To begin today’s post, here are a few photos – of classic old buildings, road scenes, and a “shoe tree” along the highway. Apparently the shoe tree is famous/infamous among Transcontinental Trail cycletourists.

The Shoe Tree

Don is by his own admission both a bike geek and a bike snob. I’m not that sure what the difference is… best I can figure, the geek is appreciating the function and aesthetics of fine bicycles, and the snob is disdain for the newest, flashiest and costliest, and refusing to suffer fools who buy into the mystique of new, flashy and costly.

The bike he rode (one of his six, he explained) is a 31-year-old Specialized Expedition, a classic steel-framed bike built for heavy loads and long distances. Every component is selected to craft a consistent style and ride. Today, for example, he was explaining “half-step plus granny” gearing to a passing cross-country tourer who asked. This gearing uses two front chainwheels of similar size, such that switching between them adjusts the gear ratio by half of switching to the next rear cog. This allows for fine adjustment to just the right gear for the slope, terrain and fatigue level. The “granny” is a small third inner front chainwheel used just for climbing at low speed.

So with only six freewheel cogs (that’s all such quality bikes came with back then), Don may only have (3 x 6 =) 18 gear combinations, but he has about 15 usable gear ratios without duplication. My bike, being a mountain bike by design, has three front chainwheels of standard design for quick and convenient shifting off-road. But because many of the gear combinations are duplicated in gear combinations over the three chainwheels, I may have (3 x 8 =) 24 gear <em>combinations</em> but fewer usable gear <em>ratios</em> without such duplication – I figure about 12 total.

My bike is by no means a touring bike, and this quickly becomes clear when I ride it. It’s a full-suspension mountain bike. There’s no need for suspension on a road-touring bike. I have very limited ways to mount racks and carry my gear, and that has already caused problems.

I rode the first time with all of the weight on the bike when I left the Bay Area a couple of weeks ago. Because I had to box up the bike and trailer for Amtrak, I never tried out the fully-loaded bike. When I finally did, it was scary – it wobbled and was hard to steer and control with the extra weight. The balance had been completely altered, and I wondered at first if this was to be a show stopper. I have learned to balance on it and ride smoothly, with a good line. But I have also shifted the weight into the trailer to lighten the turning responsiveness.

For the mountain bike portion, I plan to leave the trailer and much of my gear in Boise and travel much lighter. This is Adventure Cycling’s recommendation as well.

There’s much more to write, but I’m tired. We rode 48 miles yesterday and 62 miles today, our longest day yet, and about what has turned to be a comfortable daily pace. We’re in a delightful “Bike Inn” in the tiny town of Mount Vernon, Oregon. We were in Mitchell last night and Prineville the preceding night, and haven’t gone longer than two days without a shower.