Jon Watts - Two Wheel Tour

Tuesday night I had the privilege of hosting Jon Watts as he passed through Hartford on his tour.  Jon is a Quaker spoken word/lyrical hip-hop musician and now also a long distance cyclotouriste.  He left Richmond, VA in March and has been riding up the coast with his Xtracycle Radish, playing shows in the big cities as he goes.  He carries all the gear he needs with him, including his guitar, amp, laptop, and banner, in addition to all the camping gear he needs to be self supporting.  In short, he's not doing this halfway.  Icing on the cake is that he was not an experienced cyclotouriste, he just decided to do this and made it happen in a relatively brief time.  Well he's got some experience now.

I encountered him a while back on the Roots Radicals email list, a resource list for Xtracycle riders mostly.  We chatted a little about a route through Connecticut for him to take and it looked like he'd be passing right through here so I offered up some hot meals, a shower, and a bed.  Luckily for me he was coming into town on the later end of the day, so I was able to ride out to greet him and then ride in the last 10 miles together.  I was impressed.  Piled high with gear, 8 speeds, and platform pedals, and he still knocked out a really solid pace, with enough lungs to chat.  We unloaded his gear, pointed him to a hot bath followed by dinner and some more conversation.  Once he had recovered from the day, we took a look at his bike, since he mentioned a few mechanical complaints, despite having just paid for a complete tune-up 2 days previously in Brooklyn.  Shifting was all out of whack, kickstand was ready to fall off, and his rear disc brake pads had worn down enough to actually not work at all!  So we:

• Gave the frame a good wipedown
• Cleaned & lubed chain and cogs
• Cleaned & lubed derailleur
• Adjusted front and rear brake cables, deglazed pads, and snugged up the calipers
• Tuned the derailleur
• Tightened crank and chainring bolts
• Adjusted saddle position
• Adjusted lever and shifter positions for better ergonomics
• Aired up tires

In short, it was an awesome shop session.  When we finished around midnight, he said, "This is a happy bike!"  After plotting out the rest of his route to Boston it was definitely time to turn in.  In the morning, he was excited for the last 100 miles to go, so we saw him off, well fueled with pancakes and tea.  I was very much wishing I could trade in my day of work for a day of touring.

Here he is, about to depart for the last two days of riding:

It was really a blast to get to know him a bit.  Hopefully our paths will cross again.  This has thoroughly given me the itch for a tour again.