My TransAm Bike

My bike for the TransAm ride is a Surly Long Haul Trucker (LHT).  As the name implies, this bike is made for long distance riding.  It's not a speedster, but should be durable and reliable.  I bought the bike from Genesis Bikes in Easton, PA.  Many thanks to Tomias who helped me choose the correct frame size (54cm) and Rudy who did an excellent job of fitting the bike to me.  Rudy spent about twenty minutes with me, adjusting the seat height, angle and position as well as the handlebar height.  When he was done the bike felt like it fit perfectly.  I've ridden it over 1300 miles already and made no further adjustments to anything.  Nice job, Rudy!

My Surly Long Haul Trucker

I've accessorized the bike with several enhancements beyond the standard LHT equipment.  With my initial purchase from Genesis I replaced the bar-end shifters with Shimano STI shifters.  The bar-end shifters are standard equipment because of expected better reliability, but over the years I've grown accustomed to shifters which are more easily accessible.  I suspect I shift more frequently than many riders and find the STI shifters at my fingertips to be much more convenient.

STI shifter levers

I also had Genesis add brake interrupter levers.  These make it possible to brake while riding with your hands on the upper flats of the handlebars.  I find this more upright position convenient when riding around city streets or as a change of position on longer rides.  That position is not very relaxing or safe, however, without easy access to the brakes.  Thus, the alternate brake levers.

Genesis also added three water bottle cages (in yellow as accent to the blue), a cycle computer to track speed and distance and a bike pump mounted on the frame.  I also bought a bar-end rear view mirror, but decided I didn't like it after my first few rides.  It is convex to give a broader view, but this distorts distance perception.  It also tends to move with road vibration.

On my Bianchi hybrid which has flat handlebars I have a Mirrycle MTB bar end mirror which I really like.  It's got a flat 3" diameter viewing area which is free of distortion and once positioned it won't budge even over the roughest roads.  I realized I could position the same mirror on the bar end of my drop bars, so I bought and installed it on the LHT.  It worked well, but was a bit too close to the drop bar end, causing minor difficulty putting my left hand on the lower bar.  I emailed Mirrycle Corporation asking if there was a way to extend the mirror.  It turns out they sell a 1" extension tube which is a perfect solution.  So I've got a mirror which provides a great full view of what's behind me - perfect!

Brake interrupter levers and MTB bar-end mirror w/ extension

Another addition was fenders.  Since we have a fairly specific schedule to meet we ride rain or shine.  I expect there to be several days of riding in the rain.  The fenders should make that much more tolerable, both to me and to anyone riding behind me.  I purchased Cascadia fenders from Planet Bike through Amazon and installed them myself.

Finders, water bottle cages, tire pump

I moved a rear rack from my Bianchi hybrid to the LHT.  It's a relatively inexpensive rack and might not be suited to fully loaded touring.  It should be completely adequate to carry my trunk bag with a minimal load of basic tools, spare parts and contingency clothing.

Rear rack and trunk bag

The last adjustment I made was the addition of SPD clip-in pedals.  Initially I asked Genesis to install a basic flat pedal with toe straps.  I have ridden with toe straps since I got my first road bike in ~1971.  I rode the first ~500 miles on my LHT with the straps, but was having a recurring problem with foot pain.  It would kick in after about 25-30 miles of riding and was pretty uncomfortable, enough so that I wondered whether I could really manage the TransAm ride.  After first trying a sturdier shoe insole, it was recommended that I try the clip-in pedal.  I was a bit apprehensive, never having used them before.  I had two minor falls in the first week with them, but also did a 40 mile ride without any pain.  I've continued to ride even longer rides and the pain hasn't reoccurred.  Now I love the clipped-in feel and wonder why I didn't do this sooner.  This was the final piece of the puzzle which convinced me that I COULD do the TransAm.

So that's it.  My new toy and the means to accomplish this dream ride.