Today was day 2 of the test trip. I traveled 31 miles from the New Haven Inn to New Britain. Currently the distance is about 18 miles to Simsbury. I spoke to the owner of The Bicycle Cellar (Walter). I asked him to order another range extender battery. The Trek with the 3rd external battery will have 1000 watts of power. This could be helpful in extending the duration between motel overnights for the purpose of charging batteries. If not tomorrow, sometime soon I will test the solar panels. If they work I may be able to charge 1 or 2 external batteries with the power station mounted on the rear rack. 50% chance this can work, but need to experiment.
Spent a lot of time packing and organizing the bike to make it easier to keep track of all the USB cables and USB power adapters, bike chargers, electric bicycle pump, Garmin bike computer and radar, 2 cell phones (1 for great photo resolution and 1 for primary use), first aid kit, Akaso action camera (a Go Pro clone), helmet, clothing, scissors, food, and more. The organization may go on for a while till it gets in the zone of what keeps me prepared as much as I can predict for different environments and circumstances.
About 2 p.m. while on Lichfield Turnpike I took a few photos afterwards I rode the Farmington Canal Heritage Trail and stopped for a meatball parmesan wedge at Pop's Pizza in Cheshire. I arrived at the Red Roof Inn in New Britain a little after 6 p.m.
After setting up all the chargers I hand washed socks, shorts, shirts, gloves and underwear and hung to air dry. Filled water bottle and an empty Vitaminwater brand bottle I bought at Pop's Pizza. The Vitaminwater bottle fits well in one of my saddle bag outside pockets so I plan to keep it. I have not used the water in the Camelback backpack. It holds about 3 liters of water and is heavy when full. Am riding with the Camelback to help test overall load on bike. Weight of the Trek loaded down is considerable. Starting from a stopped position on a steep incline is problematic and extra caution has to be exercised not to accidentally clip and lock either bike shoe cleat into either pedal. If there is a false start you don't want either foot locked into a pedal in case the bike stalls and you have to plant your feet on the ground. Otherwise you are going to topple over either side of the bike and go down with the bike.
Fell asleep before posting to the blog. I was tired and slept well. Had my Advil prior to sleep and woke up the following morning feeling good.
Made a reservation for a motel in Plainville for Sunday May 7th. Will ride to Simsbury 18 miles northward and then commence return trip to Norwalk traveling southward another 18 miles Plainville. The Red Roof was nice. I think only 2 or 3 stars but o.k.
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