Suit up Bike, lets get ready to party (making it that much more awesome)

So the LHT is pretty sweet to begin with but there are quite a few little things that can make it that much better. 

First off front and rear racks.  You know to put all that gear you'll need on.  I got a Bontrager Rear rack and a Salsa Down Under Front rack. 

Wait how do you put gear on those?   Well I will be building my own paniers.  I actually bought the material and started making a first version last night.  More to come on that later.

So next I realized when I went for a test ride I kept reaching for breaks when I was on the hoods (My '71 LeTour has wraparound breaks).  So I got some Inline breaks to solve that issue.

 

I also wanted to make sure my but would feel good for 10,000 miles, so do to many suggestions and online articles, I went with a Brooks B17. 

The bike did not come with pedals so I got a set of fully serviceable Crankbrothers eggbeaters.  I currently have a set of there low end pedals and love them, so I figured why not stick with them.

 I was able to get all of this from Freeze Thaw. It was also all discounted, since I bought the bike from them.  

A few other adds I need to do soon.  A center stand which I will get from Freeze Thaw and lights which I will most likely get from nashbar (I have some cheap taillights I got from them a while back and they work great). 

So so far I have put about 40 miles on the bike.  I wish it were more.  I am moving the handle bars around a little (shorter stem, up) but otherwise it feels great.  I am really excited to get my panniers done, so I can start riding with weight. 

Oh, also, sorry for the low quality pictures. They are from my phone, There is another needed add-on - camera.