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Luggage Weight is always a constraint on a bike – but with rear suspension there is also a limit on what the carriers can take. After much planning and weighing it turned out that I was well inside the weight limit – space was more of a problem. So I spent considerable time before setting out attaching tools, the bike lock and the puncture repair kit to various parts of the frame and seat in order to free up space. I carried 4 full size panniers and a handlebar bag that fitted on the side beside the seat on a special fitting from ICE. Fitting the 4 panniers was a challenge, as the Custom Touring Rack was designed to take two small 'front' low rider panniers as well as 2 conventional panniers. After a lot of trial and error I finished with two Ortliebs at the front of the rack and two Karrimor bags behind them. Worked out very well, and the space on top of the rack was used to carry food and extra water, and a spare tyre. Getting There & Back I live near Heathrow airport in England, so the challenge was to get the trike onto a trans Atlantic aircraft and then ship the packaging from the east coast out west so that I could bring trike home. The trike travelled in an “Ironcase” made by Trico Sports and a large cheap soft bag. The Ironcase (which is expensive but built like a tank) took the frame, 2 wheels, panniers, tools, while the soft bag housed the seat, the pannier carrier (which was a very awkward shape), and camping gear. Clothes went into the gaps. In Florida I convinced the hotel to hold the Ironcase with the other case packed inside it until I was nearly in California; then it was shipped out by Fed Ex for the journey home. I had to pay extra for the internal trip in the US from San Diego to Boston, but the trike travelled free both ways on the Atlantic crossing. The weight of the Ironcase was nearly an issue at Heathrow – they took it away to check it before accepting it. And at San Diego I was selected by the computer to have my luggage inspected before it went into the hold, so my careful packing of the trike was in vain! (I suspect that I was selected as I was a male travelling alone with a one-way ticket bought at short notice!). Trip Log Summary:
All but two nights were spent in motels or the occasional B&B – I declared to other cyclists that at 60 I was too old to camp – which worked fine as an explanation until I met Tom and Val – two men well into their 60s, cycling from Oregon to St Augustine, and camping most nights! Guess I’m a soft cyclist! My log shows daily mileage, altitude climbed, weather, and where I stayed. Back to top |