I am writing from the morning of Monday, May 8th while having breakfast at Denny's in Southington. Sunday, May 7th, I traveled north from New Britain to Simsbury and then south to Southington where I stayed to night at Motel 6. In preping the bike Sunday morning before check out at the Red Roof I checked the tire pressures and discovered both tires were under inflated at about 11 psi. They should be at 45 psi! The electric tire inflator did a great job filling the tires to 45 psi and then automatically shut off. What a difference once on the road Sunday. The Trek rolled far more efficiently! What a difference. I anticipate my average daily range (depending on weather, elevation climbs, road conditions and traffic, etc) to improve 20 to 50 percent. Google maps is great at placing me on route that include any bike trails. The trails have not added any distance to my destination. It was a welcomed benefit to not scan as much to see if traffic was approaching. The Garmin Edge 1060 with the optional radar has been performing very well. I rely on looking behind with mirror, but the radar can detect cars before I hear them. It does well detecting groups of cars and displays where they are up to the time they pass me. The radar uses a lot of power, especially when the camera is on. The power station mounted on my rear bike rack does a good job keeping it charged. With the power station I am able to charge the Hyena external batteries not in use to about a 70 percent charge. Maybe more still testing. It is my hope once I mount the solar panels over the tent and sleeping bag and Camelback water backpack I will be able to charge the power station while on the road and on the move.
Today's destination is in Milford, about half way to Norwalk (final destination). I was tempted to ride the 62 miles to Norwalk but decided not to because this is a test tour and I want to allow time to test, inspect and review what's going on with the bike and other devices. This test tour was a good idea to help fully prepare for the trip to San Diego.
While I was in Simsbury I had lunch at the Asian I am writing from the morning of Monday, May 8th while having breakfast at Denny's in Southington. Sunday, May 7th, I traveled north from New Britain to Simsbury and then south to Southington where I stayed to night at Motel 6. In preping the bike Sunday morning before check out at the Red Roof I checked the tire pressures and discovered both tires were under inflated at about 11 psi. They should be at 45 psi! The electric tire inflator did a great job filling the tires to 45 psi and then automatically shut off. What a difference once on the road Sunday. The Trek rolled far more efficiently! What a difference. I anticipate my average daily range (depending on weather, elevation climbs, road conditions and traffic, etc) to improve 20 to 50 percent. Google maps is great at placing me on route that include any bike trails. The trails have not added any distance to my destination. It was a welcomed benefit to not scan as much to see if traffic was approaching. The Garmin Edge 1060 with the optional radar has been performing very well. I rely on looking behind with mirror, but the radar can detect cars before I hear them. It does well detecting groups of cars and displays where they are up to the time they pass me. The radar uses a lot of power, especially when the camera is on. The power station mounted on my rear bike rack does a good job keeping it charged. With the power station I am able to charge the Hyena external batteries not in use to about a 70 percent charge. Maybe more still testing. It is my hope once I mount the solar panels over the tent and sleeping bag and Camelback water backpack I will be able to charge the power station while on the road and on the move.
Today's destination is in Milford, about half way to Norwalk (final destination). I was tempted to ride the 62 miles to my final destination but decided to keep the trips shorter rather than longer. This allows me more time to look for improvements with the bike, devices and gear.
Coffee at Denny's was good. Better than I remember from a Denny's in Pacific Beach in SanDiego I went to 42 years ago.
Time now to get on the road. One other comment. Hope to bring my HP laptop on the trip. Yes, more weight, but I like the things a computer can do with greater ease then a phone or tablet.
Another commet: Sunday's trip of May 7th took me north from New Britian to Simsbury then South to Southington. I had lunch in Simsbury at the Asian cuisine restaurant next to where I purchased my ebike. The waitress was kind enough to take a photograph of me standing outside with the Trek in front of The Bicycle Cellar shop. They were closed being a Sunday, but this way I can send Walter (the owner) a photo. Walter is a professional cyclist and has great expertise when it come to cycling. I imagine anyone needing worthwhile cycling advice and equipment would find his shop the place to be.
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