Cyclist and Bike

I started the bike tour with a body weight of 192 pounds (87 kg), a bit less than what I weighed during the previous 3 bike tours. Nevertheless, my physical abilities seem to decrease every year. I'm almost 57 years old.

The bike is a 2007 Bacchetta Giro 20 short wheelbase recumbent with Euro-Mesh seat and Ventisit seat pad. Terracycle underseat rack. Well worn Arkel RT-40 panniers. Two bottle cages on the back of the seat. Two bottle cages added by me on the front of the frame. I have pedaled the bike more than 50,000 miles (80,000 km).

The rear view photo shows that the bike is quite visible from the rear. Orange mesh on the seat back is visible from far away. I added reflective material to the outer pockets of the panniers to emphasize the actual width. The LED flasher stays on all day.

The tires are 40mm wide which gives decent performance on unpaved roads. I switched from Schwalbe Marathon tires (45.5 ounces) to Schalbe Marathon Racer tires (30.5 ounces). A reduction of 15 ounces/425 grams of rotating weight.

The bike has some much-needed new parts. Rear derailleur, front grip shifter/cable. Also new chain and brake pads as usual.

The grip shifter was disintegrating. Derailleur pulley teeth were almost worn smooth. I pedaled more than 50,000 miles with those parts!

The pulley teeth were almost worn smooth after 50,000+ miles of year-round cycling.

The bike has a new computer, a VDO M4.1 which has an excellent altimeter. It tells me the day's total ascent and total descent. The Percent Grade display is stable. It's hard to find a wired altimeter computer, necessary for my recumbent bike. The wire is barely long enough for my setup. Purchased from MEC in Canada because VDO no longer has a U.S. distributor. US$71 including international shipping and a MEC membership. The price on their web site is in Canadian mini-dollars.

This computer is smaller than my old VDO MC 1.0 but the display is the same size. It has more functions but the display shows less information with larger characters. Now I have to push a button to see temperature or percent grade.

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