2007 TOUR: Gear...what worked and what didn't...

I thought it might be helpful to other novice tourists who are in the gear gathering stage to see what worked and what didn't work on our tour.

REI Quarterdome 3 UL
This was perhaps one of our most expensive purchases, but considering that we camped about 95% of the time, it was money well spent. We practiced setting up and taking it down in our livingroom before we left (always a good idea). The two doors were nice because we would get up at different times to use the restroom and didn't have to step all over the other person. Also, the rainfly provided an ample vestibule for our panniers, shoes, etc., One nice small feature are the mesh pockets in the corners of the tent that are perfect for putting your glasses, contact case, or the compression sacks for your sleeping bag, etc.,
HIGHLY RECOMMEND

REI Sleeping Pad
You know you're serious about camping when you get a sleeping pad :) Laura purchased the women's version and I purchased the men's. Given another chance I would have purchased the women's version as well, since it seems to have more cushion. We were debating vs. the 3/4 or the full and decided to go with the full. It didn't weigh/cost a whole lot more and you could really stretch out on it.
HIGHLY RECOMMEND

GSI Enamel Cup
I loathe this thing. I was kicking myself half the time for bringing it. It worked to store liquids but if those liquids were hot, you had better have fingers and lips made of asbestos. I bought it to drink my coffee, but it was damn near impossible to hold it. I would have to tear a little piece of paper and wrap the handle to hold it. It sucks.
HIGHLY RECOMMEND TO MY WORST ENEMY

JANND Expedition Rack and Front Extreme rack
During my research, these racks were always mentioned. They are indeed robust but are also pretty darn heavy. After I put the front rack on my bike, the thing steered like a pregnant pig, which is to say, not very well. They did do their job and carried all our stuff. I do have some points of criticism. The attachment hardware is pretty uninspired compared to the hardware of the Surly Nice Racks, which came with a ton of hardware so you could really dial in the fit of the rack. Also, the welds on the rear rack are in the most inopportune places. I couldn't position my panniers (Ortlieb) exactly where I wanted it because the mounting clips couldn't wrap around the welds.
SORTA RECOMMEND

Dynamo Wheel with Shimano DH-3N70 hub
I built this wheel specifically for the tour. I didn't want to worry about running out of batteries or not being able to see in the dark. The wheel is heavy. I estimate around 3 lbs. During the tour we never really rode when it was dark, so I was more or less riding around with 3 extra pounds just for kicks. I think if we were touring during the winter or did more night riding it would have made sense, but since we were riding in the middle of summer with the long days it really wasn't necessary. I would have fared equally as well with a regular clip on front light.
SORTA RECOMMEND

Cargo Net
This thing is awesome. Both Laura and I used it to attach our sleeping bags to the rack. But more importantly, we used it to dry our clothes. At one point I had a shirt, cycling shorts, cap, gloves and socks tuck underneath the mesh while I rode to dry them out. They also let you expand your carrying capacity. On our trip we would pick up loaves of bread along the way and tuck it under the mesh instead of putting it in our pannier.
HIGHLY RECOMMEND

Trangia Stove
This is the little stove that could! This stove is so simple to use. There are no moving parts, nothing to snap off or lose in the middle of the night. All you do is unscrew the top and drop a match in the middle. Bam! Instant burner. We used these every morning to make coffee and during the evenings to make hot coco. We also used it to make rice, corned beef and hash and pasta. Laura brought her MSR Whisper Lite but we only used it when we couldn't find fuel for the Trangia. The Whisper Lite took a little longer to set up and had the added bulk of the fuel canisters. During our trip I simply bought HEET, an inline anti-freeze (can be purchased at any hardware store or automotive store) to use as fuel. My only complaint is that it did go through fuel a bit quickly, but usually finding more wasn't a problem.
HIGHLY RECOMMEND

Back in the LBC!

I'm back in Long Beach. The trip was wonderful, painful and amazing all at once. Definitely a life changing experience. I'm going to post a few pics from the trip every few days (I took about 1700 RAW images) with a little blurb about them...here's a few as a teaser...


The 32 hour train ride from Los Angeles to Portland was very relaxing...

It was nice to get on the road...

We were blessed with some beautiful weather and nice stretches of pavement...

Nothing quite like riding your bike to the woods...

...or even through the woods for that matter.

So Unreal!

It's just after 11pm and we're finally wrapping up packing. Our livingroom is a bundle of bikes and panniers. Although I know I'm about to leave for two weeks to bike in the woods and along the coast, it seems so unreal. I don't think it will settle in until the third day of riding when we're in the middle of nowhere climbing some crazy hill. I can't wait :)

A quick run down of the gear:

Bike:
2006 Trek 520
Jannd front and rear rack, Planet Bike Cascadia fenders, XTR cranks, 11-34 cassette, XT rear mech, SPDs, Brooks B-17, Nitto Randonneur bars, Shimano Dynamo front hub laced to Velocity Deep Vs, XT rear hub laced to Deep Vs.

