I took off on my Tour Easy at about 04:00 so I could meet Greg at Rita Rd. and the Julian Wash Greenway at 05:00. I started out feeling a little tired and not having my best ride, however, I figured that once I got the sweat going things would start to click - I hadn't ridden for two weeks.
I never really did click into feeling that great about the ride, but I was doing alright. I was getting much more worn out than I should have.
Just before I got to the meeting spot, my headlight went into power saving mode. That is, it dimmed to the lowest output. I knew I had another 30 to 40 minutes of dark so I changed it to flashing mode - the most power conservative mode. However, riding into a constant scene that looks like old time movies going slow was a little eerie.
When I met up with Greg, he said I could ride up front since I knew the way until my light gave out, then he would take the lead. My light did not give out until sometime after we were well into daylight.
It was a nice quite ride on roads that had no traffic - until we got to Houghton which is just south of the fair grounds. Houghton had some traffic, but in the five miles we were on Houghton there were probably no more than six or seven cars going the same direction as us.
I still felt like I was having to work hard to maintain the speed I wanted. I had changed my inner tube Wednesday night so I thought maybe I should put more air in it. Maybe having my tire at the low end of the recommended pressure was making it harder to ride. We decided to stop at the Gas station at the corner of Houghton and Sahuarita Rd so I could add air and use the restroom.
When I went to put more air in the tire I spun the tire to situate the valve stem. The tire didn't spin. It was rubbing the right brake pad as if the brake were applied! I had ridden 23.3 miles with a drag brake! No wonder I was feeling like I had to work much harder than I should have had to. I better seated the wheel making sure there was no wheel rub, and we took off down Sahuarita Rd.
This was going down hill at about -2% gradient. I was in the lead. I looked back to make sure Greg was with me, but I had to fight the sun in my mirror and I couldn't see anything. I eventually went through some shadows and saw that I had opened quite a gap between us. I coasted waiting for him to catch up. He said, "That fairing really makes a huge difference! I had to work real hard to try to keep up and you weren't even pedaling!"
And that, is why I LOVE my fairing (10% speed improvement), Angletech AeroTrunk (Tailbox) (2-3 mph), and my underseat Angletech Techwind Panniers (7% aerodynamic drag reduction). I don't know if I get all these theoretical improvements, but I certainly get noticeable improvement.
I had Greg lead so I wouldn't go too fast.
We got to Wilmot Rd and turned North. I guess Wilmot was finally paved last year! Now we can actually ride this road. It has a nice bike lane and is very smooth.
The weather was very nice. There was a good cloud cover and the temperature had to be in the low 80s. It was ideal!
When we got to the Roy Schoonover trailhead on the LOOP and Kolb Rd., Greg ended his ride. This is where he started and his truck was waiting. He had ridden the four miles to Rita Rd. and our meeting point.
I checked my wheel again to make sure it was free turning. I didn't want to be riding with a drag brake again!
After we said our goodbyes, I headed East toward Rita Rd. and then home.
I was 40 miles into my ride by this point. I knew I had about 16 miles to go, so I didn't push it.
As I headed North on the Harrison Greenway past Fantasy Island, I was doing a fair clip, but I couldn't get into my top gear even though it was trending slightly downhill. I was too worn out. I was feeling it and stopped on 29th for a couple of minutes to give my knees and butt a rest.
My Tour Easy's seat is adjusted differently than the seat on my trike. It is essentially the same seat, but it is not as reclined and the bottom bracket (i.e., pedals) are a little lower. I could tell my body is not acclimated to this position. It wasn't too different from the trike, but it was enough that my body knew it.
I really enjoyed this ride. I forgot how fun the Tour Easy is. I have just been liking not having to worry about balance on the trike so I choose to ride that more. I should really mix it up more.