Having a mapping app is huge for me. Huge. I have a terrible sense of direction. I blame it on growing up in the mountains. I always knew where I was in relation to what mountain I was looking at. But north or south? Not so much. I get lost going out of the parking lot. Literally. Ask anyone who has toured with me. Luckily, I'm an excellent map reader. Having a mapping app on my phone has really opened doors for me in riding alone in new areas and not needing to ride with someone else to keep from getting lost. This tour was the first tour I've ridden alone each day and felt okay with it. I didn't make plans with someone the night before to ride with them. It's grand to wake up in the morning, see if anyone is taking the same route. Yes? No? Maybe? It didn't matter. I didn't lose sleep worrying about getting lost. It's liberating on many levels.

In the interest of helping my fellow cyclist, I'm going to admit that it took me a couple of days to figure out why my knee started hurting. It's the little things . . . I use Earbags to keep my ears warm. I took to storing them in the side pocket of my top tube bag. BUT that made the bag bulge slightly so my inner thigh rubbed the bag. I then turned my knee out to avoid the rubbing. Ah, ha! That was the source of the pain. I quit putting the Earbags in the pocket. Problem solved.

Heart

0

Comment

0

Link

Log in to comment or reply

Peanut butter in oatmeal is good. I was trying to get some sort of protein in my motel breakfast. I added a couple of scoops of peanut butter in with my instant packet oatmeal. It was a decided improvement.

I understand that wool clothing does not smell. My nose confirms that. I have a hard time not washing clothes that I can see the sweat stains on. I have to remember to take a photo of Jacinto's shirt - the back is almost totally white from dried sweat. Perhaps he could sign for an electrolyte drink company? He hasn't washed any of his clothing since Tucson, a week ago. Jacinto is quite happy with the time he has freed up in the evening.

I have purposefully not given a daily update on my wool bra since most of the audience is male. But for the women out there, I have to say that the wool bra is worth exploring. I'm waiting to ride in the heat of summer for a final assessment. My bra issue is that I sweat, the band gets wet/cold/clammy. If I continue to ride, then the chafing starts. That is not good, it can even be painful. So far the wool bra does get disgustingly wet. It seems to hold in every drop of sweat and not dry in the least. but the wet isn't cold and it doesn't chafe. No chafing is the goal.

I do believe there is something to the belt drive bicycle. Jacinto's bike is middle of the night quiet. He never has to clean the chain (look for a rag, bring along lube, etc). He doesn't get black marks on his legs. I can see the advantages.

One of my goals for this trip was to keep my pannier weight under ten pounds. I debated if I needed both a rain coat and a soft, wear around coat. No. The rain coat could layer. That's what I did. I wish I had brought the soft coat also. Rain jackets aren't snuggly. On a winter tour like this where it is certain to get cold after dark, having a soft jacket is worth the weight/volume. My opinion, of course.