Day 13: Prescott

A fantastic day of riding. The best so far on this tour by a country mile. But that may be a little unfair on the other day's rides, as I'd ridden them previously.

Another good thing is that because I've gained altitude (currently approximately 5,300 ft) the temperature has dropped to a more reasonable level.

Mind you some people will do anything to get some shade from the midday sun!

Now for some bike talk, so if you are not interested in bikes then there is no need to read on!

Okay, I am not riding the Moulton on this trip. The main reason is that the model I own (Double Pylon) is not really designed as a tourer based primarily on camping. It is however ideal for van assisted touring or, a moving on tour between hostels/motels/hotels.

So, as a Christmas present to myself, I bought a (supposedly) lightweight tourer that I could use on trips like this one, which could also double up as a winter bike.

It is designed by a company called Thorn in England. I liked the fact that the company specialises in touring bikes. Indeed the guy that designs them also rides them on tours with his wife.

Anyway, to get to the main spec and some photos:

The frame is steel (Renaulds 853)
The gears are provided by a Rohloff 14 speed internal hub
The front hub is a Son 28 dynamo Hub, which works with Cinq III Plug (USB Port)

When I initially received the bike I was somewhat underwhelmed by it. In particular the fact that it was somewhat heavier than the bike I test road. However, now that I've ridden it fully loaded for almost 600 miles I have come to like riding it very much. The only gripe I have is that the Son 28 hub and Cinq III Plug combination is not working very well together. I've trying some experiments with it but none so far have provided a satisfactory solution. We shall see if one can eventually be found?