Test ride with all my gear

Yesterday and today I rode from home to Beaver Pond Campground and back with my bike loaded the way I planned it will be for my 4000-mile trip that starts May 28th. Click the links to see records of my rides:

May 19: https://ridewithgps.com/trips/34979261
May 20: https://ridewithgps.com/trips/34944025

Here were the loaded weights of my bags:

Handlebar bag: 6 lbs 14 oz
Top-tube bag: 2 lbs 12 oz
Rear bag: 10 lbs 6 oz
Total weight: 20 pounds

My bike, including two filled water bottles, two mirrors, front and rear lights, the air pump, the mount for the handlebar bag, and the rear rack, but not including the three bags, weighs 28 pounds.

The adventure began while still at home when I discovered that my small Lezyne hand pump is not calibrated correctly. When its gauge read 80 psi the pressure was actually 90 psi, according to both my Lezyne floor pump and my separate air pressure gauge. I will talk with Lezyne about this issue, but I’m also considering taking a mini floor pump instead of the hand pump which takes so much work and strength in order to fill my tires to 90 and 95 psi.

The adventure continued, even before leaving, when the valve core of my front tube came out as I unscrewed the hand pump. Perhaps I had screwed it on too tightly. In any case, I was able to reinstall the valve core using the small pliers in my touring tool kit.

As I started to ride, the 20 pounds of my three bags was something of a shock, but throughout the day I became more and more used to my load, realizing that quick maneuvers are not wise. I’ve previously ridden with the top tube and rear bags, but this was the first time I’ve used the handlebar bag. The distribution of weight is excellent.

I soon noticed a recurring squeak from my handlebar bag. At first I thought the noise was coming from the bag itself as it would swing forward and backward when I rode over bumps, but five miles from home I stopped to investigate and discovered that the 50mm-long 5mm bit was bouncing around in the tool kit. I put that bit in the plastic bag in which I had put the short bits in their holder and the problem was solved.

While riding on Henry Hudson Drive (aka River Road) I saw a cyclist on the side of the road and asked whether he had what he needed. He said that he didn’t, that his master link had come off his chain, and that he was going to call an Uber for a ride to Strictly Bicycles, a shop in Fort Lee. I told him I had a Connex link for 7-speed or 8-speed cassettes. His cassette was 11-speed, but we installed the Connex link and he was on his way.

I saw a tree down across the entire northbound lane of 9W a mile or so south of the New York-New Jersey state line. When I got to The Filling Station a little north of there I called the New Jersey police to report the hazard.

I recently bought two types of handlebar-end mirrors, one with a 1.75-inch diameter and one with a 3-inch diameter. Prior to today’s ride I had been using a pair of the 1.75-inch mirrors and was getting to like them for monitoring the traffic behind me when taking the lane on a two- or four-lane road. REI had only one of the 3-inch mirrors when I was there yesterday, so I installed it on the left side of my handlebar for use today. The larger mirror gives a better view, but I prefer the way the 1.75-inch mirror is mounted in the bar and I also find its ball-and-socket joint superior to the hinge joint of the 3-inch mirror. Tomorrow I will install a 1.75-inch mirror on the left in order to compare.

I needed to walk, rather than ride, up some of the steepest hills. Walking a bike up a hill is equivalent to riding it up the hill in a very low gear, right?

After returning home I was able to reduce my weight by two pounds, with my bags weighing 6, 3, and 9 pounds, reducing the total to 18 pounds.