This is fascinating. When you finish, I hope you will post a list of all the stuff that added 50 pounds to the bike. How many spare tubes or do you take patch kits? Can you do laundry on the way? Can you keep tire pressure up with one of those little frame mounted pumps?
I always wanted to do something like you're doing. 87 degrees here and I averaged just over 10 mph riding 20 miles today. Of course all I take are two water bottles. Mild hills you wouldn' t notice when driving can be brutal. One minute you're clawing up a hill at 5 or 6 mph. A minute later coasting down at 30 mph. I use 20 of my 21 speeds. The lowest one is so low it's hard to keep the bike from tipping.
33 pound steel bicycle, 20 pounds of rack and panniers (Orleib, spendy but the ONLY way to go), 30 pounds of stuff, plus toolset, spare chainring. Extra tire (folded). Five or six spare tubes.
TIRES: it’s like Shakespeare said... “Costly thy tires as thy money can buy”...... Schwalbe Marathon Mondials.... $80 per... uber flat resistant.
Big straw hat over nylon “Buff” tube headwear, oversized nylon UPF 50 fishing shirt, loose fitting pants of same material. Wears like iron, ya can feel breezes though it, hand washes in the shower, drip dries to just damp overnight. Extras roll up compact and weigh very little.
Brung a Lenzyne mini-floor pump ($70), will fit on the frame but I stuff it in a pannier. All aluminum, rebuildable, works fine. I check tire pressure once a week, 80psi will be 65 in a week, either one works.
