The mountain passes are getting absolutely hammered with snow right now, and even our local ski area just 15 miles away is getting positively terrorized by wind (see photo below). So it seemed impossible to pass up the opportunity to go for a sunny but slightly breezy ride, just because the weather is so contradictory.
I put on my front and rear bags to remember what it feels like to ride with a light load on, and I didn't like it too well. The brevets coming up in less than a month near Seattle are self supported, so you do need some kind of baggage system to carry enough clothes, tools, and food to complete the ride. However, last year I dumped the front bag because it makes my bike handle weird. The Steelman I ride is a cyclocross bike, not a touring or brevet specific design, so it's not really designed to carry a bunch of stuff. That said, it is a capable bike, and is super comfortable.
My brevet partner is trying to convince me to use my carbon Trek road bike this year, but it has even more limitations: No fender eyelets means I have to resort to Raceblades, which are o.k. to an extent, but not up to Seattle Randonneuring standards. And let me tell you, the folks in Seattle will let you know if your fenders are not up to spec. Also, the Trek won't hold a frame pump well, which means bringing a mini-pump. And then there is the problem with spoke breakage on a fancy wheeled machine like the Trek. A roadside repair just isn't going to happen, and so my ride would be over. Plus, do I really want to subject my Dura-Ace equipped wonder bike to all that rain and road grime? The Trek is far more energy efficient than the Steelman, but so what. After 8 hours of riding, I'm going to be wiped out no matter what bike I'm on.
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