With the Tobermory ride put back again, I had the time to ride out to Caledonia, see what was happening first hand, talk to people and indicate my support for Six Nations. It was my first rode-only ride of any distance of late — 30km each way. I decided to attach my fully loaded trailer to give it a good run over some distance and with the necessary direct climb up the Niagara Escarpment it would give me a good indication of how I would travel with it.

After days of strong winds alongside the intermittent rain, I was quite antsy to get on my bike. That the ride to Tobermory is looking like having a Wednesday start (the forecast is nice) I also wanted to get some kms behind me. So I went for a bit of a ride this afternoon!

I went for a short and fast ride yesterday. I went without the trailer as it was unpacked (the ride to Tobermory has been delayed until late next week) and as it was late in the day, i tried to ride with some speed.

I loaded up the trailer with about 2/3 of the weight it will have (no food, or non-cycling clothing, etc) and with the new rear rack and trunk bag I set off. I rode along some undulating roads — including a busy stretch during peak hour (quite scary — and some of the cars/trucks were not intimidated by the trailer) — to see how much impact the weight would have. Fast deceleration was different and made me a little wary. I also notice that it does...