Bike riding blog posts
This bike is very versatile. I got this bike primarily for gravel road touring but I also wanted to be able to do unloaded rides in the woods and trails locally. I've played around with a lot of different configurations trying to find the ideal setup. It handles them all very well.
New bike naked. As light and free as it would get.
Coffeneuring is a thing that happens in the fall where people ride their bikes to coffee shops. The "neuring" part comes from Randonneuring where people ride their bikes for hundreds of miles, sometimes for days on end, stopping only for a quick bite to eat. Coffeeneuring is not like that. Rides can be any distance and done at any pace. You just have to stop and have coffee/tea/other along the way. So here are some of the coffeneuring rides I did this fall.
My first full year of retirement allowed me to do lots of bike touring. I rode 7,110 total miles for the year, which is an all time personal best. I got to ride through a lot of beautiful and interesting places, met lots of new friends, and reconnected with lots of old friends. Looking forward to a lot more of the same in 2017
Winter - I've got my plane tickets and my bike is half in the box. New Zealand Feb 1 - Mar 20 . It's a go.
Spring - Coast Range gravel gliding. Hopefully a 200k brevet. Maybe a short trip through the Cascades to conincide with McKenzie pass care free days.
Summer - I may pass on the MVBC Loop Tour this year as I just did most of that route laste fall. Instead I may head up to B.C. and then east to Jasper, and then south to Banff, and back in the US at Glacier. I could take the train home from Montrana.
I'm very satisfied that I met most of my touring goals for the year.
Winter - I did a Florida loop
Spring - 4 day trip to the coast for ACA Bike Travel Weekend.
Summer - MVBC Loop Tour in the Willowas. Then Washington and the John Wayne Pioneer Trail.
Fall - Crater Lake and Ashland.
Now that I am retired I plan on doing a whole lot more touring.
Last winter I set some ambitious goals for the year. Here is how it worked out.
Heart of the valley - Yes did this ride again this year. - Heart of the Valley 2015
Valsetz loop - Nope not yet. Did do the Cardwell Hill to Hoskins part, as well as a nice loop including Harris road.
With 4 tours covering a good deal of Oregon and Washington, 3 years of commuting all winter, plus numerous overnight tours and day rides, the Soma Saga has been a solid, dependable, and fun ride. This page has the original specs and a picture when it was new. I think I did the first two tours with the Jandd Extreme front rack, but then opted for the Tubus Tara low rider. I've changed the saddle a few times, most recently to a Selle Anatomica X series. The original set of Schwalbe Marathon Plus tires got 6,500 miles without a flat.
