When we spot cyclists coming our way along a route, we always try to slot them into a category: local on their way to grandma's house or the store, wannabee racer, commuter, etc. A touring cyclist is supposedly identifyable by the little legs flailing up and down amid a stack of luggage.

However, the profile of touring cyclists is not uniform. The classic appearance has panniers in the front and rear, a handlebar bag, and a stack with a tent and possibly sleeping pad piled up in the rear. ( A recumbent, of course, is something else again.) Especially in Europe, though, we noticed far more trimmed down profiles - panniers, yes, but just a couple maybe. These are the "credit card" tourists - moving fast, from B&B to B&B, with no tent, sleeping bag and pad, cooking gear, etc.

At first we snorted when such cyclists passed, but in Europe anyway they were in such a huge majority that they seemed legitimate. Still, our basic instincts do not lean this way. We like to load the bikes with a full kit, and try to stay out of hotels and restaurants as much as possible.

So it dawned on us only slowly that with this winter trip down the coast, motels would have to be the way to go. That meant no tent, no sleeping bags, not even a worry about charging electronics, spare batteries, etc. We could ditch the front low riders, and all but fly down the roads with partially filled rear panniers! It was not "our way", but the alluring idea caught on quick.

It lasted, though, only a day. We had thought we had time only to go about as far south as San Franciso. So it would be cold all the way. Now our plan to go visit Evelyn, our newest grandchild, in Montreal has been delayed just long enough that San Diego seems possible. It's got to be warmer down there, so the tent and sleeping gear is seemingly back on.

With the tent etc. back in the mix, we went and dragged out one of our BoB trailers. We see that not only will it easily fit the Bike Fridays, but when disassembled a bit will fit into a duffle bag. That means we could sneak at least one onto a train home without a lot of boxing hassle. So wow, with a trailer in tow we could practically bring a microwave oven as well!

What we actually should bring is still up in the air, but it does seem that the lean and fast image will not be for us. Perhaps we were just never meant to fly down the roads. We will be happy just plodding along, as usual.

Heart

2

Comment

0

Link

Log in to comment or reply