Well, I set a new personal record today. I took a load of scrap metal to the recycle yard. Before leaving, my son said, "dad, you can just take the truck." I said, "son, your dad likes to do things the hard way." And, the hard way it was...

Per google tracks:
Trip there:6.57 miles, 5.87 mph average, 987 feet elevation gain, max grade -3.2%, 1 hr 7 min 11 seconds
Trip back: 6.44 miles, 12.35 mph average, 315 feet elevation gain, max grade 8.7%, 30 min 33 seconds

I turned in 467 pounds of metal + ~100 pounds of kid/trailers/buckets = a new PR of ~570 pounds moved by bicycle for about 6.5 miles. Needless to say, it was a lot of work, and it was definitely my heaviest load yet. To put things in perspective, I had a very difficult time off the bike and pushing the load (1 hand on the handlebars, 1 hand pulling on the seat). The only way for me to move it was to be in a very low gear and pedaling. When I came to a stop, I had it in my easiest gear (22 front ring, 32 rear cog) and I would have to stand on the pedals when I started up. Believe it or not, it's actually difficult to mash in that low of a gear!

I'm not sure exactly how the weight was distributed. I believe I had about 325 pounds on the BAW trailer and about 200 pounds on the rear/converted child trailer. Both handled their respective weights perfectly with no ill-effects.

In the end, I earned ~$154 for the scrap metal. In other words, I got paid ~$154 for exercising!

Here are the pics:



The metal consisted of copper tubing from upgrading/changing out some of my indoor pipes, some sheathed copper wire, an old wood stove (circa 1986) with a solid brass front door, and other odds and ends that I've been hanging on to since the last trip.

All in all, this load pushed my limits. I was able to move it effectively, but I wouldn't want to move much more weight or that much for much more of a distance. Fortunately, there was no noticeable grade, or it may have been an entirely different story.

Enjoy!