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seager
platypus
@Tijs
Crazy how it's already been over a year since my last post; my first tour.
Of course I had to go again this year, although my time was somewhat more limited. This time I went for 11 days, and did a loop through (part of) Germany, returning via Belgium. Totaling almost 1100k in 11 days with one rest day.
The route:
The bike:
(Click for PedalRoom)
Pretty much unchanged from last year. Biggest difference are the tyres; I swapped out the Schwalbe Big Apples for some knobby Maxxis Ikon 2.2" MTB tyres. This turned out to be a very good decision, because of the increased unpaved paths I took. Especially the uphill gravel/rocky sections in the rain required grippy tyres, or otherwise I would've spun my rear wheel a lot:
Also fitted a larger cassette at the back (11-32T), which coupled with the small granny chainring (30T) provided a much need spinny gear (which I used A LOT, sometimes even wished I had another gear):
Oh yeah, and I went for clipless this time.
I felt like this tour was quite a bit tougher than last year's one through France, even though it was only half the time and distance. The hills in das Ruhrgebiet gave me a proper challenge though, and there was a lot more gravel/off road kind of riding, which made it harder.
Germany pleasantly surprised me with its beauty, friendly people and nice campsites. Some pictures of along the way, cause I've orated for long enough by now: