That doesn't include the heavy weight of expectations and responsibilities.

Big fun yesterday, guys. Many thanks for letting me tag along.

Neal took a redeye back to Boston, I was on a late flight yesterday to Portland, Andy, well, we all rode to his house and had a beer, then devoured a plate of chocolate chip cookies that Andy's wife made. Marc lives way up in the Oakland hills, so we didn't feel bad that he took an Uber home, drove down to pick up his bike, and then back up to his house.

So 5 days straight of riding, averaging 45 miles/day, but man those Marin/Sonoma climbs take it out of your legs. We were all bushed by the end.

Some thoughts:

Mechanicals
The Usual Suspects (a club that is growing) have had good luck over the years. This tour we ran into some challenges. First, Mssr. Singer's Singer french bottom bracket came loose. It was a vintage Edco bottom bracket loosened up on Day 2 - it has adjustable cups on both sides to fine tune a chain line, and it was constantly backing out every 5-10 miles. As shown earlier, obrentharris used a 10 lb rock and a small screwdriver to get it back working. The general store in Tomales had a hammer we borrowed to get it as tight as possible, which lasted until near the end of the Day 3 ride. SwimmerMike had driven up to Bodega Bay to ride with us for a couple of days, and not only brought the proper lock ring tool, but a folding bike stand as well.





My mud flap off the rear fender kept flapping up and getting caught between wheel and fender. After Day 1 the rain was gone, by Day 4 I just cut it off. Outside of that the Zero Bike performed perfectly.

Starting at Day 5, Neal's rear bag support decided it was time to break, shearing off the one bolt that was holding it onto his saddle rails. BoltBreaker had a spare strap to tie it all up. I think it was an approvement, IMO.


We had one flat, I think, but forgot who had it.

gaucho777 Jack Taylor's NDS crank came loose, he already mentioned that Andy's pliers got him to Fairfax where a proper bike shop tool was applied. Those same pliers helped with Mssr. Singer's BB issues. Many of us decided it was a good tool to add to our kit.


It's German, so of course it's good

Despite his BF handle, BoltBreaker had no mechanical issues.

^ Well, I did drop my chain a couple of times shifting into the small ring up front, but that might have been user error.

With all those hills, I think most of us dropped a chain at some point.

As usual, we invited locals to join us for parts of our ride, and indeed they did.

obrentharris from Point Reyes Station rode out to meet us halfway through our day 1 route yet again just outside of Stinson Beach, and escorted us to our night's digs in Inverness. After we all rested and cleaned up, he came back by car and saved us from having to get back on our bikes after a hard day's riding. We were happy to have dinner with him at the Tap Room

Brent leading the charge

We met up with him again in PRS, then rode together out for much of the Day 2 ride. He helped figure out how to do a temp repair on Marc's bottom bracket as well using a rock and a screwdriver - this was done on April 2, so no kidding! Thanks Brent!

SwimmerMike joined us midway through our second day as well, driving up from his home in the South Bay to Bodega Bay (terminus of day 3), then riding back along the course to meet up with us. Mike spent the night with us in Tomales and Bodega Bay - and brought a car load of tools and a bike stand "just in case." In this case, it was fortuitous, as he had the exact tool to properly tighten the Singer bike lock ring.

mhespenheide recently moved to nearby Santa Rosa, so he drove over to Monte Rio for the Day 3 ride. He's already starting to figure out the fantastic country rodes of Sonoma, Marin and Napa counties.

Both were at the front of the peloton on the insanely steep ride up Fort Ross Road.


from left to right, Mike, Neal, and Mark H. For awhile we had three Marks, even if one of them spelled his name incorrectly (Marc).

djkashuba lives just a few blocks from the hotel we stayed at in Monte Rio on the Russian River, and posts drool worthy cycling pics on Flickr. BoltBreaker and I met up with Dave on the TdMIL 2019 at Cafe Aquatica. He was up front on the day 3 ride, then dropped back to keep me company on the next ascent. To live smack dab in the middle of some of the greatest cycling roads in the US...


Dave K. fearlessly descending Meyers Grade

davester has both harbor piloted and been a full member of several tours of ours. He drove over from the People's Republic of Berkeley to Monte Rio and rode with us on Day 3's epic climb and descent.


Looks steep here, but it was a lot steeper further down Meyers Grade, but Dave is unfazed. Note also that we had two vintage Singers on this ride

gaucho777 rode 40 miles on day 5, backtracking our route, met up with us a ways past Nicasio, then rode back with us to Berkeley, where he treated us with some eye candy - a large collection of vintage steel in his garage. Even after 80 miles of riding he appeared unfazed. He's a true hardman.


Couldn't find a pic from this tour, but Randy (gaucho777) follows The Rules. He's the one not riding with the yellow jacket of authority (google it) in this pic

Finally, bikingshearer was smart to ride from the PRB to Fairfax and join us for noshing at the Gestault Haus, a unique beer and brot establishment in Fairfax that allocates a quarter of its footprint for bike hangers. He and Randy rode back to Berkeley with us.


pic of Rich at a rest stop on the 5 day 2023 Touroica ride

Old guys on old bikes, that's how we roll.


Richmond-San Rafael bridge pic

Note that being a harbor pilot is a good way to taste the bike touring life.

