The Bike that Beat the Baja

Wheel full 70pxI needed a bike to train on in Alaska for the couple of weeks before I head to Florida to pick up my Surly.  My son Jon had my Trek 7000, which he has been riding off and on…

kids

…for much of the last decade.  He was in “off” mode this summer and had taken the bike to the Anchorage Trek Store for a tune-up he didn’t have the money to pay for, so

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I’m back on the bike I rode the length of the Baja with- 1,000 miles/1,600 kilometers from San Diego to Cabo San Lucas- in 1994.

Wheel full 70pxI’m sad to say that Jon has let this great bike get into pretty fugly shape…

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…but there wasn’t anything that several hundred dollar bills couldn’t take care of. I had to get a new seat and seatpost

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a Bontrager saddle on a no-name seatpost

and the shop had already replaced the nice shifters I had back in the day with some low-end Shimano dreck.

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Soft-Ride handlebar suspension – those were the days

I also had the shop put on the pedals I bought for my upcoming ride.

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Wheel full 70pxMan, this bike does not weigh anything.  You drive the Surly.  You fly this particular Trek.

And we’re counting them down…

Florida Shield 30 with star 400px

days

to

Atlantic

Beach!

 

Wheel full 70pxMost of the gear and accessories I have ordered arrived this week, and there’s just a few things left to go.  I plan to have the last of the things I need sent off for by the weekend.  I have an endocrinologist appointment today and see my GP doc tomorrow.  Hoping to get some good advice from each.  A cardio stress test is in the works, probably for late next week.  After that, it’s just the dentist and sticking to my training plan.  Then it’s wheels up for Florida on the 18th.

Wheel full 70pxIf anyone knows of a really inexpensive, but clean and safe place to stay in Jacksonville from the night of the 19th through the night of the 23rd, please let me know.  I’ll be making a reservation at a motel in Atlantic Beach for the night of the 24th so I can be dipping my wheels in the ocean at around 5:30 a.m. the next morning.  Thanks in advance for your recommendations.

David Edgren