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Road bike super-leggera cycle-touring
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Yeah! Kept thinking that! Looking forward to my first bagless spin. Skipping up the yard like a fresh bullock!
TBH, while I see that a bag out the back of the saddle like that is more aerodynamic than one sitting crossways, it's a recipe for pendulum effects, with the rear end so far from the saddle.
A bag sitting crossways, and cinched tight to not sway back and forth, has much less pendulum. Most people's thighs are as wide as such a bag is long anyway, so there is no (or next to no) aero loss.
Anyway, glad you had a good day of it. Those roads around Donard are pretty nice!0 -
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Wellity, wellity, wellity.
Operation "Proof-of-Concept" was go and was a success. We managed to get away, we managed to get loads of miles in, we managed to get back safely, and the kids didn't burn the house down while we were away
'Twas a tale of two spins. Just shy of 160k and 1900m climbing on the way down in warm, balmy sunshine. Much more direct 115k route back in absolute pizzins of rain right from the start with no let up whatsoever until we reached the front door of the gaff again. Though it would have been really fantastic to have been going on to a new point C today (and indeed a D and an E) instead of merely B back to A, we're still definitely hooked, the two of us, and we will definitely do a similar A-B-A night away another weekend before autumn turns winter.
If we were doing a longer multi-day spin I don't honestly think I would pack much more than I did - minimal civvies (one pair of denim shorts, one light sweatshirt, socks, jocks and a light pair of "sliders" (kind of pool shoes really). Basically the bare minimum to prevent ejection from, or denial of entry to, a moderately civilised evening dining-room environment.
Cycling gear wise I'm a firm practitioner of the double-shorts method. For multi day spins I find the double-shammy is a literal as$-saver, plus you can switch 'em around on alternate days (sorry TMI perhaps). Also, - handwashing in a hotel bathroom sink with hot-as-you-can-stand water and shampoo / soap is a perfectly adequate way to launder and re-fresh cycling gear for a few days.
Travelling down in the warmth I had basically one layer all over - leg warmers, two pairs of shorts, race jersey, arm warmers, gloves. That was it. I was probably a little bit too warm at times but I'm a bit of a cold fish and I prefer a layer of clothing to a layer of sun cream. I was very lucky and very glad also to have packed a long sleeve summer jersey, cos I'd have been fupped without it coming home today - once we got properly wet, the cold was only ever a few minutes of inactivity (stopping or descending) away.
-ON the two shorts thing, because it's hard to ride out of the saddle with the bags on, I found myself spending the whole day in the saddle really, whereas on a normal spin I would routinely climb out of the saddle for prolonged periods. - So the extra cushioning was required and welcome.
As for the gear - the bags were grand, worked really well. About half way down yesterday I did some redistribution and had less in the saddle bag and more in the handlebar roll. That corrected some of the pendulous saddle-waggle, but it created its own difficulties with being able to change gear properly. The inward up-sweep of my ultegra gear change was impeded by the bag unless I had it packed just right. Also, the specific Topeak bag that I had, I'm not sure of the design for road bike use. It needs a third strap up the middle cos the two fastening straps on it are rather far apart and because of the width (narrow) restraints of road bike bars, you can't have a very long pack, so the the fastening straps are kind of at either end and the belly of your roll is squeezed out the middle between the two ends. -It's not ideal basically is what I'm trying to say, and you can't it much at all without it being awkward. Maybe you could make it thinner and wider by sacrificing access to the drop bars entirely, I'm not sure I'd have to see.
Saddle bag is grand too, but again like the front bag the less you put it in the better it is! - I'd definitely use the frame bag next time, centralised mass and you could put stuff in there that you might need access to on the bike during the day, cos you really don't want to be accessing your neatly packed rolls front or rear.
On the accomodation, I stand by my original points that luxurious accomodations are wasted on such a trip. Three star is more than enough. Four and five is pointless. We didn't use any of the facilities, we hoovered up our dinner, used the showers and hit the sack. Arrived late in teh evening, left early in the morning. We could have done that in any reasonable hotel or B&B. Also with covid restrictions there's no joy or advantage to masked and alcohol-gelled hotel communal areas. Also we had to bung our bikes into a "secure lock up" in a dingy, dimly lit corner of the hotel campus. I'd have much rathered a nice B&B or smaller hotel. But anyway, that's just me. You make your own accomodation choices according to your own tastes and budgets.
So that's the craic. Til the next one. Highly recommended. Would be a great thing to do yourself, or with a bigger gang. I appreciate that not everyone has a wife or husband who can see the fun in knocking out 300k in 24 hours, with half of it in Met Eireann wind and rain warning conditions. I'm extraordinarily lucky in that respect. 0 -
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What's the double shorts method? I googledy but no joy.
Here's how it works :
Put on a pair of shorts. Then put on another pair of shorts.
-Double shorts!! Quick and easy way to double up on the padding. I wouldn't bother on a normal run but I do it on trips away involving consecutive day-long spins. 0 -
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Took my own advice and lined up a bit of roadie super-leggera touring for Thursday and Friday. Early train to Cork, and evening B&B in Dunmore East booked. Looking like it'll be fairly decent weather for at least 300k of it anyway - dry with a tailwind of varying strength!
https://ridewithgps.com/routes/34050046
Great route to Wexford town, bike path, two ferries and lots of very quite coastal roads. Ballyvooney beach just east of Stradbally is one missed by most lads who think they are on coast road. You picked up that lovely road from Annestown to Tramore also. Don't forget the compulsory Metal Man photo
That road out of Wexford wouldn't be for me but I'm a cranky bo11ix, but it does fit with the theme of your route i guess.
Enjoy the trip and have a beer this time!
You'll probably have about 4600m climbing, rwgps underestimates elevation ime0 -
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