ride fast, see the world

It is such a nice frame man, thanks for those bits I just got from you for my road/fixed build, although I do hope I haven’t just added to list of parts you need to get that back on the road haha

ahaa no worries at all, look forward to seeing yours finished!
More likely than not I'll use my actual track bike with some hoods, as lovely as the Bob Jackson is it's nicer having a stiff frame and cockpit when you need to get out of the saddle on half of the climbs!

I recognise that Bob, i think we may have done a few inters together at HHV. What do you have now? For what it's worth out of all the road fixed bikes i've built my old noodly Argos was probably the nicest to ride over longer distances.

Yes! Used to ride it there all the time, I think you had the CAAD with those wicked Arkane wheels?
I ride a boring Dolan Pre Cursa there now, helps me get a lot longer and lower for a flatter back and closed front. Plus you can't really get 26mm bars in anything smaller than 36cm.
Would be good to see you down there sometime - I'm usually there once or twice a week these days, mostly on Monday nights.

I think you had the CAAD with those wicked Arkane wheels?

That's me! Understand about the Dolan, i'm not in love with the CAAD on the road but it's just right for me on the track. Sadly, i've not been back for well over a year now due to life stuff. I keep thinking about a return but anxiety about how shit i'll be tends to kick in and stop me (commuting the only riding i do these days). Are you racing? Perhaps i'll come down and cheer from the side.

Yes, been racing the league over the summer and will be back again next year.
If you're ever down feel free to say hi - and honestly I wouldn't worry about being shit on the track. I often take 2+ month breaks from training when life gets in the way and it always manages to come back.

.

3 Attachments

If anyone has location/route recommendations in any of the places I've mentioned, would love to hear them :)

1 Attachment

.

4 Attachments

The images you post made me think about Tuscany (or even Sicily, if that’s not too far).
From Marseille you could ride down the coast, through Liguria, eat well and then ride into Tuscany (eat even better) and ride upwards from Lombardia->Piemonte, either Simplon pass or San Bernard into Switzerland.

I did a longish tour from the UK > Greece > UK (6500km riding) a few years ago and stopped for a family wedding in Tuscany along the way the riding near Arezzo and Perugia was fantastic. I also really enjoyed the section from the Czech highlands to Dresden. I'm based in Zurich most of the time so let me know if you need a place to stay if you're coming through because otherwise accomodation is damn expensive.

On the planning side of things, I set off on this trip with the route for the first several days planned and a list of a few major destinations but otherwise I just winged it and did a bit of planning during breaks in the day. I found it super helpful to have a GPS that allowed for easy map browsing like the Garmin Etrex 20/30.

Also on the bivvy vs. tent question I would rather have a tent for a trip like this. I toured in Japan for a month with just a bivvy and it was fine but I'd miss the small things like being able to get dressed inside the tent and having a bit more space to shelter when it's raining.

From Italy you can do Venice to ljubljana to vienna. We did that decades ago.

Guidi is the king, you should check out Aaron Schuman’s new book Sonata if you’re interested in photography made in voyages through italy a la goethe

@PC2 Yes I think going across the coast would be lovely, and into Italy from the North East. Love the climate around that region so happy to spend some time there on/off road.
@SoYaap! Very kind offer! Thank you. Need to figure out the navigation problem... I only have a very basic Garmin but maybe that+physical maps might be fun and not all too difficult. I'm leaning towards tent but worried it would be too obvious if I'm planning to wild camp along the route.

Tempted to go to Lourdes to turn it into a pilgrimage but it's a bit out of the way.

.

1 Attachment

nice plan and bike

in my experience, apex level rear derailleur + cassettes do not spark joy, an upgrade is welcome with those

Got a link to that that route? Muddy was it?

I would definitely go for a tent on a long trip like this, it's still possible to wildcamp and you can treat yourself to a campsite sometimes.
Your job ends the end of the year, does that mean you want to start the tour in the middle of the winter?

@Glws very likely, think the same issue would be there with rival? the jump to a long cage force RD is a lot of £££...
@ojwithbits just an on-road route, needed to get back before the sun went down so decided not to off road it. should be here: https://www.komoot.com/tour/974185261?ref=wtd
If that doesn't work I can send the file itself
@kjlem Nope! Way too cold and miserable for that. After all I'm hoping to have some fun... Probably do some odd jobs over the winter for cash then start in late March or something.

Love this, you could also just fly to Sicily in February and ride the agreeable warmth up into Europe over the following months.

And there would be seasonal agricultural job things along they way to keep you fed and hydrated.

in my experience there is a distinctive feel in performance between apex, rival and force, due to cassette (mostly) and derailleur (a bit). not sure how chainline is off-center and in what direction, but it shouldn't affect all gears

March will be a bit nippy and wet across most of France. Morning rides last March were below zero a few times this year. Maybe head south and move north as the weather improves as @LeMesjeu suggests?

That's a good suggestion! Then you also dont have to worry about flying home with your bike at the end of the trip anymore.

@atz @kjlem @LeMesjeu Not a bad idea! I was hoping on mid-late March being agreeable enough for me to start but maybe that wasn't based in reality. I do feel slightly off about taking a flight unneccasrily though.. Would allow me to leave earlier meaning I don't need to get another job to subsist on!

@Glws Will look into this. Bike does ride great but the not stop crunchyness is slowly killing me. That being said if I did swap the RD for something higher end and it remained terrible I'd cry. Might see if I can pick something off the forum for cheapz.

Won't be doing much or any off road for the rest of the winter so moving to a more road set up. Tyres will be 35mm Pirelli Cinturato Velo tubeless, might also change the gearing. Right now I'm on 40t and an 11-42 cassette which is fine for off road climbing n all that.
Anyone got an idea what might be more suited to 'endurance' road miles carrying a bit of weight?