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Decided to test out my bike by going on a little 2 day tour. Day 1: 90 miles, 4500ft elevation. Day 2: 70 miles 4000ft elevation. Day 3: 10 miles and then I got a ride home.
Bike held up well, but I was pretty unprepared and forgot a few things. Didn't have any grip tape (bike has some hard plastic "grips" from the 70s) or gloves and by the second day my hands were on fire and I had blisters. Then I hit a pot hole and a big patch of skin ripped off my palm. Covered it in gauze and electrical tape and kept going. I also didn't realize that I need a sleeping pad and ended up being too cold to get much sleep either night. I did the whole thing in doc martins and jeans which I think gave me some shin spints. Almost wanted to buy some stuff and go longer but I got shit to do on Monday.
10 speed with no granny gear was also pretty killer on the mountain passes but I only had to walk once on a 12% grade. On the first climb I kinda wanted to give up and turn home, but by 40 miles in I just stopped thinking about my legs.
I've also got a few questions. What do you do about bike security? Will people out in little towns try to steal your gear/bike? What kind of shoes should I get if I'm gonna use flat pedals?
