Some progress has been made.
I now know how to change a tire. I spent a couple of hours at Fancy Downtown Bike Shop, working with the cute, intelligent, and charming D (if I had a younger sister I'd have gotten his number for her), who taught me how to change my tires and helped me install an expensive set of ugly ergonomic hand grips.
I have front panniers, some cargo nets, a bike computer, and a poncho (the latter two thanks to my MIL, who is apparently more supportive of this trip than my mother, who is planning to pretend I don't exist for the six weeks I'm away).
Given some nagging shoulder and knee problems, I visited Quirky Park Slope Bike Shop, where the oddly uncoordinated owner/mechanic cut six inches off my bars, dropped the seat, and changed the something or other of the bars. The cutting of the bars further contributed to the uglification of my bike. See? Everything is all squashed together in an inelegant fashion. Have not had a chance to take them out to try on extended ride yet.
While I am rich in gear, I am poor in plans. I thought I had one, but then I read the Laos route descriptions more closely, and came across phrases like "10% grade," "30 kilometer incline," "45 kilometers of rolling hills," and "mountainous"... On the other hand, when I read descriptions of Viet Nam routes, I come across words like "flat," "flat," "flat," and "beaches." I'm lazy. I LIKE flat.
So, we'll see. I'll get a visa for Viet Nam. Perhaps I'll do the Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi ride--it's long, but flat flat flat.And I'll visit the Mekong Delta. That is also flat flat flat.
Or maybe I'll just go to Thailand and chill out on a Koh Samui beach for six weeks.
Who knows WHAT I'll do?
I now know how to change a tire. I spent a couple of hours at Fancy Downtown Bike Shop, working with the cute, intelligent, and charming D (if I had a younger sister I'd have gotten his number for her), who taught me how to change my tires and helped me install an expensive set of ugly ergonomic hand grips.
I have front panniers, some cargo nets, a bike computer, and a poncho (the latter two thanks to my MIL, who is apparently more supportive of this trip than my mother, who is planning to pretend I don't exist for the six weeks I'm away).
Given some nagging shoulder and knee problems, I visited Quirky Park Slope Bike Shop, where the oddly uncoordinated owner/mechanic cut six inches off my bars, dropped the seat, and changed the something or other of the bars. The cutting of the bars further contributed to the uglification of my bike. See? Everything is all squashed together in an inelegant fashion. Have not had a chance to take them out to try on extended ride yet.
While I am rich in gear, I am poor in plans. I thought I had one, but then I read the Laos route descriptions more closely, and came across phrases like "10% grade," "30 kilometer incline," "45 kilometers of rolling hills," and "mountainous"... On the other hand, when I read descriptions of Viet Nam routes, I come across words like "flat," "flat," "flat," and "beaches." I'm lazy. I LIKE flat.
So, we'll see. I'll get a visa for Viet Nam. Perhaps I'll do the Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi ride--it's long, but flat flat flat.And I'll visit the Mekong Delta. That is also flat flat flat.
Or maybe I'll just go to Thailand and chill out on a Koh Samui beach for six weeks.
Who knows WHAT I'll do?
No comments:
Post a Comment