What the heck are these guys doing?

Matthew, Weston and Nathan are first year medical students with a passion for community health and biking. Along with Daphne, a first year Veterinary student, the 4 companions will embark on a five-week trip through 1,000 miles of rural Oregon wonder. Along the way they will be working in conjunction with the Oregon Academy of Family Physicians to facilitate community discussions on improving local healthcare options. See our photo album

Saturday, July 2, 2011

Home from Canada



Daphne and I just finished our Canadian pre-tour. We spent an amazing couple of weeks riding up the Sunshine Coast of British Columbia and down the eastern coast of Vancouver Island. Looking back at our pictures the theme was definitely B.C. ferries, gravel beaches and night time rain showers.

It was a great opportunity to get our systems down before we start the five week Oregon tour. We were really excited that despite the rain showers every night we stayed dry and warm. We definitely took too much stuff, and it will be nice to know what to pare down to make sure we're running as light as possible for the big hills of the Cascades.

3 comments:

  1. I'm glad to hear you did a pre-tour. Let me know if you want ideas for paring down your load--I also spent much of my MSI-II summer bike touring/camping. (Though I'd wager some of you are probably good ultralight backpackers or similar and may not need the help.) Instead of the four panniers with stuff on the rack Daphne's got in the picture, you're going to want to aim for one bag each, with two acceptable if necessary. You can ditch the second rack and map bag, too.

    Sounds like a fun trip! I hope you find some useful data.

    Kate Wolpert, OHSU MSIV, 2010 Rural Scholar

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  2. Hi Kate,

    I'm pretty impressed if you get all your touring and camping gear into one carrier. Don't you find that it's kind of awkward to ride with all the weight on one side?

    I don't think we're going to be as lightweight as you -- I can make some excuses about having to bring dress clothes for the presentations, but also I just really like the way the bike rides with the weight distributed between the front and the back.

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  3. (Sorry for the long delay.) With one bag, a centered "trunk" bag style works best for balancing. I got used to a lop-sided feeling of one pannier on all my rides to school, but for touring, I agree, you want it balanced. Good point also about the fore-aft weight distribution. It's a tough choice between an even ride and being able to go farther every day due to carrying less weight. I hope y'all had a fantastic summer.

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