The "holy f*#k that's a long way to ride a bike" bike packing thread.

C

C Dunlop

Likes Dirt
I gotted my plane tickets today. SYD to ANC on the 1/5/11. Return out of LAX is open ended for up to 12 months.

Spank you tax man.

I also gotted one of these



With two of those fuel can thingies it attaches to.

And one of these



Because it is only just heavier than a bivy, and there is no friggen way I am waiting out a storm, or spending rest days, or sleeping every night for months at a time in a glorified body bag.

Oh and I need a decently light -5* bag (as in -5* comfort rating, around -15* survival rating I guess) Any suggestions? I not be the type to spend $800-1000 on a western mountaineering jobbie.

Cheers, exciting times,
Craig.
 
Norco Maniac

Norco Maniac

Is back!
flamin'trek said:
everything i've seen about cougars on telly lately points towards young fit males being their ideal prey. If one does jump you, I hope you won't have to chew off your arm the next morning.
Click to expand...
i'm sure a cougar of that variety would be no match for a young, fit, bike packin' male :p


sounds like you have it well planned, Craig. good on you :)
 
Australia

Australia

Likes Bikes and Dirt
When you hang your smelly stuff in a tree at night, (ie not in your tent) remember to think about non food stuff that smells - toothpaste being the obvious one, and soap, also your fuel for the stove, maybe chain lube and tubeless goop?

But dont worry, their wildlife is way less dangerous than ours ;)

Hope you've been in the gym working your arms... 18000km of bumps on rigid forks aint going to be soothing!

Best of luck, charge you camera before you leave, and check there is a memory card in it (I've forgotten both before epic trips and have never forgiven myself)
 
L

Lorday

Eats Squid
C Dunlop said:
Oh and I need a decently light -5* bag (as in -5* comfort rating, around -15* survival rating I guess) Any suggestions? I not be the type to spend $800-1000 on a western mountaineering jobbie.

Cheers, exciting times,
Craig.
Click to expand...
If you want to do it on the cheap the caribee cosmic x 1600 is a -5 bag. Sleep in cloths, socks and a beanie and carry a bag liner (cotton - easy to wash). Depends on how well you stay warm in bed. If your like me (a human convector oven) that is should be fine.
 
DaGonz

DaGonz

Eats Squid
C Dunlop said:
I gotted my plane tickets today. SYD to ANC on the 1/5/11. Return out of LAX is open ended for up to 12 months.
Click to expand...
Woot!

And one of these
Click to expand...
I've got a Sierra light year. It's lasted me well and I've sat out a couple of storms in it and survived. Occasionally the walls touch and leak but I tend to only run minimal pegs (you can get away with 3)

Oh and I need a decently light -5* bag (as in -5* comfort rating, around -15* survival rating I guess) Any suggestions?
Click to expand...
Western Mountaineering

I not be the type to spend $800-1000 on a western mountaineering jobbie.
Click to expand...
oh...

given your trip, would you consider a two part system? I only say this 'cause a -5 bag is going to be that annoying too hot in it, to cold out of it when you get to the more temperate climes... my WM Summerlite is a -2 or -3 jobbie (500grams, $500 or there abouts) and i plan to get a $70 S2S Thermalite liner as a "summer bag" and liner for pushing the Summerlite should I ever need to. I guess if you get a continuous baffled jobbie, then you can always shake the down about... for some reason, I didn't think to do that the one night I was too warm in the Summerlite.

ed: when I bought my WM bag, I also looked at Mont, Moutain designs, Mountain hardware (Phantom) and they all seemed to be trade offs between price, quality and weight. In the end I decided to get the more expensive bag 'cause I thought I'd just regret getting a cheaper one later. Continuous baffles are good, be careful of the down rating and I guess just figure out a budget *shrug*

Cheers, exciting times,
Craig.
Click to expand...
Indeed!

Cheers
Craig (no not that Craig, the other one...)
 
Last edited:
Spanky_Ham

Spanky_Ham

Porcinus Slappius
you sir are a legend... please update us with your journey....

Oh, and if you can take a picture of some bear shit in the woods, that would answer one major mofo question the pig keeps getting asked...... make sure its not pope shit though...

s
 
S

steve24

Likes Bikes and Dirt
A 2 part s/bag system is a really good idea. You will mostly sleep on the warmer part and in the light part....

I have done the the route in the opp. direction on a m/c in 2000. I rode from Brazil down to TF then Prudhoe Bay Alaska, 53000ks so you might want to rethink the 18000.

Coldest places were Alaska in July and Bolivia (up at 5000M).

I saw about 30 bears by the road in Yukon/ Alaska. The worst problem up there is mosquitoes and black flies. Make sure you take a real good head net of you will go insane.
Don't forget you can claim GST back on all you $300+ purchases within 30 days of travel.
 
R

Ryan

Radministrator
Spanky_Ham said:
you sir are a legend... please update us with your journey....

Oh, and if you can take a picture of some bear shit in the woods, that would answer one major mofo question the pig keeps getting asked...... make sure its not pope shit though...

s
Click to expand...
If I knew you were hunting for photo's of bear shit I would have been more vigilant with the camera while riding today. For the record; bears shit in the woods, the street, your front porch and basically wherever the hell they please. I assume the pattern could be extrapolated to include popes without too much trouble.

It's going to be fucking cold in Anchorage in May too, so don't be skimping on the thermal rating of your sleeping bag. Spring thaw will probably only just be getting going.
 
