I did my final prep ride on Saturday with my touring bike pretty much set to spec. The offset of the new post I ordered is perfect and now my Brooks saddle is rearing to go. I even put on my barbag - the only thing that was missing was my rear panniers.
This was a memorable ride in a few ways. First off, the leader was riding a recumbent, and while he is a super nice guy, I'll never ride with a recumbent again. First off, they just look bizarre and you look bizarre by association. Second, they just can't keep a nice pace. It's like following a jackrabbit who with no sense of direction.
The biggest revelation of the ride though was the concept of weight. Wow, now I know why touring types always try to lighten up their load and say there's never a low enough gear. Even with just the 8 or so extra pounds of my barbag I found hills to be super painful. I can't even imagine how the "hills" in Italy are going to feel with 25 lbs added to the bike.
Well, it's off to pack the bike. I'm kind of dreading it to be honest. Feels like it's going to be an ordeal but I guess it's all just a part of the process.
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