Tour De Norm

onetracker

Well-Known Member
This is super cool. I have been thinking about giving this a shot myself. I camp and ride (e.g. Rattling Creek). But have never done an adventure that does not include a base camp and a vehicle. I would like to join a future adventure as well if you have room.
 

trailhead

JORBA: Wildcat/Splitrock
JORBA.ORG
how cold was it at night? What sleeping pads were being used?

G had a foam ridge rest rolled up andstrapped to his backpack. This did not appear to be a inconvenience and he slept well. He had a 40 degree bag.

Adam was on some heat reflective bubble padding repurposed from packing material. He was cold, but because he had no sleeping bag. I think the temps were in the 60's. He strapped that under the backpack and at times got hung up on the seat.

I had a newfangled inflatable, very light and reasonably comfortable and a 45 degree bag. Both stored in packs.
 

trailhead

JORBA: Wildcat/Splitrock
JORBA.ORG
Bike Packs

A few things to consider on bike bags, packs.

Front bar rolls come in various diameters, my revelate is a 7" and my marmot bag and solo tent just fit. The kayak dry bags were a little bigger, maybe 8" and were much easier to stuff. The diameter however is limited on bar setup, rise, stem and if front suspension is used. We had to air up Adam's bike to prevent interference.

Seat bags, are limited by frame size and seat height. Much to my dissapointment. I had to remove my thudbuster suspension seat post to prevent interference with the back tire.

Setup on a full suspension bike

tmp_4736-20150620_153107-241701013.jpg
 

icolquhoun

Active Member
Awesome!
I find in the northeast (plenty of trees, even more rocks, sticks, and burshes) a hammock is completely the way to go, the caveat being if you wanna do any sort of serious bikepacking out west you are SOL, so getting your tarp/tent set-up down pat here might be more prudent.

What are you guys packing for gear? those weights are insane high!!!
For an overnight/long weekend in the summer with stopping to get water/food at small towns/convenience stores every other day my entire "kit" can be under 12lbs without issue, and thats going heavy on water and food with cooking/reheating supplies. Yes thats including food and water. Inclement weather and/or colder temps makes it go up but not by much.

good book on ultralight packing is a national geographic andrew skurka book from a few years back. really lays out exactly how to do it all, and you most likely already have everything.

Anyway, awesome report and keep at it! I too am toying with the TD 2017, so I'd love to get together for some shake-down runs :thumbsup:
 

trailhead

JORBA: Wildcat/Splitrock
JORBA.ORG
My goal is to be self sufficient, not relying on food drops or stores. So carrying water filter, stove fuel and food for the whole route. Definitely opportunities to shave weight and with more experience will know how much.

Remember also, using vinyl dry bags, and racks to rig up a low budget setup.
Special built bags are much lighter but also cost several hundred bucks.

A trailer could work, not sure how well on the technical or very rocky trails.
 
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Ian F

Well-Known Member
I did a bit of winter ski camping a number of years ago, so packing for this sounds similar. One advantage of multiple people is being able to spread out common-use items. 2-person tents; cooking gear; food, etc.

Personally, I don't know how you could get total weight down to 12 lbs. Hell, I'd have 12 lbs of water alone unless I could bring a filter and be sure of finding a water source.

edit: beer concentrate... repulsive, yet intriguing...
 
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trailhead

JORBA: Wildcat/Splitrock
JORBA.ORG
So today I set out to ride as much, or all of the 62mile touring route. There were several sections I did no recon, and went from decades old memories. As a result made several wrong turns requiring back tracking. In addition some of the roads I favored are now private, so not something i want to risk using again. This and also grossly underestimated the climbing elevation for the backside of Berkshire mountain it became clear that the route is too difficult and long for the target 48 hour bikepacking duration. I completed 58 miles of it, but once I realized it's back to the drawing board lost motivation and sagged.

Check out my 58.4 mi Ride on Strava: http://app.strava.com/activities/344030078
 

gtluke

The Moped
who's going to be the first to build a pedal powered rokon trailbreaker with water and mt dew in the rims and 2wd?
 

Steve Vai

Endurance Guy: Tolerates most of us.
What size SweetRoll is that? I'm thinking of swapping to a Harness so I can run my sleeping system rolled together in one stuff sack.
 

trailhead

JORBA: Wildcat/Splitrock
JORBA.ORG
What size SweetRoll is that? I'm thinking of swapping to a Harness so I can run my sleeping system rolled together in one stuff sack.

It's the medium, advertised as 7 inch diameter but more like 6.5in. Good for 40deg bag and 1person tent. If you want to fit a winter bag, then suggest getting the large 8in...though be careful on clearance to front tire.
 

Steve Vai

Endurance Guy: Tolerates most of us.
I have the same one with a custom mounting system. I can fit my winter racing setup in it with the pad/bivy in a stuff sack in the outside part. I wanted to run everything folded together in the same roll....

image.jpg
 
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