by Clint
This past weekend I had some time to visit friends and ride around the surrounding cities. My goal was to get from Annapolis to Baltimore on Friday, Baltimore to DC on Saturday, and DC back to Annapolis on Sunday. Still a little saddle sore from the previous weekend's rides, I decided to build up a Camargue. I wanted something that would accommodate wider tires with a more upright geometry, so I figured I'd try the new frame.
This past weekend I had some time to visit friends and ride around the surrounding cities. My goal was to get from Annapolis to Baltimore on Friday, Baltimore to DC on Saturday, and DC back to Annapolis on Sunday. Still a little saddle sore from the previous weekend's rides, I decided to build up a Camargue. I wanted something that would accommodate wider tires with a more upright geometry, so I figured I'd try the new frame.
Annapolis to Baltimore
I left immediately after work on Friday and made it there just in time for the Baltimore Bike Party. If you are ever in Baltimore on the last Friday of the month, I highly recommend this ride. Roughly a thousand people get together once a month, ride around the city, and gather for an after party at a specified location. I've met some pretty cool folks and saw just about every type of bike imaginable. One wheeled BMX bikes, grungy fixies, custom cross bikes, low riders, and bikes with drum sets mounted to their handlebars just to name a few.
I left immediately after work on Friday and made it there just in time for the Baltimore Bike Party. If you are ever in Baltimore on the last Friday of the month, I highly recommend this ride. Roughly a thousand people get together once a month, ride around the city, and gather for an after party at a specified location. I've met some pretty cool folks and saw just about every type of bike imaginable. One wheeled BMX bikes, grungy fixies, custom cross bikes, low riders, and bikes with drum sets mounted to their handlebars just to name a few.
Baltimore to DC
I rode south to DC with a buddy of mine on Saturday. We had all day to get
down there, so we took our time. By that I mean, we took a few wrong
turns after Google maps put us on closed roads. It ended up being a pretty nice ride, though I'll probably map out our route a little better next time.
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| Camargue does BMX on the way to DC. Not recommended. |
After
getting cleaned up in DC, we met up with some friends for food and drinks. We discovered the Bier Baron's $3 mystery beers. We figured we would all end
up with winter warmer beers, but the variety was great. I got a hopped
German doppelbock. I highly recommend checking this place out.
Return to Annapolis
I decided to roll home Sunday afternoon. Despite the weathermen's predictions of stormy weather, I had blue skies all the way home. I
wanted to take some of the rural roads south of Annapolis. It ended up
being quite a scenic ride.
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| South east of Annapolis. |
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| Another Picture of the Camargue in front of a fence. |
The Camargue performed beautifully throughout the weekend. I ran mine as a singlespeed with 35mm tires. The horizontal dropouts and a Problem Solvers cassette cog carrier made the singlespeed setup pretty easy.
The geometry provided a comfortable ride over that distance, but also
handled well navigating throughout the cities. Next up: outfitting the
Camargue with Onzas and exploring local trails monster cross style.
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8 comments:
Sounds like an awesome trip. What ring were you running front and what size freewheel rear? I assumed you had a backpack.--Tom
I was running a 44/17 on this one. I'm used to a 47/17 so this was a little low, but I figured between the distance and the larger tires I might appreciate it. And yes to the backpack. I wanted something I could carry around more easily if I had to lock up my bike somewhere.
Those look like 38c Paselas? Just winging it here.
They're 35mm Paselas. They probably look a little bigger because I'm running them on fairly thin rims.
As lovely as the Campeur is, I wonder if I should have waited for a (700c) Camargue instead? The Campeur seems to be more of a rando frame, whereas the Camargue seems more suited to expedition touring. Although, with a slightly higher bottom bracket and higher trail, I'd be hard pressed to make a decision. Having said that, n+1 means I can have both! What rims did you build the wheels around?
The Campeur is a great touring frame. I'd say the Passhunter or the Polyvalent would be more of a classic rando setup. The Camargue is definitely built handle more off road/rugged touring.
I've got a pair of open pros that I had kicking around on there now. The 35mm tires really balloon out. It's a cool look.
Really want to congratulate you on the last two photographs, especially the middle one in front of the rusted truck and the barn. I'd like a little more backstory on that landscape--it almost seems "too posed", but it is beautiful. But someone is cutting the grass carefully by the fence, and once again around the truck and the barn, so it's obvious they want the whole tableau to be noticed for its picturesque beauty.
I don't really know much about the truck & barn landscape. I was just riding by and thought it would make a good picture. The alpaca farm is just down the street on Governor Bridge Rd. By the way, alpaca make some pretty strange sounds.
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