First Day Success!

A day fully loaded with a few technical and technological challenges, but all ended well with 26 miles and a nice campground.  

I definitely found that with a fully loaded front end, having the collection of shims that keep the handlebars firmly attached correctly installed starts to matter.  After some weaving about and a few half hearted attempts to fix it, we did finally disassemble the front end and put it back together properly.  Then it was just a matter of remembering which side of the road to be on as we traversed endless rolling farmland.

All of the technology is very helpful, but not flawless.  Still not sure how the same mapping ap on two different phones can show two entirely different routes to the same place.  This isn’t helpful when you are completely unfamiliar with the land you are traveling through.  Never a dull moment when the Maps.me lady is shouting at the g-maps lady, and we are climbing another hill, afraid that we might be going the wrong way.  Regardless, we found our way, with some pleasant stops and buoyed by good food.

Things look good for the next few days, with some time on a formal British Cycling Route, good prospects for campgrounds, and a stop at The Bruce’s Arms in a few nights, which has been on my list ever since running across it on the web as a possible camp spot when we get near Avebury. 

We will need to obtain some stove fuel tomorrow as there was a language barrier issue that has supplied us with a fine litre of something that is definitely not equivalent to white gas.  Other than that small issue, we are set up quite well, and so far don’t have any large concerns about having either too much or too little gear.  There is going to be a lot of wear and tear on the drivetrains of the bikes, and we may need to plan on some replacements if things stay this hilly.  Fully loaded takes every gear in rapid succession as you go either up or down the endless succession of rolling hills.The two different tandems have different stall speeds as well.  Liv’s can go slower up the hills than Ruby and I can without falling over.  Ruby is already learning to try to keep her cycle computer showing a minimum of 5 mph, or even better 6.  Below that we are not stable at all, and there isn’t enough room to weave with all the tiny roads and the intensity of the drivers.   Only one driver shouted at us today, which is something of a victory.  

Time to bed down and get a good night’s sleep in the hopes of finally conquering jet lag and giving ourselves a chance to prepare for the coming days of riding.

 Dave