Summer? A Taste And A Test

After a prolonged cool and damp spring, this past week has brought Proper Summertime Temperatures, i.e. 20C degrees! That's 70 in Fahrenheit. (Normal service resumes tomorrow: cool and unsettled with thunderstorms, which means showers, including hail I have no doubt.)

Today is the climax of our mini-heatwave, with temps of up to 27C expected.  This presented me with an unexpected (and very welcome) opportunity to set up my Brompton according to the plan I had devised (on paper) for our South of France trip next month. In addition to prepping the bike, I have also kitted myself out according to plan, anticipating similar temperatures in the Avignon area. 

I had purchased two handlebar-mounted adapters for my Monkii Clip bottle holders but one is faulty. I am awaiting a Rixen & Kaul Klick-Fix one later this week, which should fit the main frame and be able to hold a 750ml bottle. 

I usually use a Carradice Original Bagman support for my Barley saddlebag but have decided to get a seat-post mounted quick release version ("SQR") before we go, as that will be much quicker to remove when we fold and bag up our bikes for the Eurostar trains. 

And yes, I think I'm going with SPDs for this trip!  My experiments last year with SPDs were not entirely satisfactory, the main difficulty being the float being less than I need if I do any climbing out of the saddle. Our planned route involves some long but fairly gentle inclines, which I expect to do seated. And these pedals are double-sided, which will be nice on our pootling-around days without luggage, when I may wish to wear sandals. 

My wardrobe for the 9-day trip will mainly consist of Nuu-Muu dresses and Rapha shorts. Three sets for cycling days, plus a packable waterproof jacket, a pair of casual shorts, linen trousers, cardigan and sandals. That's it, I think. The bulk of my stuff is actually non-clothing: toiletries, medicines/first aid, sunscreen, camera gear, battery chargers and daily paraphernalia like spectacles, tissues, etc. Everything fits in these bags in a configuration that puts the right stuff easily to hand. 

Oh, and I found the EUR 130 that I somehow mislaid on one of last year's trips -- phew!