The Troll goes for it's inaugural stroll......

The Troll and I went for a hit out along one of the bike paths in Melbourne today and I've got to say, it was a learning experience from the perspective of the weight and subsequent performance of the bike, the width of the handlebars, my position whilst in the saddle (it's a lot more upright) and the positioning and operation of the gear shifters, etc! 

The other thing that came out of today's ride was the realisation that I was going to either have to buy a second repair kit / set of tools or leave the stuff (perhaps alongside my helmet) so that I make sure that I carry the bits & pieces I need to keep me on the road / track irrespective of whichever bike I chose to ride on any given day. 

Sure I'll be fine when I head over to Quito, but in the interim and on a day to day basis, whilst I'm still training for the Andes Trail I have to be careful that I don't venture out without having the necessary repair kit. Irrespective of what I do in that regard though and before I head over to South America, I still need to buy a few bits of bike bling such as lights, a rear reflector, an appropriate pump and possibly a bell. 

I'll also need to set the Garmin up properly so that I can collect the same data, I rely on / use when I'm riding my roadie, but otherwise in terms of performance for a first ride, the Troll well and truly handled everything that I could throw at it!

Thank you Jen & Rod for your company today - It was most appreciated!

Troll

Thanks to the good folk at Commuter Cycles I've recently been introduced to and taken delivery of a Troll. 

Now whilst there was initially some conjecture on my part as to my bike's gender, I gotta say he's a bit of a brute! It's going to take me a few kilometres and a bit of time getting used to this whole concept of riding something a little heavier and more robust than my normal stead, a concept though that I am thoroughly looking forward to.... 

So, how was he put together:

• Surly Troll 18" Frame
• Fox F100 Air Suspension Front Fork  
• Shimano Deore Front & Rear Derailleurs
• Shimano Deore Cassette Nine Gear 11 - 34
• Shimano Deore Chain Ring 42 / 32 / 24
• Shimano XT Disc Brakes
• Mavic EN521 Rims with DT Swiss Alpine III Spokes
• Schwalbe Mondial Tyres

Whilst, there are more "over the counter" bits and pieces available, which might have made the bike a little cheaper to put together, Huw from Commuter Cycles and I put the Troll together on the basis of not only being able to easily maintain it, but also with the view that if spares were required, I could / should be able to wander into any bike shop enroute and pick up the necessary bits & pieces.

Basically, it's a long ride and through countries where I'm led to believe the bike shops aren't necessarily as up to date as shops found throughout Australia / Europe. A bit of an investment now, beats having to sit in the support truck cause I can't repair or replace something! 

Capturing the essence of the trip - Part 2

At this stage of the game and with the time prior to my departure fast approaching, I'm thinking that a video camera is a necessity. 

It's just the manner in which its mounted, with the concept of securing it to my handlebars being high on the agenda.... 

I mean there's also the question of what brand or type of camera to use, with the Go Pro Black Hero 3 having been at the top of my list of potentials, till that was, someone suggested I also take a look at the Garmin Virb Elite, which seems to have a few "bonus" features, including the ability to connect to Cadence/Speed Sensors, Temperature Sensors and Heart Rate Straps.

Decisions, decisions.....

Of course irrespective of what I do as far as collecting video footage along the way, I'll also be sure as to take my Canon PowerShot SX260 camera and Smart Phone with me again. Now remembering to stop, enjoy a beverage and to take photos more frequently, well we can only hope. Of course, if I put several days of blogs up without photos, you can always let me know...

Capturing the essence of the trip - Part 1

Whilst I took a number of different types of camera with me, when I went to Italy, I didn't use my Contour Roam 2+ video camera all that greatly and probably didn't stop often enough along the route to take photos with either my Canon PowerShot SX260 camera or Smart Phone, having seen the fantastic YouTube footage that one of my colleagues shot, I've got to be a little bit smarter about how I do things!

Having said that, I've got to say I'm somewhat reticent about the idea on using helmet mounted camera ..  and I say this for several reasons:

• Because they are difficult to keep sufficiently upright as to show some of the road ahead;
• Cause they can be a little time consuming to edit for the highlights; and
• Worst of all (and I could be wrong) because they can potentially alter the manner in which an impact to a helmet is dealt with....

Now whilst I have don't have any conclusive prove and could quite wrongly be putting two and two together, I look at the fact that I had bleeding on the brain when I had my fall, albeit the bleed was not as serious as Michael Schumacher. 

Nonetheless I can't help but wonder whether my camera contributed to the fact I suffered the bleed in the first place or not....

As I say, I am very eager nonetheless to document this ride to the best of my ability, cause I'm tipping it is (and will be for a while to come) still a bit of a foreign concept for cyclists to be riding up, down and along the Andes Mountains. I also suspect it won't necessarily be an area I'll be returning to with a bike in the near future, whereas my chances of riding in Europe again are a little higher....

As a result I'm trying to determine how I wish to proceed..... Any suggestions?