How much does your bike weigh and why it's a lot more than you think?

We, cyclists, love to talk about weight. Not our body weight, of course, but our bikes weight. We obsess about putting together the lightest bicycles, because for some reason it seems to matter a lot.

Now, if you happen to just ride for transport - getting groceries by bike, or dropping kids to school, all this doesn't apply to you. Besides, you're not even a cyclist - you're just a person on a bike.

But if you happen to own a sporty, recreational bike, chances are you want it to be lightweight, because - you know, that's what the pros use!

So how much does your sporty bike weigh?

You may quickly say: "I know exactly! It's 18.5lbs or 8.4kg. I spent months carefully selecting components to make it feather light". Well, I have bad news for you. Your bike is likely a lot heavier than that.

It's all because we rarely ride our bikes "empty". I'm guessing that when you go for a ride you do typically bring a couple of water bottles, your phone, wallet, multitool, pump, spare tube and likely even more stuff. All this adds a lot of weight.

But, does it really matter? I bet it doesn't, unless you are really into racing (but then you don't carry your own pump or spares anyway). Actually, all this weight truly matters in one situation - when you have to carry your bike for quite some time.

My bike itself is not exactly superlight. It's an all steel construction with a rack, dynamo hub, lights, leather saddle, etc. In fact, all 5 bottle/cargo cages, front rack and lights add two and a half pounds alone (1.15kg to be exact).

I also usually carry a lot of stuff on my bike - a canvas handlebar bag with a camera, 1-2 lenses, lock, batteries, snacks, pump, a small saddlebag with tools and spares, 1-3 water bottles, phone, etc.

 
All this adds up to 40lbs or 18kg (in a very minimal configuration). I admit, at first I was worried - that's a lot of weight! Maybe my bike is too heavy? But then I realized that having a bike that's not the lightest of the lightest is actually liberating. I simply care less of what I carry on my bike or what components I use. Had I used a true weight-weenie bicycle, I would likely constantly think: "Is this going to add too much weight?"

But as it is, that 40lbs rides surprisingly well. As such, it doesn't bother me much.

Cardigan Mountain and Northern Rail Trail (S36O) - Day 2

Read Part 1 first.

The next day, I got up around 6:15am and was ready to leave the campground at 7. I was a bit more optimistic about that day since I knew it was going to be all downhill (or at least flat) once I cross the Cardigan Mountain. I expected crossing this mountain to be difficult. What I didn't know was the mess I was putting myself into.

It all started easy - Halls Brook Rd from Rumney to North Groton is nicely paved and was actually fun to ride, despite the fact that it was all uphill at a steady 5-8% grade. After reaching North Groton my original plan was to take Edgar Albert Rd, which theoretically (on the map) should connect to Coolidge Rd on the other side of the mountain. But the entrance to Edgar Albert Rd was marked with a dead end sign. Knowing my luck from the day before, I decided it wasn't worth chancing it and I took the main North Groton Rd all the way down to Groton. This was actually fun! It's a 5km (3mi) mad downhill ride that will truly test your brakes.

My decision turned out to be a good one because it meant I had to pass by the Sculptured Rocks - a geological park I have never heard about before. It's a great place to visit. Fascinating how a running water can erode and shape rocks over thousands of years.

The next section of my route was meant to be difficult. It turned out to be a real hell. It all started with a warning just at the entrance to Orange Rd.

To be honest, I didn't even know there were roads categorized as Class 6 so I wasn't sure what to expect, except that it was likely going to be bad. And it was bad - like a very, very rough and rocky, ATV-only trail. I ended up pushing my bike up a lot. Trying to ride up the hill on such surface makes little sense. I would get more tired fighting my way uphill on a bike, than by simply walking.

Then about 2km (1.2mi) up the hill, it got worse. Much worse! There was no road anymore, only an extremely eroded snowmobile trail. I didn't think about taking any pictures of this section, simply trying to finally make it through, but if you can imagine what a snowmobile trail may look like in higher mountains, think of a narrow "road", resembling a small canyon made by running water from melting snow, with millions of boulders thrown all over the place. There was simply no way to ride a bike there - no matter uphill or downhill. I pushed the bike up, carried it wherever required, until after 5km (3mi) of walking I finally reached the summit.

An old stove? Not something you'd expect to find literally in the middle of nowhere in the forest.

I was exhausted. It was still relatively early in the morning, which meant the deep forest was humid. My cap and shirt were completely soaked from sweat. Then out in the open where the air felt a bit drier and I could catch some mild breeze, the sun was scorching my head immediately. The only solution was to keep going and get off this bloody mountain as soon as possible.

Of course, this meant I had to then ride downhill and I was afraid that if my road down looked exactly the same as the road up, I wouldn't be able to ride it at all and will need to now carry my bike for the next 3 miles. Fortunately, and to my pleasant surprise, the road from the summit to the town of Orange was very decent, not counting a few sections damaged by erosion. I made it back to Canaan in no time.

This all means that if you want to visit Cardigan Mountain State Forest, use New Colony Rd from the south and forget about Orange Rd in the north. While it's technically possible to cross the mountain that way (as I did), it's absolutely not worth it.

