Finally was able to schedule a day off work and have the weather cooperate. So Sunday afternoon loaded up the Sam Hillborne and headed out from my house to William O'Brien State Park. About 30 miles from my house. Didn't make advance reservations, hoping the campground wasn't too full on a Sunday night. No issues outside of traffic on the way out. For the last 7 to 10 miles, the road follows a major highway and the shoulders are not great. Wide enough, but poorly maintained. Had to concentrate quite a bit. (And was also thankful for the rear view mirror a few times. Probably kept me from swerving into traffic that wasn't moving over.) Took my "traditional" stop at Marine on St. Croix where I had an ice cream cone and picked up a couple of items at the general store.
Campground was fairly empty. And this year decided to get a campsite down by the river. That has good and bad aspects. The bad - a steep climb out of the river bottoms back to the road or bike path. Good - well sheltered and great views of the St. Croix river. After getting camp set up, rode back to the headquarters to buy some wood. Found out the strap I had was just a bit too short. So, balanced the load on the rack and rode back very carefully. A good experience. Campground was about half full. Made friends with my neighbors who were also staying just one night with the kids. Slept better than last time. Still not great, but better. Might have to break down and carry the air mattress next time. The ride home was a lot of climbing. Although this year seemed easier than last. I'll give credit to the bike, because there's no way I'm in better shape. As to the Hillborne, it worked beautifully. Considering I probably significantly overloaded the rear, it had no complaints. This could easily be a bike that could handle a long tour. Pictures of the ride are here - http://tinyurl.com/mr3q6a Lastly - yesterday was the two month anniversary for my owning the Hillborne. Although today is the first ride anniversary. To date, have a bit over 1,100 miles on the bike. Not that it matters, but that's the most I've put on any bike in such a short period of time. Eric Platt St. Paul, MN --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
