Last October I went off to Georgia to ride Bikefest 2011. This is one of the events held by BRAG - Bike Ride Across Georgia. Bikefest this year was held in the lively city of Columbus. The thought of eating the miles along the USA countryside with a fully supported ride was very attractive. The website advice was mostly helpful but mystifying in places with mentions of “shake and bake”. So I timed a visit to Georgia to match Bikefest and started preparations.
I would have loved to ride the Moulton but it would have had to be packed in two extra bags, which would add £140 to take on a plane. Also, while the frame is tough I’m not sure that it would survive British Airways unbent. As for a hire bike I was quoted $100 a day for a very lovely Specialized Roubaix. I looked for another option and Walmart had a road bike shaped object for $149, The GMC Denali 700C. This bike has suffered the scorn of “serious” cyclists so I decided to have a look at one and if it was truly unrideable then the hire bike was still an option.
In Tifton, Georgia the website said that there was “limited stock”. This is Walmart code for “we have got only one and it is out on display”. We got to Walmart and there it was up in the air on a rack gleaming in bright yellow. I got it down and noted where the pennies were pinched. The stodgy single pivot caliper brakes with no release mechanism. Wheels held on by 15mm nuts. The 21 speed Revo shifters which force all the cables to make a tangle at the front. The 75psi max 700C x 32 tyres. The final assembly quality was very poor and the brake pads and derailleurs were not correctly set. The chainwheel looked like chrome but this was due to a shiny plastic detailing. The actual chainwheel gears looked like they were held together by screws but these were actually disguised rivets. But the geometry and saddle was nice and the wheels were almost circular.
I got the store to adjust the brake blocks and took the bike. After tightening up all the bolts the first ride it was apparent that the front derailleur didn’t change very well. It was fitted far too high and at the wrong angle. Even after lowering and straightening the derailleur it made a little noise. The chainwheels were not quite at right angles to the crank and so wobbled. So I adjusted the cable so that it would only make noise in low gears, which I don’t use very often.
I did a few local loops of 20 to 30 miles to see if I could survive a proper ride on it. The crank started to creak. The saddle needed shifting up. After stretching, the derailleurs needed adjusting again. The brakes were not really wonderful. But the frame was fabulous and gave a very steady ride. The saddle was amazingly good. The drive-train ran out of gears quickly as it appeared to be designed for mountain bikes so 25 mph was the top speed. The gears were set to 3, 7 most of the time.
Hello Columbus
As I neared Columbus there was a massive downpour with a thunderstorm. The traffic slowed down to 40mph due to the rain. But it dried up as soon as I arrived and it didn’t deter the campers on this riverside site. The middle classes arrived with their massive RVs (Recreational Vehicles) towing SUVs (Sports Utility Vehicles) behind them. Other SUVs and pickup trucks were festooned with the highest tech Specialized, Trek, Bianchi, Giant fitted with aero this and that. Not a Schraeder valve in sight! Tents varied in size from bivouac to minor manor house. My home was to be the indoor camping which turned out to be a former cotton warehouse. This 1885 building had been modernised as offices with carpeting and air conditioning and so was as comfortable as a floor can be. Why was the building empty? Because after 120 years of trading they moved production to China.
 |
| From BRAG Bikefest 2011 Columbus |
I checked in at BRAG HQ, got my wristband, T shirt, parking permit and a set of routes, timetables and regulations. When you want to warn of a passing car the rules say that you should call “Car Up” or “Car Back” but it doesn’t say which one is which direction. It turns out that "Car Up" means "Car Down" and "Car Back" means "Car Up". I hope that is clear. Before dark I got the bike out and fitted accessories including pump and tool pouch and got the tyre pressure as high as I could. I set out my bedding on the floor then cycled a little loop around town.
 |
| From BRAG Bikefest 2011 Columbus |
Getting a bit hungry I wandered into the town’s Broadway which was conveniently only a few hundred yards away. I found a food place that looked interesting and cheap. The ordering system was take a menu sheet from a pad, write your name on it and tick your choices. Pay the cashier who staples the receipt to the menu.. Give the menu to the chef. Five minutes later your name gets called out. The food was very good and inexpensive. Turns out this is where the college students have their meal plans. There were some other BRAG people at the table identifiable by their wrist bands. These were vet Rod, and retired teachers Susan and Mikey and a chap called Tom. After the meal I wandered around the nearby streets until my phone picked up an open WiFi signal. I found a bench and downloaded the last few podcasts of “The Archers”. Hurrah for technology! I settled down on my patch of warehouse floor with the headphones listening to Clive Horrobin hitching a lift to Ambridge.
 |
| From BRAG Bikefest 2011 Columbus |
No comments:
Post a Comment