So, please don't pay any attention to the guy behind the curtain below who said he'd never be able to fill his duffle bags for this trip. I mean, really, what does HE know?
I have (singlehandedly I might add) managed to fill MORE THAN FULL three LARGE duffle bags (well, a 24", a 30" and a 36" duffle) for this trip... Who knew? It's like taking a kid into a candy shop.. well not really, no kid would be dumb enough to state at the get-go they couldn't eat ALL the candy in the store....
Seriously? I have to pare down?? Seriously???
The bike is all set to go: with brand new 700x28s Schwalbes, SKS fenders, Avid brakes, Jagwire cables, Dyad rims, FSA handlebar, Profile Design aerobars (for a thousand miles+ of truly fun headwinds) and new cassette, crank and chain.. Same old Ti frame, saddle and rack. She rides great and stops on a dime. I'll take a pic tomorrow at PMP and post it on the Gear page.
I have arranged for the shipping box and shipment to San Diego (via FedEx) to arrive at the recommended bike shop a few days before I arrive on March 4th. I'll pack a few items in with the bike, ship an additional box to the hotel and take just one or maybe two bags on the airliner. Shipping a large box for $30 thru FedEx to San Diego will a be a LOT cheaper than that nasty, $150 highway robbery fee for the third bag!!!
At just under 5 weeks to go, I am getting in well over 200 miles a week of hard rides, intervals and moderate effort long rides so I should be as ready as I can without hills to train on. My neighbor has set us up to ride a charity ride in Palm Beach on Feb. 15th so those 62+ miles should be fun and good training but still flat.
Truth to tell, being a warm weather kinda guy, the COLD has me lots more worried than the hills. The other riders should thank me: I have bought enough cold weather clothing to virtually guarantee everyone that we will have a terrible heatwave every day across the southern USA for two months, not those high 20s/low 30s morning starts they had last year!
Doug
No comments:
Post a Comment