I got a Tout Terrain Outback Xplore 29! I wanted a touring bike that could do a LOT of trail and gravel roads here in Spain/Europe.

I’ve done 3 rides on it so far and the 4-hour ride was amazing. The internal gearing is so quiet and smooth and I am so impressed. The geometry is better than the other touring bikes I’ve ridden and I like being a little more upright.

Today was a hard ride. My GPS kept taking me on dirt roads and it was super muddy. Like the kind of mud that you sink a foot down in and it sticks to everything like glue. I had to stop multiple times to clean the mud out from where it jammed between the fender and wheel. It was a bit like spinning a flywheel exercise bike that kept getting harder and harder…. I gave up after 20 miles and made a new route on asphalt. If it wasn’t the last day I probably would have wallowed in it a bit more :). The ride was beautiful and through wine fields and small towns.

Summary coming shortly…

Ride stats?

28 miles / 45 km
Time: 2 hours 47 minutes
Avg MPH: 10.1
Average heart rate: 113
Elevation gain: 896 feet
Elevation drop: 751 feet
Average temp: 82F

I don’t have any maps beyond a few websites that I keep trying to hash together and google maps on my phone (which is hard as it tries to navigate onto roads)… this makes navigation after the first canal path ends a challenge. Added to that is that connecting some of what I am doing requires getting from a to b where there is no path… I just wanted to mention that in case anyone who reads this thinks this is all connecting. It would be easy to do this as a simple 215km ride for the first canal but then you have to connect to other stuff… And, I don’t speak/read French which limits research materials. I am using a Garmin touring computer for my bike, so I will review that after I use it more with the gpx files I’ve downloaded.

Adventure!