Equipment: Lite, Ultralite, and Ultra-Stupid-Lite

                             If I let all the air out of my tires, I can save 12 grams!

Back in the day, which is to say back before evidence was all over the internet, thus I can claim anything without fear of being called out, I had a job as a climbing guide assistant, and in the off hours a dishwasher at the mountain lodge, or it might have been the other way around. Sexy sounding I know, and the most 'fun', besides teaching clients self arrest on the snow (sometimes they kept sliding!), was carrying garbage down from the high camp. For safety, we worked in teams of two, the logic was that both of us could get lost together. We made the chore even more fun by competing to see who could carry the most garbage 4,000’ elevation feet down the glacier in our frame packs. I seem to remember carrying 165 pounds once.

Newton’s Gravitation Equation: Fgrav = (G*M1*M2)/2 

Flash forward to my first run at the TD race several years ago. My kit was somewhere north of 30 pounds without water and food. My tent alone weighed 3 pounds 11 ounces. In Eureka Montana I mailed home over eight pounds of crap, and was still overweight in ‘equipcrap’.

Second try at the TD, my kit weighed 25+ pounds including everything that I wore, helmet, shoes and all. And still I mailed a bunch home en route. My entire sleep system then, new tent, new bag, and new pad, weighed a half pound more than just the tent I carried the first time.

It’s said that the best way to lose a pound of weight is to lose an ounce for each item, sixteen items at a time. Yes I obsess over gear weight. I’ve got a database of 228 items complete with descriptions, pounds, ounces, grams and such. Did I mention that an essential piece of kit is an accurate postal scale? Hi, I am a TD racer and I’m an Obsessaholic.

My next year list includes 19 pounds of gear. This includes bike bags and all I am wearing. What, may you ask, did I cut out of the prior list? Not so simple, as there’s cutting, and there’s spending money for new, lighter gear. Given a big enough bankroll, I could cut another several pounds out of the carry items, and several more off the bike. The big question is, how light do I want to spend? New for this year is a titanium bike, two chain rings instead of three, lightweight yet sturdy rear hub, lighter weight aero bars, but an added porky dynamo hub. So the entire bike weight comes in a pound+ less than the previous aluminum bike (with no dyno hub). Oh, and I don’t have to carry so many batteries.

One of the best ways to reduce weight is to take a critical look at yourself in the mirror, naked. Jump up and down; that which jiggles when it shouldn’t is excess weight. In my case I’m committed to lose an additional (personal) 20 pounds from last trip (before the first trip I lost 50 pounds, yep the big five-O). Combined with the reduction in kit weight, I’ll be carrying 26 pounds or so less ‘stuff’. Hey, compared to last time that’s essentially riding without a load!

Danger! Math ahead!!! Losing 10% of total bike/rider weight, I should be able to go about 10% faster up the hills, 0.8% faster on the level, and about 3% slower on the downhills (because gravity sucks, and it sucks stronger on more massive stuff). Take a look at the time savings on the uphills! Uphill riding is slow, thus I spend a lot more time riding hills (about 63% of total ride time) than on flats (25%) or downhill (12.5% of total time). So saving 10% on uphills translates to about 10% * 63% = 6.3% total riding time savings. Add 0.8% of 25% (time spent on flats): 0.8% * 25% = 2%, Subtract for downhills: 3% * 12.5% = 0.4%. Total them up: 6.3% + 2% - 0.4% = 7.9% overall time savings. For a 25 day ride that cuts almost two days total trip time! This should tell you where to focus your training…can you say “Hills” ?

Baggins

I can’t give you advice about bike bag brands, as I make all of my own. Sewing them is therapy, and all new bags are in the works. My new frame triangle is, er, small. How small? I calculated that I have room for a bag half the volume that of the former frame bag. Add a handlebar bag (sleep system), seatbag (clothes, etc.), a big 2 liter gas tank bag (electronics/snacks), a downtube tool/tube bag, a downtube mount for a water bottle, and two handlebar feedbags. In one of the feedbags I store my one liter water bottle with an attached pouch to hold bear spray, and in the other either another bottle/water-bag or food and junk, plus an external pouch for my water filter.

