My Thai American wife and I have been living in NE Thailand since retiring in 2005. We've made a couple of trips back to the States and a wonderful trip to Italy where we lived for 4 years courtesy of the USAF. I'm a die hard cyclist who especially loves touring. We have no plans to return to the US. This is our home now.

Ah, I thought your "meh" was about the tandem experience, but I guess you always have the "meh"

I was out today remarking on how much a difference it made going from 5 to 4.5 psi on my four inchers. Always takes a bit of adjustment adapting to how much squish one can get away with, especially as I was out on the fattie not that long ago with no snow but hard frozen earth, so a lot more pressure needed with the speed.

Hey senor vignette, clean your damn bike for once will ya!

My Long Haul Trucker loitering in Tonapah NV with 14l of fluids onboard. 170 miles to next shop in Ely.

irc, I have biked through some hot places and carried extra water, but even in places like Central America, there would almost always be a village with a small family shop where you could buy a drink, and often a cold drink---so I have never had to carry more than about 5 litres.
but 14 litres, ooof, thats 14kgs or 30 bloody pounds, talk about making your bike as heavy feeling as the Titanic.

but I get it, not having enough water and food, but especially water, is no fun, and geez, nearly 275 kms until the next supply spot, thats a good long way.

are you there now?

The handling was actually fine. The weight was well spread. Two low down in each front pannier, 3.5 in frame bottles, and 7 split between the rear panniers. Even going uphill I can't say it was a huge difference. I'm about 220 pounds depending how long I've been on tour. Call it 30 for the bike and 30 base weight for camping gear. A bit of food. So roughly 10% more weight with the fluids on board. of course not every bike could do it but my LHT was rock solid.

There was nothing between the two towns. Hence why most people biking across NV go Route 50. At the end of the day it's the USA. Get stuck and flag a car down. There was a dozen cars an hour or something like that.

Ya, my troll was generally well behaved also with a good load. As you say, distributing it around and low makes a big difference. I'm a lot lighter than you, so tend to notice extra weight, but then there's the factor of getting more and more touring fit, so extra weight doesn't affect as much when we are stronger.
On the central america trip, I did carry more spares and stuff, so a bit heavier than usual due to spare tire etc etc, but I have the bike set up with good low gearing--which I'm sure will be handy with steep stuff in Scotland.

Here's the lump by the way

Don’t! Rock that grime! A dirty bike is a happy bike. As was said of Pig Pen “Don't think of it as dust. Think of it as maybe the soil of some great past civilization. Maybe the soil of ancient Babylon. It staggers the imagination. [It] may be [the] soil that was trod upon by Solomon, or even Nebuchudnezzar.”

So color co-ordination isn’t your thing, huh? I just can’t live that way. I even go so far as co-ordinating my background

hey cycco, I forgot to respond to this.
Funny, and yup, I had the rear only orange ones because I liked the bright colour for safety, but already had the grey front ones were newer and the lighter Plus versions, so didnt buy orange front ones, and then I got the rackpack yellow bag used years and years ago, so yellow it was!

so a hodge podge, but nope, I don't particularly care, egads, and I have a fine arts degree to boot!

Out on a shake down ride with a new Nelson Longflap saddlebag and sturdy 32 spoke HED Belgium plus wheels with White Industries Hubs on a Specialized Diverge with the 105, 11 speed groupset. My aging back means that I will be using hotels when possible, but I'm still carrying a cook set, Tarptent Protrail, Montbell Downhugger sleeping bag and a Thermorest NeoAir for emergencies and for areas where accommodation is sparse.

My 2020 REI Co-op ADV 1.1 during my most recent trip. Did the Natchez Trace Parkway in November, Nashville to Natchez then back to Nashville. Temperatures varied from low 40's to low 90's, but loved every minute of it.

I too tour on an ADV1.1, and it's a great touring bike, especially for long heavy expeditions. I increased the reach, but not the stack, on mine by extending the stem 30mm and installing a setback seat post to get another 20 mm. Mine is an XL. The Natchez trace is awesome - rode it about 10 years ago. I just might ride it again. Stay Safe

Hey Don Quixote, get that dirty bike out of the kitchen!
and it's time to change the calendar!

that was a very strange garage
wen left our car there for the week

I dien noty notice the calendar!

Great locations, both of them.
I love the wall tiles y la Virgen Dolores

Fantastic trip !
jbz255 Just a question. Where did you find your fantastic water frame canister ?

Thanks in advance

Looks like a Adventure Hydration CrankTank

As Bearhawker noted above, it is the Crank Tank 4 from Adventure Hydration in Australia. Holds 4L, so when completely filled ends up being enough water for all day during hot weather. During milder weather or when I know there is potable water available during that days riding, I tend it only fill it halfway. It is also nice to fill it before setting up camp because then I have plenty of water for cooking, cleaning and drinking at camp. For refilling it without taking it off, I carry a collapsible water bottle that I can refill at water fountains/spigots/sinks etc, then pour it into the tank with the cap removed. If you look up their website, keep in mind the prices are in Australian dollars, so it's not as expensive as it initially looks. Cheers!