As I’ve mentioned here recently, I’ve been working my way up to a series of (for me) extended distance rides over the past month. The first of those rides - the Freemondo - is running tomorrow.
The Freemondo is a scaled back pandemic-era variation on the Farmondo event sponsored by Meads Bike Shop. I’ve ridden in the Farmondo in the past, in 2017, 2018, and 2019. I’d have ridden it in 2020 if that had been an option, but like so many things in 2020, it didn’t happen.
When I say “scaled back”, I mean that this time around it’s an unsupported ride - e.g. no trucks bringing up the rear to help stragglers or people in distress and, I presume, no formal break stations. In other ways its a different event than in the past, with the longest loop being considerably longer - 62 vs 43 miles - than in prior events, and they are also offering up a mixed surface loop. I, of course, have no truck with gravel , so I’ll be riding the 62-mile, all asphalt option.
That distance is towards the outer edge of what I usually ride, but I’ve hit similar distances over the past few weekends, so my conditioning should be up to the ride. I say should because my experience in the prior events by this group suggest that, if there is a hill in the region, the organizers will find it… but then, that’s part of the challenge.
Because the ride is unsupported, it seemed reasonable to go over the trike and go thru my bags and make sure I was ready to deal with any breakdowns, etc. This meant being sure that I had tools to change a tube, and being sure that I had a tube to change in the first place. Looking in, I found that I did have my tire levers, as well as my Kool Stop Tire Bead Jack (if you don’t have one of these, I highly recommend it - makes short work of the task of re-seating a tire on a tight, small diameter wheel). But I found that while I had two rear tubes, I only had two front tubes. Given that I have only one rear, and two front wheels, it seemed reasonable to add a third front just in case. This was particularly the case because I don’t have any patches to bring along (tho those are now on my shopping list).
I also spend some time at grocery store picking up fresh fruit - Apples and Peaches for me - to eat along the way. As I’ve been working out to longer distances, I’ve found the sugar and water content in the fruit to be helpful support (and frankly extra delicious) for longer rides. I also pack along a couple granola bars and extra water.
And as I was looking at the trike and going thru the equipment, I decided that things were looking a little shabby. I ride a lot, and the trike was dusty and dirty. I’m guilty here - often when I consider cleaning it up, it’s an activity which competes with riding, and I usually just choose to ride. But now other people will see it, so I broke out the bucket and wash mitt…
Bathing Beauty
…And the wash also provided the opportunity to do a once-over on the trike and all its systems. This is something that I do in a general way ahead of longer rides, but not in this detail. Turns out that was a good idea, because I found this…
I’m feeling a little disconnected…
I don’t know how long that mounting bolt has been missing. I had noticed that the rack was making noise, but then it always makes some noise - I (apparently) didn’t register it as being noisier than in the past.
I combed thru my bins of parts and was able to find one (and only one) bolt to fit that spot. That, along with a washer and a little Loctite…
So much better!
…hopefully will keep this from being an issue going forward.
If I’ve been regularly riding these longer distances, why the need for this preparation ahead of time? It’s a combination of location, and that unsupported ride status. When I ride an extended distance ride that starts from my driveway, I’m never really more than 15-20 miles from home at any given time. This means that help, if it’s really needed, is just a phone call away. That won’t be the case on this ride.
So - preparation. I’m confident it will go well, but as they say: fortuna favet paratus (Fortune favors the prepared - but it’s so much fancier in Latin).