Ed tragically passed away last year. On the way back to Berkeley we realized we'd be passing within a block of his old shop in Point Richmond, and three of our six bikes had been touched by him. We stopped to pay our respects.


from left to right, restored Alex Singer, Cinelli fork rebuild and paint, and cantilever post replacement/fork repaint

I would investigate what, if any, role he played in installing Neal’s Bagman.

Maybe you're reading this and wondering, could I do a credit card tour? Some reasons to try it:

Less stuff to carry than camping
I probably had a heavier kit than anyone else on this trip, about 17 lbs. I think one could easily get it down to 10 including bags, but I like the creature comforts that the extra 5-7 give me. It slows you down, but not nearly as much as a camping setup. Also, I'm getting older and sleeping in a tent on the ground isn't as appealing as it was in my youth.

Cost
Wanna talk dollars and cents? Compare to a car trip.

Current gas price in Petaluma, CA

Whenever I tour with more than one other person, we track and share costs using an app called Splittr. We trade off paying for hotels, dinners, breakfasts, and any other costs that can be shared, enter it in the app, and at the end of the tour it figures out the simplest way to settle up evenly. The only thing one pays by self is typically snacks and small purchases along the way, which typically amounts to less than 10% of the total cost. For this trip, the 5 days cost the 4 full monty riders about $800, or about $160/day. We save money with double occupancy hotels. Having a hot shower, clean sheets, and a comfy bed to sleep on every night helps revive us for the next day's ride.

Meet and get to know some great people
To paraphrase Will Rogers, I never met a touring cyclist I didn't like. Especially if they're riding steel. I try to add a newbie on every tour. This time it was an old friend I'd met working together at an LBS in Walnut Creek, Marc Singer.

My bazootawata gets sore riding a lot of miles - and you're asking me ride several days back to back?
I'll do a 30-40 mile ride at home, mostly non-stop, and even though I've smeared Bag Balm on certain places, my behind is sometimes still sore. After around 220 miles in 5 days, my bits are still good. I think it's because we stop often while touring to smell the roses, take pics, regroup, and sit down to have a coffee at Cafe Aquatica - or a small town restaurant.

Still not ready to take the plunge
I understand that many have commitments, work, kids, etc. Be a harbor pilot and get a taste. Heck, do as SwimmerMike did, take a Friday off and join up with a tour with only a long weekend spent.

You're not getting any younger. At some point I won't be able to physically do this. Try it, you'll like it!

Excellent point.

I bought a pair a couple years ago "Pliers Wrench", I LOVE them! 10:1 ratio, you can seriously grab/crush things with these!

Green Cali hills this time of year are so special!

Hmm, well, he did supply me with a replacement bolt from his basement stash. I’ll likely be testing it on a 3-day tour at the end of the month. Bringing a spare is likely a good idea.

I also like these as a matched pair!

What is now the Gestalt House was long ago (back in mid-1980s to ???), the Fat Tire Trading Post where I would pick up parts and the latest copy of the Fat Tire Flyer! A further cultural tidbit, the proprietor, Larry Castle aka Vice Grip, was the lead singer of hardcore punk band “Hard Attack” who later discovered big band swing music and became lead vocalist for the “New Morty Show.” Everybody reading here should make a pilgrimage to Fairfax and visit both the Gestalt House as well as the Bicycle Museum, and get a ride in too (on or off road).

Plus, where else will you get to have this kind of fun? Mike (SwimmerMike) and Mark (mgopack42) having a rousing game of BasketFoosBall at the Palazzo de Atascadero at the end of Tourica 2023. Surprisingly, no bikes were harmed in the process.

Thanks again for putting it together, gugie . There really is some nice riding up here. Just be ready with a 1-to-1 gear ratio.

Please see your medical sporting goods provider if your foosball remains enlarged for more than 24hrs.

I'm not a doctor, I don't play one on TV, and I did not stay in a Holiday Inn Express last night, so there is no way I'm interested in checking to see if anyone's foosball is enlarged.

For some of us, that's a big gear for those climbs.

For those wondering, I climb ludicruous hills with a 26t chainring, and a 32t cog. So, yeah, 1:1 is a coupla cogs closer to the dropout.

Sounds like I need to get some smaller chainrings in the front!

You made it up Fort Ross Road pretty far ahead of me, so I think you're fine with what you've got!

Hey now... Neal's bag bracket bolt sheared off all on its own, don't look at me. I simply supplied the correct solution, a thin flat webbing with a nylock cinch fitting at one end. One of the 10 essentials...

Also, what all y'all want to carry is a Knipex COBRA 125 pliers, looks like this, not the flat parallel jaws. a Most excellent tool, should be part of every kit.

That's the one I carry. I have fixed a number of people's bikes using it (not mine yet). It's really an amazingly versatile and lightweight tool.

One of the nice things about touring with others is seeing what works/doesn't. I'm sure Knipex has sold at least a half dozen pliers off of our "influencer" post.

My go to must have couldn't live without device is one of these:


mine has three integrated USB ports, enough to charge my phone, GPS device, and tail light. Plugs into an outlet. If I forget to plug it in, I've found it'll keep all my devices charged for two days. No forgetting that one cable you need. It's about the size and weight of an iPhone.

I prefer the Alligator, their slip joint plier as it has fewer moving parts, but the Cobra or the Alligator will leave marks on bolts, those jaws are sharp and very hard.