The plan is to start riding by tomorrow (Friday Jul 27) afternoon. Make my way out to Tsawwassen BC where the Ferry terminal is located and camp the night there. Luckily, I already have my first campsite booked up. It is at friends' place who happen to be out of the country at the moment and have given me permission to set up camp in their backyard. This will be the first leg of my journey. At the first crack of morning sunlight, I will have to get up early and try to catch the 7am ferry to Swartz Bay ferry terminal. And from then on, I have the full day to cycle to Victoria. I am still undecided where I will be camping on my second night. This I will decide along the way.
Today, Thursday, DAY 0, was spent planning my trip and packing up all my gear. Experimenting on how to pack as efficiently as possible and make use of the limited real estate that I have on my bike and trailer. I am already realizing that I need smaller gear... small, small gear. My tent is big, my sleeping bag is huge, and my sleeping pad is gigantic. I know I have to pack as minimalistic as possible but these items are necessities, I could barely fit them all in my trailer. Does this mean I will have to purchase the smallest gear I can afford? The smaller the more expensive things get... sigh.. :( . For now, I will make due with what I have and I'll think about buying new gear in the future.
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| All the gear that I will be taking with me |
Tomorrow I set off for my trip to Victoria. Nerves are somewhat setting in but I am very anxious to get going. There is a chance of rain tomorrow but I don't think I will let that stop me from going. Rain or not, I will have to eventually endure all sorts of weather nature throws at me. I can only gain experience from it and a necessary one at that. It is almost midnight and I am still wide awake. My biggest problem right now is that I may not get any sleep tonight as I am too excited to get going.
My next blog update will be tomorrow night at my first campsite. I know most of you will be following me through Facebook through my Twitter updates., but to those of you who are not on my facebook list, you can visit me via Twitter here https://twitter.com/604Bluelight .
Good night for now.
Thanks, Eli, for the information on your other blogs about the Maya Trailer. I particularly liked being able to see how you connect it to your bike and how you were able to pack the bag. There is an interesting review of the prototype version on CrazyGuyOnABike. https://www.crazyguyonabike.com/reviews/board/message/?o=1&thread_id=192841&page=1&nested=0&v=D
ReplyDeleteAt the end of the review, it was suggested that the makers of the Maya Cycle took into consideration some of the points that were made in the review and made some changes to the final production version of the trailer. I was wondering if you felt the concerns described in the review were adequately addressed in the production version... particularly about the possibility of the trailer falling off.
Great blog, by the way, of the preparation for your second trip. I'll have to read the following blogs to see if it turned out better than your first one.
Hi!
DeleteWow, that review had to have been one of the first prototypes of the trailer! It seems as if we were talking of two completely different trailers as the issues he's mentioned has never been an issue with my trailer, and I'm sure I have put my trailer through more tests now than he has. If his review was in any way or had any effect on the the final release of the product then that's great and we can thank him for that! I just wish he had some pictures to accompany his review so I could have made some comparisons.
It's a scary thought that he mentions that the trailer could fall off even at an intersection of a street and that could easily dissuade potential customers (even myself!). I can't see that ever happening as the trailer is locked into the fork with a lockring with no possibility of it coming off. And the fork is connected to the bike using a quick release provided with the trailer and it's just as reliable if not stronger than the original quick release of the bicycle. The only way I can see any possibilty of the trailer falling off or coming loose is by improper installation and nothing else.
Again, I'm sure his review was on a prototype trailer. That was back in 2010 and Mayacycle trailers weren't even officially released back then. And again, if he had any influence on the final release of the product, I can certainly thank him for that.
I'm glad I am able to help with some of your questions, not only bike trailer specific but with anything cycling or bike touring in general. It's great to know that my blogs are being read and are actually being helpful to others.
Cheers!
Eli