I have decided to shorten my bicycle trip. Instead of riding all the way from Sac City to Dubuque, I am going to ride to Fort Dodge.
The original trip sounded like a wonderful adventure, but motel rooms, meals, and other expenses would add up quickly. I already have an $800 body-shop bill coming in October to install the replacement fenders on my truck. I bought the fenders, but I decided to let an experienced body man install them rather than struggle with the job myself.
Sometimes the sensible thing is to change a plan before it becomes a financial problem. That does not mean I am giving up on bicycle touring. Fort Dodge is still far enough from Sac City to make it a real ride and a good test of what I can do.
I still have another decision to make: which bicycle should I ride?
My newly rebuilt bicycle has a carbon-fiber frame and is as light as a feather. It rides better than my older bicycle, and naturally I would rather ride the lighter machine over a long distance.
Unfortunately, the carbon-fiber bicycle does not have the screw holes normally used to attach a rack and bags. I do not want to carry a backpack. Having that weight on my back would make me tired much sooner and probably make the ride less enjoyable.
My older bicycle is heavier, but it was practically made for touring. It has plenty of places to attach racks, bags, and other equipment. I could load it with everything I need without inventing a complicated system.
I plan to take the carbon-fiber bicycle to the bike shop in Storm Lake and ask what can safely be attached to it. Carbon fiber requires some care, so I do not want to clamp something onto the frame and damage it. If the shop can find a safe way for it to carry my equipment, I will probably use the lighter bicycle. If not, the old touring bicycle may be the wiser choice.
There has also been a possible change in my computer hobby.
My sister suggested contacting the IT person at the local school district. The school might know of students who need laptops at home for homework. I have been buying older computers cheaply, repairing them, installing usable software, and getting them ready for another life.
There probably would not be any tax benefit for me because of my income situation, but that is not really the point. I would like to see these computers go somewhere they can do some good instead of sitting around my house.
Perhaps the school could accept them as donations. Another possibility would be charging around $30 apiece—not as a business, but simply to recover some of the money I spend on batteries, drives, chargers, and other parts. I will need to talk with the school and find out what it can legally and practically do.
Naturally, the computer hobby continues to provide its share of puzzles. I recently ordered a replacement laptop battery. It fits into the battery compartment, and the electrical connection appears to be in the correct place, but the plastic key is positioned differently. That probably means I was sent the wrong battery, even though it looks almost identical to the correct one.
I will have to contact the seller and compare the battery’s exact model and part numbers before trying to force anything. In computer repair, “almost right” is usually another way of saying “wrong.”
So several plans are changing. The ride is getting shorter. The bicycle has not been selected. The computers may be headed to local students, and one battery may be headed back to its seller.
But none of these projects is being abandoned. Sometimes working the system means recognizing reality, changing direction, and continuing forward.
For the practical decisions:
Take both bicycles to the Storm Lake shop if possible. Ask them to compare the carrying options and riding position—not merely whether they can make a rack fit.
Don’t let anyone clamp an ordinary rack tightly around the carbon frame unless the bicycle or rack manufacturer specifically approves it.
Contact the school’s IT director before preparing more laptops. Schools sometimes have security, software, battery-condition, and electrical-safety requirements.
Don’t force the new battery into place. Photograph the old and new labels and connectors side by side, then request an exchange using the exact laptop and battery part numbers.
The best companion video would be about an older rider completing a meaningful one-day bicycle journey, which fits this revised Fort Dodge plan better than a cross-country cycling video.
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