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@shinkuu_kiss
So 1 year since the ride that inspired this, holidays have rolled around and I've been able to go away for 4 days again.
This time I set less aspirational targets for my daily milage and it was very enjoyable to be able to finish riding by lunch and have the rest of the day to explore however I wanted.
Actually in the end I only rode about 300km as I realized too late (by watching a guy on youtube ride it on a motorbike) that the mountain pass that was central to my longest day is impassable by bike, at least without proper offroad tires and probably more skill and fitness than I have.
What have I learned?
Well I found a lot more actual unpaved (gravel or dirt) roads than I expected this time, and most of roads I like riding are too narrow and twisty and covered in various debris to really bomb the descents.
So I kind of want fatter tires and I'm OK with not having full on road bike geo. Right now I feel like I want an old cylcocross frame that I could switch the parts from my alu road bike onto, but I will never ever find one my size here. So I don't know.
Also not really related to cycling (except for maybe needing to be able to carry more on the bike) but I slept outside this time but forgot I was going a) north and b) into the mountains and misjudged how cold it would get. So it was great not having to get anywhere on time and be able to change my mind about where I want to go (which I did) but I really need to plan things better. I did no planning or preparation other than vague routes until the day before.
Finally I'm currently sick of riding up mountains with luggage on my bike and I don't have any trips planned where I need to carry much.
So I put the silly wheels back on this bike. I'm going to get a smaller chainring for my alu road bike and maybe change some other parts, and use that for riding in the mountains over the summer.
And maybe I will also find another frame over the summer. Maybe I will go full buyer and get a custom frame. Maybe I will just give up and hike in the mountains (also been doing this recently). My moods are fickle as fuck so I really can't say yet.