3 R's: Revived, re-purposed, and re-branded

My poor, neglected blog is being revived once again, friends--this time with a new, shiny purpose! Are you ready for this?!  

Since my adventures in Southeast Asia are done and over for the foreseeable future, it's an appropriate time to re-brand and re-purpose.  So here it is: I'm going to start documenting my favorite adventures here in Iowa--specifically bike touring adventures with the simple intent to educate and encourage readers to explore more of this beautiful Iowa-land (and likely other Midwest locations) by the wonderful, eco-friendly means of bicycling. I truly believe that there's just nothing like being free and easy on a bike, seeing the world through the new perspective above your handlebars, all the while challenging your body physically and mentally. Ever since I was a child, I've loved the independence and power biking provided, so I figured it's about time I start sharing and encouraging others! Speaking of independence and power (and sharing for that matter), here's an interesting article from The Atlantic from a few years back discussing the link between biking and feminism that some of you might find interesting.

Now that you're all caught up on the 3 R's, I should probably backtrack a bit and fill you in on the build up to this blog revival...

Back in February, my fiance Dan (Instagram: seedanbike for more pictures of our adventures) and I set aside our vintage Schwinn road bikes and took the big leap to buy touring bikes.  I say "big leap" because there's no way around it--they were a pretty penny.  Up until this point in my life, I've always ridden hand-me-down bikes or Goodwill fixer uppers, so this was officially my first, brand-spanking-new bike purchase. You would think this would have made it easier to swipe that credit card, but honestly, it still stung. And it continued to sting up until just a few weeks ago when I finished "decorating" it to my liking. 

Dan did a lot of research on touring bikes months prior and found the Surly Disc Trucker's were consistently rated top notch for the kind of touring we plan to do, so it didn't take much convincing for both of us to go with Surly bikes ordered from our favorite Iowa City bike shop, World of Bikes.  Determined not to be "that couple" with matching bikes, we decided right away that we would customized them differently (Dan went black and I went a brown route).  Piece by piece and with lots of advice from our World of Bikes buddies, we've made them into exactly what we want. 

First up, we switched out our original saddles for Brooks saddles and added water bottle cages.  If you've ever picked up a Brooks saddle in a bike shop and felt the rock-hard leather, you've probably wondered why someone would ever want to sit on that, am I right?  Well, (and I can officially attest to this now) the leather is extremely comfortable after you put in between 500-1000 miles because it forms perfectly to the shape of your bum!  The first few rides were painful, for sure, but it's been worth it for the current results.  To match the brown saddle, I added Brooks brown handlebar tape to bring "the look" all together.   

Our beloved Surly Disc Trucker bikes with Brooks saddles, Tubus racks, and Ortleib pannier bags

After switching out the saddle, it was time to gear the Trucker up for long rides by adding the fenders (goodbye water/mud stains going up my back), front and back racks, and pannier bags.  I toyed with the idea of wooden add-ons, but in the end I went with stainless steel fenders and racks to give the bike a more "vintage" look and feel.  I'm happy with my decision and have gotten many compliments so far.  

Hills, IA

Jean-colored Ortleib pannier bags were the last touches (2 big bags in the back, 2 small bags up front) to the bike.  It was initially intimidating to ride with full bags, but true to the Disc Trucker reviews, the bike actually rides smoother fully loaded. Re-starting from full stops and going up hills is really the only time when you can feel the extra weight at all.

Panniers loaded with firewood on the top rack for some weekend camping in Sugarbottom Campground

So there you have it, the story of how my touring bike came to be.  

I have several favorite routes to share from spring/summer RAGBRAI training (not sure what RAGBRAI is? Check this out), but RAGBRAI itself begins in just TWO days.  I'll post about our interesting training routes another time; for now it makes sense to kick off this blog re-branding by sharing how and what we're packing for our week-long, self-contained (everything must fit on our bikes!) journey across Iowa.  

Check back tomorrow for our full packing list with pictures.

Peace, love, and bicycles, 

Kelly