Motel to San Diego zoo & back

OK, they call it the world famous San Diego zoo - what more to say? It
is An understatement! I think it would be hard to see it all in one
day. For one thing, I am not used to so much standing. I spent a fair
amount of time musing about how some institutions or organizations
build up the momentum or enthusiasm that allows them to progress so
far beyond the norm. It seems to combine the best qualities of a
theme park, botanical gardens, and zoo. Recommended!

El paso to San Diego

The drive seems to take longer during the flat desert sections , I
guess there is some kind of boredom factor that ensures this. At the
visitor's center in wilcox the lady assured me that there would be
plenty of cyclists doing the route - i'm not sure how she knew this.
We did see one heavily loaded tourist on I-10 headed east as we headed
west leaving el paso. He was carrying at least 50% more stuff than I
will be carrying. I am not sure what I think of that! I will probably
go see the zoo tomorrow with Sara and Joanna and leave the next day,
dec 28 th.

Headed west

Packed up and started the drive west with Sara and Joanna. Of course,
packing up is a euphamism for discovering you've forgotten to do about
a hundred important things. Finally, at about 12:30 I am ready. Then I
notice that my rear panniers are starting to tear on one of the seams.
After spendIng about an hour on a patch, I decide to just take the
repair stuff and try to fix it at night on the drive to San Diego.

We had Christmas dinner at a truck stop in fort stockton - all the
food came out cold except Joanna's burger and fries.

The prius is getting terrible milage with the bike on the back and
driving at 80mph, about 32mpg. After dark the speed limit slows to 65,
and the milage goes back up to 40 - but at that speed it would
normally be about 44-45 with the racing bike. All I can figure is that
the touring bike offers a lot more wind resistance than my racing
bike.

We are now spending the night at el paso, but it's too late to work on
the repair. Well, maybe tomorrow!

Test ride 4

Nice sunny day. Threw some more weight onto the bike, rode a bit more aggressively on 620 with the wind. Finished in the dark, lights are working well, people seem to have no trouble seeing me.

The addition of a remote for the ipod touch works for me, I can skip forward/back/pause while riding. The buttons are a bit sensitive though. When I carry the handlebar bag with the shoulder strap, it bumps the remote in my back pocket, turning the music on/off/skipping etc.

Test Ride 3

Prettier day, slower riding, no Krispy Kremes! The ipod touch is not as well suited for cycling as the older click wheel, or the sandisk sansa clip.

Test Ride 2

Today's ride went well. In the previous ride, I had some knee soreness in the last 5 miles. Today, no problems. Average speed went up about 1 mph to 14.8; the weight was about 38 lbs. I need to add about 10 lbs for the next ride.

The Krispy Kreme stop produced a rarity: a hot raspberry filled doughnut! I asked the guy for a hot jelly roll, and this produced some confusion, but a few moments later he got what I wanted!

Test Ride

Today I got my stuff together, except for tent and sleeping bag, and took a 45 mile ride. The idea is to get my legs used to the extra weight. I have found from experience that even if you are in racing shape, you can injure yourself if you try to use that strength riding with the weight. The legs need a week or so to adapt. Perhaps if I was in my 20's instead of 60 it would not be necessary. Actually, when I was 27 I rode the Blue Ridge Parkway, started with a 90 mile day, the last 20 of which involved climbing 3,000 feet up to the parkway and down it a ways to Shenandoah National Park. I was dead tired, but the legs held up!

It was also an opportunity to try my new headlight and generator. They work well. The light throws a good beam, and although not producing as much light as some of my flashlights, it produces a beam that is more effective for cycling. I never felt I was unable to see far enough ahead. The headlight is the Busch&Muller Lumotec IQ Cyo R Senso Plus. It has what they call a standlight, which means that it will stay on for a minute or so when you stop, and it has a switch so you can use it with a dynohub. Right now, I'm using the Dymotec 6 bottle generator to run it. Someday, I'll get a SON dynohub. Using their efficiency numbers, the dymotec takes about 7.5 watts of pedal power to produce the 3 watts, 6 volts for the light, the SON should take about 5.

Trying to get ready

So, I'm trying to scrape all the things together that I think I'll need. This always takes a long time. I feel a little better about this when I think that even when I'm on tour, and already have everything, it takes about two hours to get up and put it all back into the panniers... and I used to feel bad about that too, except after hearing a presentation by another tourist wherein he mentioned the two hour time - so its not just me!