Friday, December 2, 2011

A Little Added Pounds for the Holidays

That is, on Betsy. Today I put all the panniers (including the handlebar bag) on Betsy. I loaded my barbells into each of the four bags. 14 pounds in each of the back panniers and 5 pounds in each front pannier (would have put more in the front, but that's all the weights I had). I also strapped not one, but two tents on the rear rack with the panniers. I didn't feel like packing up my sleeping bag and sleeping pad for the second bag on the rack, so I just grabbed another tent. Was it as much weight as I normally tour with? No, but it was a start.

I rode the trail to Rainier. The ride was pretty easy. I stopped at Main Street Cookie Company for some sustenance (not that I really needed it, but the cookies sure are good). After the cookie break, I took the road back. I wanted to see how Loaded Betsy handled on the hills. She did just fine. With the 20X1.75" tires, plus the extra weight, she pretty much rolls over most of the debris on the shoulder. Going up the hills, I never even came close to running out of gears.

Even though I wasn't carrying the total amount of weight I normally tour with, I think Betsy will do just fine going up the many New Zealand hills and mountains.

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