My first loaded ride on the Thorn Raven

This morning a filled my panniers with stuff to roughly equate to a normal touring load.  Headed off for a couple of hours to test the bike and it was supurb.  Handling was predictable and it tracked straight.

The action shot is of the Rohloff hub , it is a thing of beauty.

The best political cartoon I've seen for a while

I couldnt help but steal this from Copenhagenize.com

by Joel Pett.

My commute

Todays cycle to work was something from a literary classic.  I stopped to have tea with my mother, who is staying at my brothers house, and then continued on my way to work in no hurry and yet with no impediment. I imagined, and it wasnt hard to do, that I was cycling a century ago and instead of an IceBreaker t-shirt I was wearing tweed.  I felt sympathy for those driving their cars this morning.

New cockpit

The handlebars on the new Thorns are risers which while comfortable dont leave much room for bling. Problem solved with an accessory bar.

Luckily I hadn't cut the fork steerer yet so I had plenty of room to mount it. Now as you can see I have the Ortlieb handlebar bag mount, GPS, and speedo.

This is cycle touring bling :)

Handlebar Mirror

While planning the big cycle tour we hear lots about the benefits of having a mirror on your bike so get a bit of warning of vehicle approaching from behind. Being the ex-roadie that would never think of putting a mirror on a bike because they are just too un-cool I scoffed.

Anyway we thought we better try one out so Sandy ordere one and I used it on the way to work this morning.....

Dont tell any of the guys on the Saturday group ride but I love it!!!!!! It took a bit of getting used to but by half and hour into my ride this morning I was glancing at it like I do when driving a car.

We just sold our house......let the adventures begin :)

The new bikes have arrived

Not the best photos (in the lounge room) but here they are:

From The Thorns

From The Thorns

We've replaced our Cannondale T1 and Vivente World Randonneur with two Thorn Raven Tours equipped with Rohloff hubs.  The reason.....well I've always wanted a Rohloff bike and if I have one then Sandy should have one, isnt that reason enough