I know what you are thinking, this is going to provide a link to music from Big Pink. Nope, although maybe at the end. No, this blog is not about the weight of existence although our continued existence may depend on the weight. It is about the weight of our bikes once loaded.
So let’s start with the bikes. Dennis is riding a Cannondale, it has an aluminum frame with carbon fiber forks. If you are thinking light, think again. Of course this depends on your perspective, because like everything else in life, it is relative. Whether your bike feels heavy or not depends on the weight of other bikes you have tried. One of the people we have been doing training rides with, Dunnery, has a brand new Marinoni touring bike that he thinks is heavy. He bought this heavy clunker because he is doing a tour in the Himalayas (with Ron Jewula of course). Don’t know the weight of this beast, but I’m guessing 18 pounds. Now some of you may be saying, that isn’t heavy, that’s light and those of you saying that would be right. But Dunnery’s road bike, which the make of I don’t remember, is so light that it is frequently seen levitating on its own. “Dunnery, grab your bike, it is lifting off again in this breeze.” You can easily pick it up with your little finger, electronic shifters and all (I mean really, who wants to drag those heavy cables up the side of a hill). So his perception is the Marinoni is heavy. God how I covet that Marinoni.
Dennis’ bike with a few odds and sods on it is around 34 pounds (not all the stuff shown in the picture). For Dunnery, this is like a tank. For me? It’s rather light. It is all relative. I’m riding a Miyata 1000. A classic, or that is what the guy at Straight Up Cycle told me when I suggested to him I might need a newer, lighter bike. A classic, he said, keep it. I like that guy. (If you don’t believe this, look here <link>. George Andrew this is what you have in storage.) The Miyata is around 36 pounds without the odds and sods, like water, tools and spare parts that Dennis included. So a bit heavier, but then it is a steel bike. Some people like steel because they have more flex and because they can get welded in out of the way places if something breaks, like the back roads of Bulgaria. I like it because, well you know, it’s a classic.
But the weight of the bike is just the tip of the iceberg. The bikes need to get loaded up with all the clothes and paraphernalia that you need, or at least at this stage think you need, on a long distance ride. Oh, and in my case, a bike stand (2 pounds?) which I think is essential and others think is unnecessary. We shall see. At the moment we both are coming in around 70 pounds with most things on, although I suspect (damn sure?) I’m going to be heavier. My panniers and handle bar bag weigh 7 pounds empty. All this seems decidedly not light considering there is no camping gear. Perhaps the road to Istanbul will become like the trails to the Klondike gold rush, littered with items that the miners thought necessary or at least very nice to have at the start.
Right, Music From Big Pink. It was the first album from The Band and included a song called The Weight. You all will recall “I pulled into Nazareth, was feeling about half past dead”. My favourite copy is done by Al Kooper and Mike Bloomfield with the unforgettable sounds of a Hammond B3 with Leslie speaker. Check out this link https://youtu.be/jBOSV_mEVhE . Play it loud.
Tallinn to Istanbul by Bike 