New Modifications To Roubaix

March 27, 2010

This week I had Norcal Bikes change my cassette to a lower ratio. Since I have a 10 speed the only cassette available is the IRD. I chose the 12-32 as I did not want to get too carried away with getting the lowest possible gears.

I just took the bike out for a short test ride on the long driveway. I notice some skipping in the second and third cogs. This is a little frustrating and I will try to go for a long ride tomorrow to see if it is a real problem.

I also added Shimano touring peddles so that one side has a clip and the other side is flat for in town traffic. Further, I attached my Ortlieb handlebar bag.



This is the new cassette with a mountain derailer as I could not keep my 105 with this cassette.



Here is my Roubaix with the new additions.

In the above picture you can see that the weather is fantastic. Last week we were in Colorado and the weather was very cold. In fact, when we flew out of Denver to Sacramento it was snowing and we thought there was a chance that we could not fly out. That was the first time that I had been in a plane that had to "de-ice" before takeoff.

For the past week I have been on four rides. One to Bodega Bay over Coleman Valley Road, one to Petaluma via Chileno Valley Road, one to Tomales, and one to Forestville. All absolutely beautiful rides. I am so lucky to live in this area.

Preparation

Friday March 12, 2010
Greetings!

This is the first entry of my blog. Thanks for checking it out.

I have always liked this quote and thought it was fitting for my blog and frame of mind. 'Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.' Mark Twain.

Traveling has always been an important part of my like. When I was in my 20's and 30's I enjoyed traveling all over the world and not having any schedule, with the freedom to go where ever and when every I pleased. Bicycling, in particular was both a wonderful physical activity in combination with traveling, albeit slowly.I have done some unsupported tours which were cool because they gave me freedom. But the drawbacks were that I had to carry all my gear and figure out each night where to stay. Now that I am in my 50's it is nicer to have someone who knows the lay of the land help organize a trip. I have wanted to go on a supported long distance tour for some time.
In 2008 Nancy and Ken W. organized a cross country trip from Seattle to Vermont but I could not go then because of family and job obligations. They have done a number of such tours over the years. When they advised me that they would do another trip in 2010 I got very excited and started emailing Nancy about joining the tour.

Late January 2010 Nancy sent a detailed packet of information about the trip. I am very impressed by the organization of the trip. She sent a daily itinerary of mileage, places will will stay, and a list of items required. Also included is a very detailed schedule of the first three days. She listed the names, addresses and emails of all the riders. I emailed Ken with a few questions regarding equipment and could see he was a great bike mechanic. He knows a lot about bikes and that will be nice if I have some bike issues.

Beginning in January I started ramping up my mileage on a bike. I try to ride at least three times a week even though the weather in Northern California has been rainy. In fact, a few times I thought even though it was pouring rain I should get out and ride. I put on all my rain gear and just rode slower. Sonoma County has some of the most beautiful areas to ride. I am very fortunate to live here. The scenery is awesome.

Up until January, I planned on taking my Cannondale Touring bike because I can ride that thing through anything and it seems to take it just fine. It also very low gears and has Continental Top Contact tires that look new after 1,500 miles and have never had any flats. But is is very, very heavy 28 lbs. and feels like a tank. That's the big problem. It is slow compared to a lighter weight rode bike.


I also have a Specialized Roubaix Comp that is approximately 18 lbs. I can ride it much farther with less effort than the Cannondale. So, now I have decided to take the Roubaix. That means I have to tweak it a bit to get it in the right set-up for the tour. I am changing out the cassette for an ird 12t-32t to give me lower gears for hill climbing. I just put on 25 cm Continental gator skins. Also, just order are Crude fenders from England that I hopefully can take off and on when the weather changes.

If I had chosen either bike I am sure there would be times that I wish I had the other one.

This month I was able to talk with two riders of the Bike America 2008 trip. Bill F. and Jim C. They both were extremely helpful and gave me so much helpful information. They also suggested that I choose the Roubaix instead of the Cannondale. Thanks for your help Bill and Jim!

Now that I have decided to take the Roubaix I need to change or add a few things to make it more suitable for this ride. Since I do not have a rear rack I will attach an Ortlieb handlebar bag in the front. I will also get a suitable saddle bag under the seat. I mentioned before that I changed the tires to Conti. Gatorskins, and will put on an ird cassette to have lower gears. I probably will not switch my brooks saddle on my Cannondale as this bike has a Fizk Amante carbon seat that is very light.

I am also adding Shimano A530 peddles so that I can have one side for the clip and the other side no clip. I found that these type of peddles are the safest when you are in an area with city traffic. I always felt nervous clipped in with no option in heavy traffic areas.

I had a rear attaching kickstand (Greenfield Stabilizer) that was able to fit on my Roubaix carbon frame. Kickstands are great for tours. It is nice to be able to have your bike upright at stops out in the middle of nowhere instead of laying it down.



My Cannondale Touring Bike





My Roubaix