In Canaan I resupplied again, rested for a while and entered the easiest part of me entire route - the Northern Rail Trail, which stretches all the way from Lebanon to Boscawen (93km or 58mi). Of course, being a former railway, it's all flat. I could finally pick up some speed and keep going.

I have to admit, the trail is really nice. Its surface changes from black gravel to crushed stone to compacted dirt. It's a double track in some places to turn into a single track running through a narrow canyons carved in rocks in others.

I was moving fairly quickly and reached Danbury to stop at their country store for some lunch. One Reuben sandwich later I was back on the road. It started raining lightly but it didn't bother me at all. In fact, that meant the sun stayed behind the clouds and temperature dropped a bit.

After nearly 9hrs I finally reached my car in Boscawen and could pack things up and head back home.

I certainly learned some things on this trip. First, I need to plan my routes differently. Too often I end up in some weird places on snowmobile-only trails that are inaccessible to bicycles at all. Second, I really need to correct for the fact that in a hilly terrain 150km (93mi) in one day is just way too much (and that's what I ended up doing on the first day).

Cardigan Mountain and Northern Rail Trail (S36O) - Day 1

It's really all about time.

Recently, Russ from Path Less Pedaled asked what "What is keeping you from going bike touring?". For me it's time - or the lack of it to be precise. As the owner of two mini humans in a very early school age, I simply can't leave everything behind and go for a bike trip, even a short one. First, I need to negotiate terms with my wife.

Anyway, the rare opportunity happened last Friday so I packed my stuff, put it on the bike and went to New Hampshire for a S36O (sub-36hrs overnight) tour.

I tried a little bit different setup this time. I used a Teardrop canvas bag from Bags By Bird and two Big M.U.T. fork bags from Randi Jo Fab. It worked really well. Those Big M.U.Ts are spacious enough to contain my tent (except the poles), Tyvek foot print, air mattress and the sleeping bag. They also proved to be stable enough to never swivel into the turning wheel, even on the most bumpy roads. The Teardrop kept my camera, tripod, batteries, snacks and other items secure.

I drove up north to Boscawen, NH where I left my car at a Park&Ride lot. This is also the trail head of the Northern Rail Trail that I would be taking on my return the next day - more on that later.

The first miles were easy. I moved quickly and made my way to Contoocook and briefly stopped at the old rail depot. Next, I rode northwest and reached Waterloo Covered Bridge, which reminded me of the time when I visited this place years ago, riding my own Kearsarge Klassic.

Just like years ago, I followed North Rd along Stevens Brook and reached Sutton and then New London. Very soon I discovered that Star Lake Rd is private and what's worse, gated. There was a sign though, stating that bicycling is allowed so I proceed through the automatic gate and kept going. Soon, the road became rough and unpaved, only to soon disappear (sort of).

I made it through and next reached Grafton Pond. At this point it was already afternoon, humid morning air was gone and sun was high up in the sky. It felt way too hot to ride a bike. My water bottles were nearly empty. I reached Canaan and stopped at the convenience store to resupply. Riding in heat and on constantly rolling hills wore me out. I was tired. Little I knew, the worst part was still ahead of me.

My destination for the day was Rumney - a small town just at the edge of White Mountains. Getting there from Canaan is easy - just follow Rt 118 north. But easy wasn't in my dictionary since I wanted to stay off the main, paved roads. So I took Fernwood Farm Rd instead and then tried Bob Porter Rd directing me towards Mascoma River Wildlife Mgt. Area. It all started well - the road was nice and flat...

...but soon turned into a rocky mess.

The worst however was yet to come. First I found a gate with a warning against bears in the area and a "no bicycles" sign. Then, I found out that the section of the road that was supposed to take me north didn't exist in the real life.

I had two choices - keep pushing through what looked like a snowmobile trail, heavily taken over by lots of vegetation or go back. Trying to cross the wildlife management area was not only technically illegal, but also risky - not just because of bears but simply because I had no idea what kind of trails or roads were ahead of me, which meant I could've been stuck there for a long time.

This, and the fact that it was already late in the afternoon and I was tired of riding thousands of hills and the scorching sun, I decided to ride back. For the rest of my ride I stuck to Rt 118 and made my way to Rumney fairly quickly.

I've never been to Rumney before, but I knew there were at least 2 decent-looking camping options nearby: Mountain Pines Campground (conveniently placed right at the bank of Baker River) and Barn Door (a hostel with some camping spots in the backyard). Both were only about $10/night, which meant I was happy to pay the price and have access to a hot shower, rather than try to wild camp somewhere.

Another great thing about Rumney is The Common Cafe and Tavern - great place if you're hungry. They serve good burgers and some great looking pizzas. Live music is a plus too.

When I was done with my dinner it was already dark and it cooled down a lot. I guess I forgot that temperature can drop quite a bit closer to mountains. I felt better after filling my stomach but was ready to call it a day and go to sleep. The next day was supposed to be easier, except the strenuous climb early in the morning, so I needed all my energy back.