The women that do Lake Pepin are a special bunch. My wife is terrified of riding on roads, and is a slow poke. She pulls SAG duty in the F150. The site says there is no SAG, but, that isn’t exactly true, my wife has been in a pickup or a Roadmaster wagon providing SAG for more than a decade.
That bike would be a great candidate, but, in addition to the sprocket and chain suggestion, I’d lace up wheels with Sun CR-18 alloy rims, and add Continental Kool Stop salmon pads. I took a plunge into Red Wing on a Raleigh Sprite 5 speed with steel wheels and John Bull pads about 13 years ago, in a fast moving storm that literally left me unable to slow the bike down, much less stop. For tires I’d run the Gran Bois Ultra Leger 590s, I put them on my wife’s Robin Hood 5 speed, and they are killer. New cables all the way around, and I replace the plastic fulcrum clip and Sturmey pulley wheel with steel versions, if either breaks, you are stuck in third gear. I also convert the AW hubs to S5 5 speed configuration, but, that is pretty far out there for most people. Never have done the Tour on a 3 speed.
Good luck. Pretty little bike, by the way. Done about a dozen Lake Pepin Tours, it gets better (if slower) every year.
This is the Wife’s Robin Hood 5 speed, I color matched a rack for it, added the woman’s NOS B66 Champion, found an NOS Shuresta stand on it, put a 21 tooth sprocket and new chain on the S5 hub, and the afore mentioned Japanese tires, using an NOS set of Bates metal stem English tubes. The pedals are super rare, rebuildable, reflector, woman’s pedals, the only set I’ve ever seen. The fender reflector is amber, because, hey, she is a slow moving vehicle. Still keeping my eye open for a Superbe or Sprite stem.
Ted