Camping Gear:
Titanium Spork!
2 Trangia stoves, bottle of denatured alcohol
Spices, pepper grinder, coffee, metal cone filter with holder
REI Quarterdome 3 person tent
REI full length trekker sleeping pad
Old sleeping bag :)
Cotton sleep sack
Quick dry towel
Large full size towel cut out from linen table cloth

Clothing:
Pearl Izumi jacket
Mid-weight fleece
2 long sleeve lightweight wool shirts
1 short sleeve lightweight wool shirt
1 wool undershirt
1 seersucker shirt (casual wear)
Hemp knickers (from Bicycle Fixation)
Fast drying knickers (from Portland Cyclewear)
Fast drying shorts
2 bike shorts
2 pairs of wool socks
2 bandanas

Other:
Nikon D100 with 17-50 2.8, 85mm 1.8
Compact Flash cards
Chargers for AA batteries, for Nikon battery, for Blackberry

Tools:
Multi-tool
15mm wrench
10mm wrench
Fiber Fix
Spare spokes
Patch kit
cassette removal tool
hose clamps
Leatherman tool

According to my scale, whose accuracy is yet to be determined, everything weighs about 50lbs. The bike naked weighs about 40lbs. So I'm looking at riding with about 100lbs of bike and gear. It's really hard to pick up at this point. I'm hoping that my body grows use to it or I'm in big trouble.

Anyway, I have to get back to some last minute packing....

Bikes on the Brain...

This last week has been filled with bike stuff. We leave on the 16th for our 2 1/2 week bike tour down Oregon's coast. It's quickly approaching and it feels like we're still so unprepared. Laura and I finally bought a tent, it's an REI 3 person quarterdome.

I've removed my Xtracycle from my Trek 520 to an old Gary Fisher mountain bike. The transition has not been easy. I got rid of the stock suspended fork and replaced it with a Surly 1x1 fork. I have to build a new 700c wheel to run on the rear since the Xtracycle I have is made for 700c and the brake braze-on's won't reach. I replaced the rear der., the bottom bracket, cranks and soon I'll replace the straight bar with a Soma Sparrow bar, which is suppose to be like an English 3spd bar but much narrower.

So essentially, I've been working on two bikes at the same time. Trying to build up my tourer, the Trek, and my cargo bike, the SurlingGary (Surly/Gary Fish mix). The Trek is done. The SurlingGary is a pain in the butt and is still not rideable. I had a shoot today that I had to light so I dusted off my Burley Flatbed . It worked well, but it's definitely not as maneuverable as an Xtracycle.

Yesterday, I took a Road 1 course from Chris Quint, a League of American Bicyclists Instructor. It was great and gave me a bit more confidence in what I was doing. If you have an opportunity to take the class, I highly recommend it.

The classroom portion of the course.

Chris Quint, cycling instructor extraordinnaire.

AUDIO/visual of how a helmet works.

Chris demonstrating the "rock dodge" technique on his Brompton.

When you absolutely, positively MUST stop...shift your weight to the back and squeeeeeze...

SLO Journey...

A few more pics from my recent trips to SLO....

Some beautiful light in Union Station at 6:45 in the morning...


My BikeFriday loaded and ready for adventure...


Trains coming and going...


A combination of the dirty Amtrak windows and sleep deprivation make everything impressionistic...

How to make coffee anywhere....

I'm no MacGyver. In fact, I'm sort of the anti-MacGyver. Where he can create elaborate solutions with simple everyday objects, I tend to break things effortlessly and render them useless.

That is why I was particularly pleased with myself this morning.

PROBLEM: The base of the Trangia stove is too wide for my brand spanking new GSI Espresso maker, causing it to fall in between the supports.

SOLUTION: Bend bicycle spoke to create enough of a surface to support the espresso maker.


Coffee maker falling through the cracks!

My contribution to the world.

How it works.

Yay! Coffee!

Surprisingly, it works rather well.

My new stove!

The next few weeks will be spent acquiring all the camping/survival doodads I'll need for my bike tour in Oregon this summer. Last week, my stove came in. It's a Trangia alcohol stove, probably the simplest stove on the market. You simply pour some alcohol in the middle and drop a match and it's on. I've been playing with it the last few days by making coffee with it on my front steps.

This is the stove.
This is the stove on high.
This is the stove on simmer.

This is the stove in its base.

Dreams of Bike Touring...

Laura and I and two other friends are planning to escape the LBC for two weeks in August. The plan is to pack our bikes with clothes, camping gear and food and take the Amtrak to Portland. From Portland we're riding to Astoria (via Vernonia). From Astoria we go south to Reedsport and inland to Eugene, where we'll reluctantly take the train back to Long Beach.

The next two months will be a slow process of checking routes, getting in shape and acquring gear. Laura and I did a mini tour in Solvang so we've had a chance to break in some of our equipment, but we haven't done a trip this long, nor have we done a trip with the extra weight of camping equipment and cooking equipment.

I've made a wishlist and it's rather daunting in its cost. However, knowing that I want to do more touring, I'd like to get the top-shelf equipment right off the bat, rather than getting a poor substitute. Some stuff on the list:

Ortlieb Packer Plus rear panniers
Trangia Stove and cook set
Ostrich Handlebar Bag
Nitto Mini Rack

Time to start saving pennies and shoot more gigs!