Biking - Loaded Test Ride

No, not drunk. Loaded, as in camping gear and everything I'll need for a week on the road. On October 1, two friends and I will be driving to Washington, DC, getting shuttled to near Pittsburgh, and then spending about a week biking back to DC. We'll be following the Great Allegheny Passage and the Chesapeake and Ohio (C&O) Canal trails for over 300 miles of off-road riding. You can read more about our trip in the journal I've started here, and follow us along for updates and pictures whenever we can find a wireless connection.

After some problems last year with excessive weight, I've cut things down pretty well for this trip. I'll be carrying 50-55 pounds of gear, not the near-70 I had last year. Today, I loaded up the bike and took it out for a test ride, to be sure the load balanced and the bike handled OK. The ride was rock-solid, and I shouldn't have any problems with this load, especially on these relatively flat rail and towpath trails.