Travels with Rosemary
My friend and I just got back from an eight-day bike tour of the San Juan Islands and lower Vancouver Island. We ate, we drank, we rode, we stunk, we lounged on hot rocks at the beach, we ate some more, and rode some more. I originally planned on taking my converted fixed/singlespeed Fat Chance on the trip since I knew its 36x16 gearing (60.8 inches) would do well with heavy loads, plus it has been outfitted with a rack and panniers before. But, two nights before our departure, Rosemary (my beloved fixed Bridgestone) told me that she wanted to go on vacation too. I thought about it quite a bit and was split on taking her. She isn't outfitted for pannier racks. I'd have to alter her gearing. My friend would be severely annoyed if problems arose with Rosemary, but god dang it would be a blast to take her.
I sat down with Sheldon Brown to see what the optimum gearing would be for Rosemary-as-a-touring-bike. She's a 44x16 now, but if I took her to 44x18 that would give me 63.6 inches, which is near what the Fat Chance is. Hmmm...with this combo I should be able to take the heavy load and still ride around the roads sans panniers without spinning my brains out. Seemed like a good compromise. So the day before departure I ran around town looking for a seatpost rack, 18-tooth singlespeed cassette (who wants to pedal downhill with all that weight?), and all the other last minute trip preparations. Of course, no one had an 18-tooth cassette so I had to settle for an18-tooth fixed cog. Bah...who needs coasting anyway?
Another rationale for taking Rosemary was that my panniers wouldn't weigh that much. I had lots of ultralight gear from my climbing days that I was sure would keep things to a minimum: titanium cookset, Pocket Rocket stove, purple anodized titanium mug, Integral Designs tarp (no stinkin' heavy tent), down bag, new lightweight thermarest. No problem. Although given my lightweight setup, I also rationed that I could bring a few luxury items like a dozen eggs, two blocks of cheese, and four days worth of food. Heavy on the chocolate.
My friend was still skeptical of my setup, but my bags weighed in at under 30 pounds, the seatpost seemed like it wouldn't crack under the load, and I ensured her that Rosemary and I would do well.
And we did! There was mass amounts of sun and riding and challenging terrain. The San Juan Islands are known for their huge, steep hills without much flatness on any of them. Lopez Island is considered the most "flat," but that's only because its hills are occasionally intercepted by level terrain. Cyclists getting off the Lopez ferry are met with a long, steep climb in order to get anywhere. You can see the bewilderment on faces of uninitiated cyclists and kids on bikes as they struggle to make it up that first hill on the so-called “flat” island. San Juan Island has stunning, rolling coastal roads, but once you point inland the hills get bigger and steeper. You’re either going up, or down.
I never imagined Rosemary and I would do so well. We didn't walk once and got some good comments from riders who recognized her special setup:
"Hey what the....look at you!!"
"You are hard...core. That is so hard core."
"Can you ride around here with only one gear?"
"Hey don't give the bike all the credit for doing so well. You're the engine. Look right there at those legs. You're doing it yourself."
Thanks for such a splendid trip, Rosemary. You’re the best bike a girl could have.
