The last few years I have regularly been doing mountain bike rides and I have been training in the winter months on my training bike at home. Overall I’m feeling fit and well prepared for the trip, but still it was time to do some training rides with the new bike, to test the fit of the new bike and my overall fitness.
First short rides in Berlin
During the week I don’t have a whole lot of time to do extended bike rides, so there was only time for some short rides in the evening in Berlin. Generally it is no fun for me to ride my bike in the city, but I discovered a nice tour of about 30 miles around the Tegeler See in Berlin, for my training rides. The first few rides went quite well, although it was still quite cold in the evenings (≈5°C/40°F); at least this gave me the opportunity to test if I have the right gear for cold weather conditions as well. On these short rides the new bike felt really comfortable to ride, even the new Brooks saddle. Beforehand a few people told me, that the Brooks will be painful in the beginning and it needs a several hundred miles to break the saddle in. For me, the saddle felt comfortable right from the beginning; actually it already feels more comfortable than all the saddles I rode before.
First fully loaded ride (or at least almost fully loaded)
I decided the Easter weekend would be perfect for the first longer ride. The plan was to ride from Berlin to Chemnitz and visit my parents in Chemnitz and then ride back to Berlin. As the weekend approached the weather forecast for the weekend was not really good. The forecast was predicting cold temperatures and even the chance of snowfall, but I still decided to go on this preparation ride. The ride was the first fully loaded ride, I tried to pack everything I will take on my trip through the USA, except the camping equipment (tent, sleeping bag, …). Before I even started, I realized how heavy the bike + load will be and that it will be really different from riding my MTB.
After a good breakfast I headed out early on Thursday morning. It was cold with thick heavy clouds hanging in the sky and strong winds. Fortunately it only rained for a short time but it still was quite cold and stayed windy for the whole day. The first few miles I needed to get used to riding with the front and back panniers on my bike, but I got used to it fairly quickly.
Anyway, I headed south/southwest to Riesa on a manly flat route through Zossen, Bad Liebenwerda & Zeithain. After I got out of the Berlin metropolitan area, the cycling started to be enjoyable and the majority of the route ran on separate bike paths, through forests and fields. The only off the bike break I took was to eat some lunch (some leftover cold spaghetti from the day before) at about the halfway mark of the route. Due to the cold weather conditions; I tried not to stop too often during the day. And probably also because of the cold weather, I didn’t see any other cyclist or actually not really any other person for that matter during the whole day. When I reached the Hotel I was told I’m the first cyclist for the season.
I reached the hotel in Riesa after about 10h and 112 miles (180km) - which represents two-thirds of the route to Chemnitz. Now it was time to warm up a bit and get something to eat. After a nice warm shower, a nice meal and a few beers, I felt great again. I didn’t have any discomfort in any of the usual places and didn’t feel too sore.
The next morning started with a copious breakfast at the hotel. After breakfast I was getting ready to leave for Chemnitz and already felt a small pain in my left knee – unfortunately the pain in my knee was only getting worse as day progressed. In general this day was completely different compared to the day before: it was sunny, quit hilly and a lot more people were on the road, but do to the pain in my knee I couldn’t really enjoy the ride. After 57 miles (92km) I reached my parents’ house in Chemnitz. That evening, I decided not to go back to Berlin by bike to protect my knee.
All in all I have to say the preparation trip was a success, even after about 170 miles (274km) I still didn’t feel any muscle soreness. I think the fitness for the trip is already on a good level and and I feel comfortable on the new bike. The only drawback is the knee problem. It’s the first time I have any kind of knee problems while riding the bike. I hope I will get this under control until the journey begins.
