haven't been here in a while, but thought I'd catch you up on my adventure.  I put a coroplast shell around my 700 sometime back.  Ever since I've been interested in bents, I've been interested in velos.  Next Saturday, I'll fly to Germany and pick up my first velo, a used Quest.  It needs some body work, but I'm still getting a great price, and the body work will not affect the ride any at all.  I will pick it up about 30 miles from where I lived when I was a kid in 1979, when my step-dad was stationed at Hahn AFB, which is now Frankfurt-Hahn airport.  I'll then ride to Kirchburg and visit the house I lived in.  The off north to the Mosel river.  I'll follow the Mosel bike paths all the way to Koblenz where the Mosel meets the Rhein.  Then down the Rhien to Colon.  From Colon off across Germany then Holland to the Hook of Holland, where I'l catch the ferry over to Harwich, UK, for the last 77 miles to my house.  I figure it should take me 3-5 days...and I'm just winging it!  Well sort of.  I've meticulously been programming my Garmin for the routes that actually take me one roads, as not all that are "bike friendly" over here are actually paved!  The paths once in Holland look real nice.  377 miles calculated in all, but might get a few more than that in before it's over.
 
And thanks to the RBENTers who really got me going on good bikes and trikes.  Best club I've ever been in.  Pics to follow when I get the ride done, but this is what I'm picking up:

Good show, ol' bean!
Of course, since you're in the big time, you have to video your rides and post them for the vicarious thrills of us wannabes.  Noblesse oblige.  What better way to start than with the ride home?

Here you go Jay.  

I'm really enjoying my quest.  You will too!

Quote from aikigreg on Nov 15^th, 2015, 11:41am:

Didn't know you had one Greg!  I'm really looking forward to it.  Forecast for where I'm picking it up next week: snow!!

I ordered some studded tires (yes they make them) for my mango, I fully intend to go riding at the first snowy opportunity just to prove that we are just as nuts as they are.   (Also I'll be in montana for part of the winter so theres a good chance to try it in real snow)  
 
Quote from Action Lad on Nov 17^th, 2015, 10:31pm:

I grew up there, its a nice place to be from  
 
Quote from Action Lad on Nov 19^th, 2015, 12:10am:

OK, so to tell the end of the story:
 
Broken power side idler repaired by previous owner, and we thought it would hold.  Well that repair did, but the idler had the same break in another spot.  OK I was in Bonn by this time and found a shop that helped me duplicate the previous repair.  Thought it was good (and it was) until the idler failed again in a 3rd spot.  Basically what happened was it was a plastic idler, with a 5 spoke hub, which failed in between the spokes causing the gears to 'flatten' out and collapse inward.  When this would happen, it felt like it was pedaling on a very bumpy road, and I could not pedal smoothly.  It was tiring to say the least.  
 
So, finally found a shop right before I got into Holland and they gave me a roller that didn't have a bearing, but did have metal gears and looked like it would at least keep the chain moving without jumping.  If I only knew what would come down the road...turns out when I finally made it home after racing to catch the ferry at the Hook of Holland, after taking the seat off, I realized that the extra noise was not just the poor idler...it was a failed idler!!!  Chain wore about half way through the CF brace over the drivetrain channel, and almost half way through the idler axle!  I'm just glad I made it home!!!  New parts should be here today so no worries.
 
Ended up with about 350 +/- miles for the Sunday through Friday afternoon ride down the Rhine and Waal (what the Rhine turns into in Holland).  
 
Would I do it again?  With someone to get lost with!  And I'd have better maps and recovery foods along the way, because Tuesday it felt like I was recovering from the flu.  Kim gave me an Emergen-C drink and started to feel better after about 10 minutes.  So for those long hauls, over many days, I have to eat differently.  I thought regular eating, with added pasta in many places, would be enough, since my longest day was about 76 miles or so.
 
Amazing how nice and quiet the Quest pedals now that I have a TerraCycle power idler that I stole from my 700 on there...
 
What an adventure!!