I've had my Trek 520 since June of last year, but had not made any overnight tours on it.

Until this last weekend.

The plan: ride from my house (in St. Louis, MO) to Hardin, IL and return the next day. Roundtrip mileage about 150-155. My goal was to evaluate my fitness for long-distance touring while testing my bike and touring equipment. I used my previous experience in riding local riverfront bike trails and maps from the state of Illinois to plan the route.

I packed my stuff on Friday night: Tools, clothes, food, personal items, camera, and a book, in an Arkel small handlebar bag and a pair of T42 panniers. About half of the miles were on designated bike trails, a third on rural highways with no shoulder, and the rest on suburban side streets. I also crossed the river on a ferry on each leg of the trip.

The ride up was challenging. I faced a noticeable headwind about 60 of the 75 miles. Since my goal was to complete the ride in good shape, I paced myself and took breaks as needed. I stayed at an inexpensive hotel in Hardin. It was truly a small town - the grocery store was closed before 7pm. I also saw a dog chewing on a deer leg in front of the restaurant where I had dinner :p

The next day I pulled out of town at 7:30 am. I had a tailwind and needed fewer rest stops and required less food.

Overall the trip was a success. I planned a trip to a place I had never been. I saw some wildlife (deer, hawks, egrets, unidentifiable mammals), had no hassles with people or dogs, and felt reasonably good after riding over 150 miles in two days. I need to change the layout of my barends to increase comfort and maybe the angle of my saddle.

And I had one almost-disaster and survived. About 45 miles into the first day a stick got caught in the rear wheel, jammed into the fender struts and forced the fender to crumple up under the rear rack and against the rear tire. This brought me to an immediate halt, but I kept the bike under control.

The fender was destroyed but everything else was OK.

Next goal - an overnight tour with CAMPING!!

A few things...

1. That's great!! Congrats on a successful first outing, shakedown!!

2. How was the comfort of the 520's ride in and of itself??

3. Fenders=Good, The things that can get caught in Fenders=Bad. Glad you survived it.

4. Do you have photos?

5. Where do you suppose the rest of the deer went??? What was on the Special's Menu at the restaurant?? ;)

2. How was the comfort of the 520's ride in and of itself??

First of all, I've had the 520 modified considerably so that it more resembles a trekking bike than the road tourer it was. MTB crank, flat handlebars, barends and thumb shifters. And it has a Trek "anatomic" saddle.

I need to change the plugs at the ends of the handlebars. They protude to the side and put pressure on the palm. And the saddle felt a little out of place. I recently pushed it back farther, so maybe I inadvertently changed the angle.

4. Do you have photos?

I took a couple shots, but I really wasn't concentrating on photos. They were 2nd rate and I've already deleted them.

5. Where do you suppose the rest of the deer went??? What was on the Special's Menu at the restaurant??

The chunk o' deer didn't show up until a couple young guys in a pickup dropped by. I saw lots of dead animals (including 3 deer) during the trip. I didn't notice a Road Kill Special....

If you get a minute sometime... could you take a photo and post it of your 520? I'd love to see your 520 in its modified state... for some reason or another it's one cycle that is seldom seen with swapped cranks, flat bars, etc...

at least in my experience that is.

Thanks :)

Congrats!!!
I'm jealous. I hope to do something like that this summer. I’m planning a trip of about 155 miles and was not sure if I should make it a 2 day, or really take it slow and make it a 3 day tour. Tell me – you did 75 miles a day. Did that distance seem about right?

BTW – my trip will include a ferry ride too!

75 was fine. I had plenty of daylight to cover it without getting into a rush. I didn't have to go into oxygen debt to meet my schedule and I had time to stop, look, eat, and just cruise along.

But, it's very flat around here. There were a few hills, but nothing to brag about. I don't know how far I could go given a truly hilly or mountainous region.

I just looked at the weather for that first day. Early in the day the winds were about 10mph, progressing about to about 22mph, with gusts up to about 30mph. It felt challenging, but I don't know how that compares to riding in the mountains. Probably not close.

Congratulations! That's inspiring! :)

I can't wait to do my first over nigher on my 520!

Sounds like a great first trip. I too recently purchased a 520 and am preparing for a cross country trip in June from S.F to New York City. I am slowly getting equipment pay check by pay check and am looking at the T42 Panniers for my next purchase. Since I am going to try to stay at motels along the way, no camping, I am just planning on use rear panniers plus a handle bar bag. I have done a few 60 mile rides and noticed pain and tightness behind my neck and between my shoulder blades which tells me I probably need to make some adjustments in my seat position and possibly chaning my stem position. What kind of seat are you using? Good luck with your next ride!

It's a Trek anatomic-style saddle. You know, with the deep channel down the middle.

This is something I want to do. Right now I have a Specialized Hardrock comp. Do I need a touring bike for a trip like this? I know my bike is a mountain bike, but I have a rack on the back that could easy hold panniers. What do you think?

Hey Brad, was that the riversedge motel? nope wait a minuite i'm thinking Louisiana,mo. next time brad go 100 to 96 (by hardin) and go up to Louisiana, very nice and peacefull ride also. your experience brought back so many joyfull biking memories. i sure miss that area, that truly is one of the best biking areas in the country.

Socksshep Yes it is entirely possible.In fact I did a 7 day tour with three others all of whom rode mtn bikes two with rear racks and panniers the third had rear rack and panniers plus a bob trailer.The third ,forum member Dwagenheim,subsequently went on to ride that setup from Alaska to Panama .Check his journal above in the travelogue section for details of his mtn bike touring.By the way we averaged about 75 miles/day and I think most onroad mtn bike tourers use some kind of slick tires rather than knobbies and add some kind of bar ends to add handlebar position variety.One on our tour used an aero bar which he liked as well.