I’m taking a Sea to Summit ultralight backpack (2.6 ounces) that folds up smaller than a sour lemon, and normally will remain stowed. Food will hang in it, and if I have to carry extra food or water for a short time it’s handy. About backpacks: Don’t take a backpack for daily load carrying, just don’t! Your arse will thank you. An important point here is the ‘backpack vacuum principle’ – bags tend to suck in extra crap to fill the volume.  I know that Europeans tend to use backpacks quite a bit. Not sure why. I’ve carried a backpack and will never go back. Total bikepacking bag system weight: max 2 pounds.

The Emperors’ New Clothes

 Basic rule of thumb, take one item of each type of clothing (except socks – you may take two pair). Yes you have to live in one pair of riding shorts the entire trip, and no, the one jersey will do nicely. For my body, I’m taking riding shorts, shoes, helmet, jersey, arm sun sleeves, lightweight leg warmers, a hat, wool long sleeve baselayer, and my synthetic puffy 13 ounce jacket. Raingear includes a 7.8 ounce jacket and 7.7 ounce pants. Add two pairs of wool socks, and both riding and rain gloves and that’s about it. As an example of weight saving one item at a time, my bomb proof Gore Tex rain coat last trip weighed 15.4 ounces. My new one is half that. The entire clothing ensemble, complete with shoes and helmet, weighs 6.9 pounds.

Speaking of clothing, especially rain gear: You will get and remain wet for long periods.

Read that again. Your whiz-bang BlowerBreath fancy raincoat fabric will not breathe in the rain. And it will rain young Jedi, oh yesss, plus you’re gonna sweat buckets. Pit zips or vents are a must. The prime rule is ‘Wet and warm’! If there is any category where you can ‘cheat’, and take extra, it is clothing. Be sure that you can keep at least your core warm. Hypothermia is a big danger.

The general idea is to shed rain and keep warm by layering. So from outside in, the max layers (for me) would be rain gear, outer warm jacket, jersey, then a baselayer (long sleeve wool top plus arm and leg warmers). Probably not going to wear all of them at once very often. I’ve used both wool and synthetic baselayer tops on my trips. Get merino wool – stays warmer than synthetics when wet. Oh, and you don’t stink…too badly.

And while we are on the subject of down for insulation…If you take it make sure that the down is treated with some kind of water repellent at the factory. Not just the fabric, the actual down. No question that down is uber warm. Also no question that down, when wet, is basically useless. I’ve got a down bag, kinda heavy at 21 ounces, and it contains treated down. On the last trip I had some minor issues with dampness. Lesson – take extra steps to keep down dry, like keeping your bag in its’ own waterproof outer bag.

Sleep no more! Macbeth doth murder sleep!

Perhaps the most important thing you can do to ensure domestic tranquility is to take a sleep system that lets you get comfortable rest. In an emergency the shelter may make a difference between being miserable and miserably dead. Cerebro-chemical info: When you torture your body with long hours in the saddle, your body produces chemicals that interfere with sleep. Two of the hormones that appear to play a significant role in post-workout sleep disturbances are norepinephrine and cortisol. My first trip I slept like the dead, but was at a touring pace (60+ miles/day). Last year at race pace I didn’t sleep much. My mind was buzzing and some nights I did not sleep at all. Part of the problem was a slow leak in my pad. The other, I’m sure, was the chemical imbalance. Next year I’m coming armed with Ambien, just in case. Oh, and a better pad! Sleep issues contributed to poor performance and bad judgment, and I’m avoiding that road again.

Water water everywhere.  

I’m taking enough water storage to carry 6+ liters, consisting of one liter water bottle, and Platypus and Nalgene water bags. The Nalgene bag will be used at night as my pee bottle. A good rinse, put a tablet in it, and fresh as a daisy!  I used a Sawyer mini water filter last time and will take it again. The filter has a one liter squeeze bag that normally is ‘dirty’, that is, it holds dirty water to be squeezed thru the filter. I’ve used the bag before to hold clean water – simply fill with dirty water and drop a tablet in. Tip: Don’t let the filter freeze as it will split internally! Plenty of water in Canada and Montana, thru to Pinedale Wyoming; a water source will pop up every several miles. Rookie mistake #253 is carrying too much water. After that the Great Basin is a bit dry, getting wetter in Colorado. New Mexico is dry much of the route. Sure you can buy water at stores. Want more water storage along the route? Buy half gallon sodas. Nice bottles.

Be double damn sure that whatever method you use to treat water gets rid of both Giardia and Cryptosporidium. Iodine doesn’t. Chlorine doesn’t. Many water treatment tablets don’t. I carry Katadyn tablets as a treatment backup because it kills everything. Don’t be confused by tablets that release chlorine dioxide – that chemical then forms a strong oxidizer. It is not the chlorine that kills stuff. Rookie mistake #127, drinking from streams - clear water is not clean water! Weight of water system: 0.7 pounds.

