that stuff around without dying . During our tour we're going to be staying in B&B's along the way and I'm certain that none of our rides from one B&B to the next are going to be as hard as the one I did today, so I figured this would be a reasonable indication of whether or not I'd survive with the whole set of panniers loaded up

Here's the profile for the Stage Road part of the ride - Diablo it's not, but although the scale makes it look worse than it really is, I did only the 3rd hill last Labor Day weekend, and back then it put me in a world of hurt!

At any rate, I'm really thrilled - not only did I do Stage Road with no difficulty (and was rewarded with a screaming descent back down the 3rd hill to get back to Hiway 84 - I almost broke 40 mph ) but just for yuks when we got home I weighed my bike and panniers.

Bike, with front & rear racks & fenders & assorted detrius = 28 lbs.
Loaded rear panniers & handlebar bag = 21 lbs.

Throw in a lb for the watter bottles, and it turns out I was lugging 50 pounds up them there hills, and lived to tell about it - hoo hah!

- jo "grunt" bob

[DeniseGoldberg]

Excellent! How many days is your Puget Sound tour? I'm hoping you'll be keeping a journal so we can share your fun!

--- Denise

[Veronica]

Way to go Jo! You're going to have so much fun.

V.

[snapdragen]

Way to go jobob!

[MomOnBike]

Glad to see you're doing a tour.

Enjoy Puget Sound, keep a diary/journal, take pictures and tell us all about it.

Watch out, though, this bike tour thing could get addictive.

[jobob]

Hee, here's the profile for the entire ride I did today - less than 25 miles but still, a good shake-down. I never would have thought I could lug 50 pounds over flat terrain, much less this. Must have been all those rides up Diablo trying desperately to keep up with V., Kim and SadieKate




About our tour -

Since it's our very first tour we're really taking it easy, we'll be staying at B&Bs and rental cabins, and won't be travelling more than 40 miles or so between our accomodations with the full loads.

We're driving up to Pt. Townsend WA on Memorial Day weekend, leaving our truck there and heading out with our bikes that Tuesday to Sequim, which is only about 30 miles away. We'll be staying in a cabin for one night, spitting distance from one of our favorite restaurants out there, called the 3 Crabs (uh, we plan to do a lot of eating to counteract all the riding ) .

The next morning we'll ride another 30 miles or so to Pt. Angeles WA, where we'll board a ferry to Victoria on Vancouver Island. The B&B we're staying in Victoria is all of about 3 miles from the ferry dock, heh. Over the next few days we'll do some day trips around the Saanich Penninula, go out to Butchart Gardens one day, that sort of thing. Vancouver Island appears to have some really nice cycling so I'm really looking forward to that - I'll probably regret having us stay for only 3 days there!

After 3 days on Vancouver Island we'll take another ferry to the San Juan Islands. We're staying for 3 days in a cabin on Orcas Island, which will be our base from which we'll bop around the San Juans via ferry with our bikes.

After that we'll take a ferry to Anacortes and go down Fidalgo Island, cross the Deception Pass bridge and bop down Whidbey Island. We'll either stay the night somewhere on Whidbey Island or go down the length of Whidbey and hop on another ferry back to Pt. Townsend that same day - depends on what we're up for that day.

All together our trip around Puget Sound will be either 8 or 9 days. Thanks to all the ferry connections we won't be putting in all that many miles with the full loads between our accomodations, but hopefully we'll get some nice rides in-between.

- jo "tour guide" bob

[nuthatch]

What a wonderful sounding trip!!! I'm so ready to start touring and you girls make it sound so possible! Hmmm, should I start saving for an actual touring bike now......

[SadieKate]

We're going to have to rename you Power Girl! Way to go!

Your trip sounds wonderful. It's funny about our outlook, isn't it? Some people think a vacation is lying on the beach with a cabana boy only a whistle away. Then, there are those of us who think fun involves exploding lungs and burning legs. I'm sure you'll have a wonderful time and we're awaiting your travelogue.

[MomOnBike]

Ooohh, that sounds like a wonderful trip. I love that area of the world. Elder Daughter and I once sniffed Every Single Rose in the Buchert Gardens. They all have a different fragrance.

You will enjoy yourself, a lot.

MomOn(touring)Bike

[fixedgeargirl]

Sounds like a great tour, jo! I lived on Orcas briefly, lived in Bellingham and the Skagit Valley for a few years. It's a marvelous corner of the world!!!

[CorsairMac]

Woohoo Jo, what a gal!! I've carried 50 lbs of feed before so I can't even imagine trying to Ride with 50 lbs, let alone ride up Those inclines!....Princess of Power Tiara goes to you hun!!

It's funny about our outlook, isn't it? Some people think a vacation is lying on the beach with a cabana boy only a whistle away. Then, there are those of us who think fun involves exploding lungs and burning legs.

So, why can't I do the whole exploding lungs/burning legs thing and End with the good-looking cabana only a whistle away??......sounds like the Perfect vacation to me!

What a wonderful sounding trip!!! I'm so ready to start touring and you girls make it sound so possible! Hmmm, should I start saving for an actual touring bike now......

Got a spare room with your name on it hun - and lots of PooGoo!

[slinkedog]

Jo... all I can say is, WOW!! You did great and I know you guys are going to have a wonderful trip! I may have already mentioned this, but Blaine and I honeymooned in Port Townsend, went to Port Angeles to do the ferry thing to Victoria (but only spent a day there) and did some hiking in Olympic National Park. Are you staying overnight in PT? If so, which B&B are you going to? We stayed at the Ravenscroft Inn and it was so nice and the food was awesome. I believe it's under different ownership now.

Anyway, have a BLAST!

[Grog]

'Wow!' jobob, you bet!!! I am very impressed...

What do you put in your panniers that weights 50 pounds?? Will you be cooking on the road? Or are the panniers that heavy to begin with?

[jobob]

LOL, thanks ladies.

My rear panniers only came to 21 pounds ... and that's not loaded up with all the dreck I'll probably take with me - I have front panniers too. It was the bike plus bags that came to 50 pounds. I'll be lugging more than that on the trip, but it's not going to be as hilly as the route I rode yesterday. Then again, I'll have the wind to contend with !!! But that's why we're keeping the distances pretty low.

Nope, we won't be camping out - most of the places we're staying have kitchens so we'll be doing a bit of cooking but we won't be lugging any cooking gear

[nuthatch]

Got a spare room with your name on it hun - and lots of PooGoo!

Oh, goody! A "PooGoo-Off"!!! Shall we invite all the local riders to sample our batches??