Yet again, the blog's name proves to be rather apt..

The Stelvio's have turned out to work rather well for touring, and also for more general riding. Summer of 2009, I did 4-5 short tours on the Birdy. Short in time duration - all long weekends - but not necessarily short in terms of distance. The Birdy easily handled 40-60 miles per day with a load, even in hilly northern California with only a 9-speed Capreo.

This past summer I also did a lot of long day rides, unloaded. But I found as the mileage increased, I started getting back-aches. Most likely because the handlebars on the Birdy are just a little too low for me, and I have the older non-adjustable sport stem. Hence I did more of my long rides/tours on my recumbent than the Birdy.

I'd very much like to fit one of the adjustable sport stems to the Birdy, so I can keep riding it. And it should also make packing the bike in a suitcase quicker - no need to remove the handlebars from the stem, when the stem can be separated! Seems like spares are barely available in the US anymore, so this upgrade may have to wait for my next Europe trip.