Last edited:
C

C Dunlop

Likes Dirt
Cheers. I hadn't seen that website.

The idea of a 2 sleeping bags makes sense. main bag a sythetic in case it gets wet, second bag a down one for size and weight, me thinks, or the other way around, or something. Who knows, i'll probably just drink too much beer near the computer and wake up with a credit card bill and the decision made for me.
 
C

C Dunlop

Likes Dirt
One of my friends has a mont bell down bag and she really likes it, but its kinda hard to tell, since the amount of BS involved in outdoor gear makes push bikes seem comparatively sensible.

Another person I know has a roman palm 4, which is basically a cheap, light-ish, no-name +5* bag. Seems to do the trick he reckons. I dunno, i'll probably just get something awesome for christmas "Mum, you don't want me to be cold do you now?" So much BS involved in outdoor gear, even compared to pushies.
 
C

C Dunlop

Likes Dirt
When you hang your smelly stuff in a tree at night, (ie not in your tent) remember to think about non food stuff that smells - toothpaste being the obvious one, and soap, also your fuel for the stove, maybe chain lube and tubeless goop?
Click to expand...
There aren't many trees in Yukon from what I see (google maps... don't even really need to go on holidays!) So the up the tree thing is out. Bear barrels of some sort are in. Either a commercial one (heavy, awkward shape) or a home made one out of plumbing conduit (cheap, easier to carry on a bike I reckon, but probably heavier still).


Hope you've been in the gym working your arms... 18000km of bumps on rigid forks aint going to be soothing!
Click to expand...
Meh, the first month is on road. GDT is mostly fire trail. Nothing a 2.2 kenda karma cant take. I did solo nationals on a rigid SS with cable brakes, 33/18 gearing and 2.2 mountain kings (=1.8 FU continental!) Pretty sure I can take it. I've always thought of wrist strength as one of my better features. Double wrapping of lizard skins bartape and she'll be good to go.

Best of luck, charge you camera before you leave, and check there is a memory card in it (I've forgotten both before epic trips and have never forgiven myself)
Click to expand...
There'll be some, but not many photos. The only think lamer than people who obsessively take photos while travelling is people who obsessively take photos while cycling.
 
harmonix1234

harmonix1234

Eats Squid
C Dunlop said:
One of my friends has a mont bell down bag and she really likes it.
Click to expand...
They are good. I have been camping with a Mont down bag at Wee Jasper in the middle of winter and I was toasty when all my mates who had super expensive 'pro' gear rated to lower temperatures froze their asses off.
They really are very very good, but if they get a bit sweaty or damp the feather clump a bit. Just keep it aired.
 
Australia

Australia

Likes Bikes and Dirt
C Dunlop said:
There aren't many trees in Yukon from what I see (google maps... don't even really need to go on holidays!) So the up the tree thing is out. Bear barrels of some sort are in. Either a commercial one (heavy, awkward shape) or a home made one out of plumbing conduit (cheap, easier to carry on a bike I reckon, but probably heavier still).
Click to expand...
An alternative solution (so I'm told) is putting your smellys in an airtight container and covering the outside in CS crystals... may or may not be legal though

C Dunlop said:
I've always thought of wrist strength as one of my better features.
Click to expand...
:eek::eek::eek: I won't make a joke, too easy

C Dunlop said:
There'll be some, but not many photos. The only think lamer than people who obsessively take photos while travelling is people who obsessively take photos while cycling.
Click to expand...
A photo every 100km is still 180 photos!
 
M

mcdoned

Likes Dirt
Craig,

I'd recommend setting the Fargo up with drop bars instead of the Jones bars. That's what the geometry works around. Bike might be rather short and tall otherwise, and a bit vague on the climbs. It's nice having the multiple climbing / descending positions too, and bar end shifters rock. Depending on set up, sometimes Fargos need tandem cables too for gears / brakes.

Sleeping bags? Check out Exped. Their mats (Down Mat / Synmat) could also make up a lot of that temperature range too.

Tyre wise - I'll put in a vote for Kenda Karmas for this, great durability, good rolling speed and reasonable offroad grip.
 
C

C Dunlop

Likes Dirt
Cheers.

I have a set of jones bars in the impulse buy parts pile at my parents house, so i'll bolt it all together and do some weekend/week long rides to see how it goes. I'll almost certainly need a negative rise stem with the mile of headtube that comes on the bike. I also have an XL frame, I felt really cramped on the L with flatbars that I took for a spin around the block, but the XL was a tiny bit too big. I got the slightly too large frame (I like a big bike anyway) and i'll shorten it up a little with the extreme sweep of the J-bars.

I have a set of SLX shifters in the parts bin, but might use bar ends for reliability's sake, or Paul Thumbies.

I'm gonna stick marathon pluses on it for the on-road stuff with a marathon XR (or whatever the slightly beefier folding one is called) as a spare in the panniers. Karmas are great, really underrated. Almost certainly put them on for the off-road bit, middle section lasts and lasts, only downside is running them tubeless, which I probably wont do anyway since there is absolutely no chance my rims will seal up tubeless.
 
A

al_

Likes Dirt
Have you got karmas working tubeless? I'm thinking about doing it to mine as i like them, but am struggling a bit with thorns.

I'm not sure if it has just been bad luck, but i've found had a few thorns and spikes get through.

Otherwise this sounds great. Since starting longish hours behind a desk my wild side has been craving an adventure. Nothing seems quite as carefree as doing it on a bike.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top