Bodensee Gets Own3d!

The ride to Zürich last week was just a warm up. Today I set new personal single-day best of 196km with a ride around the Bodensee and the Überlinger See. My last record was 166km, which I did last year between Tecklenburg and Bremen during my summer bike tour. It's not fair to compare the two rides: Last year I cycled on a mountain bike and pulled a loaded Bob Yak trailer, and today I cycled on a minimally packed touring bike. That's a big difference.

I've long wanted to do this ride after trying (and failing) to do it over two days in September 2005. It was a good ride, but I began to bonk somewhere in the last 30-40km between Bregenz and Rorschach. It was completely my fault for not eating enough. The last climb to St. Gallen was murder on the knees and soul, but I was overly happy to make it home.

I put a Google Bike Map of the route online. The entire ride was just under 12 hours, including lunch and breaks.

Tomorrow is Monday when I usually go to the gym, but I think I'll give myself the day off; or heck, the entire week off. I need a rest. Time for bed.

Shopping & Ride to Zürich

The new bike and I get along well. On Saturday I took it shopping at Krapf Velofaszination and made a pre order for a Tubus Tara front rack and a pair of Front Roller Plus panniers. These should be the last major purchases to prepare the bike for the summer tours. The combined volume of all panniers is around 65L, which is considerably less than the 94L bag I had with me last year. I need to revisit my packing list.

I'm feeling more comfortable on the bike, especially at higher speeds. On Sunday I rode it to Zürich and was very pleased with how it handled. There are some funny noises coming from the back wheel, which I initially thought were being caused by the brakes. After further research I've isolated the problem to some of the crossed spokes rubbing against each other when bearing my weight. I'll get it checked when I downsize the lower chain ring in the next weeks.

Loire Valley by bike!

I received some good news. Earlier this year I requested an extended vacation to do another bike tour as I did last year. Yesterday I received approval and I can now move to next stages of planning. If all goes well, I'll depart on June 1 by bike or train towards Orléans, France and continue along the famous Loire Valley that ends at the Atlantic Ocean.

I'm excited about the trip. The Loire Valley itself is only 500km long, so depending on my pace I'll extend the trip to some of eastern France or the Atlantic coast. I don't plan to cycle at the intensity I did last year. My biggest mistakes last year was setting a goal of where I'd like to be in four weeks, which forced me to cycle so many kilometers per day at the expense of not appreciating where I was. This would be a gross mistake to make in the Loire Valley, which is supposed to be absolutely gorgeous with the vineyards and castles.

It's likely a buddy from Canada will be joining me. He's doing some traveling and plans to be in Europe in early June. We just need to figure out how we'll get his cycling gear and a bike to our rendez-vous point. Any suggestions?

Easter Weekend!

The weekend started on Friday morning when I arrived in Airolo with my bike. The sun was out, the air was warm, and I put on my shorts. From here I cycled along the #3 North-South route towards Biasca, but made a small detour according to a mountain bike trail that I found on GPS-Tracks.com. The route was great, but I had to turn back due to the wet snow at the higher altitudes. From then on I rode on a parallel road about 1000m above the valley. Absolutely spectacular! The downhill was fantastic and the rest of the ride to Biasca was uneventful.

That night I camped with friends near Biasca. We had a delicious BBQ salmon dinner and drank a few deserving beer. The next morning three of us rode to Losone (near Locarno) where we camped the second and third nights. En route we stopped near Gudo where I tried to locate the old home of a great-aunt. We had limited information and unfortunately no success.

The next day I did a solo ride, "Mountain bike tour Casone" up the Luera. The accent was strenuous but manageable; it was the ride down that killed me. The path was steep, full of rocks hidden under leaves, and had a steep decline down one side. I had a few close calls that resulted in small rock slides. The path went through Rasa, which is a little village in the mountains only accessible by cable-car. Where do people get the incentive to move to these places? I had to carry the bike for another 700m until I finally hit a ridable path. Frustrated, I almost snapped at a hiker for calling me a "Velo-wanderer". I calmed once I got to the road that took me back to camp. I should have paid closer attention to the difficulty rating and the comments left about this route before attempting it. It was still fun, nonetheless.

The last day was uneventful except for the ride to Bellinzona where I caught the train home. In all it was a fantastic weekend and I could easily see this becoming an annual tradition. Some photos are online and I put together a Google Map that plots where I rode over the four days. Enjoy!

New Jersey, Bike, & Easter

Last weekend I made a quick trip to New Jersey to visit a good friend. The flights were cheap and flew direct so it was an easy decision to make. Although the trip was only for four days, we managed to pack a lot into that time. We visited The MET, the New Jersey shore, the Broadway production of 'Chicago', a jazz club, and a comedy club. Fantastic! All of it!

I bought the Trek 520 touring bike that I that wrote about earlier. Fortunately the size was correct and the test ride immediately impressed me. The bike is now leaning against a wall in my living room, and is slowly being modified and fitted for touring. I added a mount for a GPS receiver and fitted the Ortlieb touring bags for the rear carrier. Soon I'll get a front carrier and bags and downsize the crank. I definitely need a smaller crank for the mountains around here, but it's open whether I downsize just the lowest chain ring or the entire thing. The difference in price is not subtle.

Next weekend is Easter and I wish to use the four-day weekend to test the bike with a short tour. I hope to bike in Tessin, but this depends on the weather and if I get the chain ring modified in time. If not, I'll just need to find a flatter place to bike.