In previous episodes, we were putting together the Soma Stanyan touring bike. On February 10, 2010 after shipping the bikes to Odessa, TX, we got on the plane and went down there to start our tour through west Texas. That is part of the reason I have not posted for so long. That’s my excuse and I’m sticking with it.
Where does this go?
We packed the bikes into re-usable shipping boxes from Quality Bicycle Parts. Any bike shop can get these. They run about $80 and I have shipped mine six times now. It is getting a little ragged around the edges. but I think it still has another trip left in it.
We shipped the bikes FedEx to the Motel 6 in Odessa after calling there to make sure they would be able to keep them for us until we arrived.
After assembling the bikes in the motel room, we taped the boxes back together and sent them to our destination motel in Austin.
Andrew used the Ostrich brand front bag. A roomy bag with side pockets, it mounts low enough on a small Nitto front rack that the bike handling is not affected dramatically.
Ostrich bag, Nitto rack
On the rear he used the Ortlieb Back Roller panniers. Waterproof panniers with a roll top closure and a very secure, durable attachment system, which is also easy to use in attaching or removing the bags.
I think there is enough capacity with this setup to allow one to carry enough gear and food for any tour except those in the most remote locations. As long as there is a place to buy food and groceries within a couple days riding distance, and with good planning, a rider can be self sufficient and still have a relatively fast, decent handling machine for bike touring. More at biketouringnews dot com
