A new bike
Jim Foreman, a fellow phred, posted his REI Novara touring bike for sale. Fortunately, it seems that I read the board shortly after his post and was the first person to express interest in the bike, which is the perfect size for Robert. He has claimed all along that his old, trusty Miyata would make it just fine and it would. I had bigger ideas like getting BLT’s or some other Cadillac/Mercedes of touring bikes. Now, I need a new bike. Well, I don’t really need a new bike, my hybrid has served me well although it seems to shaky on downhill runs.
I originally miscalculated what was 12 weeks before the start of the trip, but now I can say with certainty that it is only 12 weeks away and that we should be getting into shape. We work on the house that we are renovating everyday of the week from early in the morning to early in the evening. We have so much energy remaining when we get home that we hop on the bikes a ride 25 miles in the freezing temps. None of that last sentence is true. We come home exhausted and sore with no thoughts of training. I meant to check to see if any of the tedious jobs that we do at the house count as aerobic exercise or any kind of exercise for that matter. My forearms are getting strong from rolling a mix of drywall compound and paint onto the ceiling with an extension pole. Strong forearms are necessary for climbing hills and shoveling food into my mouth. In my case, they will be good for pushing the loaded bike up those hills that begin on the first day of the trip.
The trampe that I saw in Trondheim should be installed on every incline on our route just to accomoodate my lack of training. No, I will start training very soon. If I double my training hours, I can delay the start date. Too bad that I don’t believe a word of this.