Loaded !

After chatting with Rob about the amount of stuff we're taking, I've cut down on what I'll be carrying. This is one of the advantages of having a sensible cycling buddy, as my failing is in tending to try to cover all the "what if" situations! (If I'd cycled alone, I think I'd have had to buy a trailer!)

Consequently, I packed the panniers, bar bag and stuff-sack with the reduced contents, loaded the bike for the first time this morning and set off on a training run, intent on climbing my "usual" hills.  

Wow! What a difference the load makes. 

I nearly did a wheelie going down my driveway because of the bulk of the weight being towards the back of the bike. Then I thought my brake had stuck. I'm not sure if it was a bit of stiffness on my part because I'd had a few days off. Anyway, after a couple of miles or so, I settled into a rhythm, realising that I had started into a dreaded headwind and cheered myself up by recognising that it was a south-westerly, which should be behind us, and therefore helping, when we come up from Spain. 

Notwithstanding that, the cycling felt comfortable, albeit that I had to drop down a gear or two more than usual and be content with a slightly slower run. The steering was relatively light too because of the load distribution and I was glad that I had a bar end mirror to save having to turn to look behind me too often, with the slight wobble that can result.

This is the bike fully loaded.

It took such a long time to pack, to ensure that items that I might need on the road are easily accessible, that I have resolved to list the items in each pannier or bag in packing order when I unpack them next week. This check-list will then make re-packing after overnight stops a lot quicker.
Also, fitting the dry-sack on top of the rack (the dry-sack carries the bulky and slightly-too-long loads like shoes and tent with poles), was a bit fiddly and there was always the niggling fear that the bag would disappear when flying down a descent. So, having secured the dry-sack, I've taken photos to remind myself where to hook the cargo net.

Meanwhile, Rob has had the gearing on his bike lowered a little and has just completed an impressive 44 mile training run, again in windy conditions, albeit without panniers. His route overlapped that of a local club's time trial. He was clearly riding well as an official in the club's support car encouraged him along, having mistaken him for a competitor!

Not long to go now and we're both anxious for the start..........