Buddy, can you spare a spare?

 Repair parts include two lightweight tubes and patch kits (I run tubeless normally), a tire boot, 2 ounces of Stan’s sealant (tip: put some Stan’s in tubes when you use them), a derailleur hanger, a few miscellaneous bolts, tire lever, allen keys and Torx driver, chain tool and extra links, tire pump, chain lube, small multi-tool with knife and pliers, a CO2 inflator head (in case I buy cartridges en route), brake pads, a few zip ties, tape (wound around pump), and a couple spokes with nipples, 30 feet of cord (to hang food, rope cattle), and a cable bike lock. Total weight: 1.74 pounds.

Some tubeless riders carry one spare tube, some no spare (I call the latter ‘clueless riders’). Last time I put a tube in on the Rail Trail (not a flat – my fault letting too much air out for traction). Later, zipping along in the exact middle of Great-Basin-nowhere on the hottest day of the race, Bam! Two pinch flats, and another mystery leak. While patching five holes (three different patch jobs as I didn’t realize I had two sets of pinch flats), I reflected on what would happen if I didn’t have another spare tube, and this one was unrepairable; a long thirsty walk. So I take two spares. However, my new lightweight ones together weigh 6 ounces less than the previous pair of ‘normal’ weight tubes. Tip: a 26” tube will work as spare for 29” wheels. Just inflate it before the race and let it sit overnight to stretch. Weight – darn close to the lightweight 29er tubes.

Speaking of carrying tubes – wrap one around the front hub, secured with Velcro or a strap. The wheel carries the weight, not your bags. I’ve used that method for over 20 years.

The Official TD Race Cooking Setup

None. Nyet, Nein, Nicht, Nada, Nope, don’t even. Not even a cup.

Errata

Then there is the electronic stuff. Particulars are still somewhat in flux (pun intended): Last two times I used a Garmin GPS plus a simple wired computer as backup. I’ve been running this year with a lightweight O_Synce Navi2Coach bike computer that has GPS route uploading capability. At 2.6 ounces versus 6.6 for the Garmin, I can carry two with one as a backup (yes I’ve got two). Then again the Garmin will let me know of upcoming turns, campsites, food, etc. (I program waypoints with visible labels and proximity alerts). The dyno hub allows me to recharge the Navi lithium batteries on the fly, but I also have a lithium powerbank should I use the Garmin. I’ve got a power cable for the Garmin that allows me to both power and use it at the same time. Special sauce cable I made – normal USB cables won’t work.

My cunning plan is to run more at night, so I’m taking my trusty Fenix BT10 headlight. I may carry rechargeable batteries for it, or run it directly off the dyno, or both. Yep, cell phone with another GPS backup route application, plus charger (works with the Navi2Coach computer as well). I’ve cobbled together a wiring system that charges lithium, USB, and runs the Fenix directly off the dyno. SPOT tracker is in there somewhere of course. All that and a few pieces more come in at 2 pounds. Sheesh, I gotta review that list.

End of list

Add a first aid/medical kit, sunscreen, a few maps, butt cream, bear spray (13 oz.), money, passport, wallet, whistle, ‘personal paper’ and I come up with 1.9 pounds more.

As compared to the racing ‘Gods’, my kit is butt heavy. The faster you ride, the less you need to carry, plus those speedsters endure less sleep and generally take survival level equipment. When you ride close to 200 miles a day, several food and water stops are a bet, and hotels are encountered more often, so who needs gear?

Stuff it !

I laid out all my stuff and packed it into the toolbag, gas tank bag, feedbags, seatpack, and handlebar bag. Holy craparel – it all fit! All this contained without a framebag – WooHoo! Before I get too excited, I still will make a framebag, as I need space for extra food/water for long stretches. I well may make a partial frame bag though, and leave room for a liter water bottle mount in the frame.

Light (weight) at the End of the Trail

If you are struggling with what to take or not, have someone look over your pile’O’stuff. Sometimes I get so fixated on choices that I don’t see the excess junk that my wife does. Of course to her most of my stuff is ‘excess’!

To put this entire gram counting in perspective, one master class racer said it best, “I haven’t weighed my stuff, I just take what I know I need”. So there!