TD 2011 Training Entry #2: Geartrippin’

Gear.

It drives us.  It enables our adventures.  It fuels our obsessions.  Gear is Life.

We must have it.  We must use it.  We must read reviews about it, post questions in forums about it, and save up money to get it, much to the chagrin of our spouses, who are the unfortunate victims of our costly inattentions.   

Gear:  give it to us.

The most visited page on this Tour Divide blog is (surprisingly) my Big Bend page, which isn’t so much about the Tour Divide.  After that, however, it’s my gear list page.  Fans and riders (especially rookies) of the Tour Divide are supremely interested in the gear lists of other riders, and for good reason.  You’re gonna be alone and self dependant in the remote wilds of the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route…you better have what you need.  There’s a kind of romantic fascination in that thought.  Non-bikepackers are astonished when I tell them I’m carrying everything I need to affect my survival and assured mobility for (hopefully) 2700+ miles.  “What are you taking with you!?” they ask incredulously.  “Are you gonna have a tent?  What about water and food?  What if your bike breaks down?  What about protection!?” 

I love the protection question.  It affords me the opportunity to make groan-inducing jokes about either condoms or my “deadly fists of fury,” both of which I insist are highly effective protective devices.   But eventually I tell them the real answer, which is “a bear bell and maybe a whistle,” and I am often rewarded with priceless looks of horror. 

But enough of that!  You want to know about my gear choices/configuration for the 2011 Tour Divide, and I aim to fulfill your gear-lust.  So first off:

Gear I Carried Last Year That Won’t Make the Cut This Year, In No Particular Order!

1. ACA Maps – Comforting to have, but all of them together form a brick of paper with little real value other than the elevation profiles and services info.  I’m extracting and condensing this info into a few sheets of paper.
2. Toe Warmers – I carried several packs of them last year and only used one, and that one didn’t work.  The thing is, your feet pretty much stay wet on the route, probably through Colorado, rendering these ineffective while riding.  And I didn’t need them at night in my goose down sleeping bag, so they get the axe, and I live with cold, wet feet while riding.
3. MSR Dromedary Bag – Took it last year with the Great Basin in mind, and it turned out to be unnecessary weight.  If I make it to the Basin this year, I’ll know my water sources ahead of time and I’ll shove some extra water bottles in my jersey and/or frame bag.
4. One Water Bottle – I had two water bottles mounted to my forks last year using TwoFish bottle cages and extra zip ties and Velcro ties.  The setup just plain bothered me…I was always fiddling with the ties and repositioning the holders because they’d slide around the forks and junk.  And I really only ever used them for purifying water with my Steripen and then dumping it into my Camelbak.  So I keep one bottle which will mount to my frame and ditch the other bottle and holder.
5. My Backpack!! – Oh baby, this is a biggie.  I’ve eliminated enough gear to be able to reapportion all my remaining stuff, enabling a free-wheelin’, rump-saving backpackless configuration.  I didn’t feel comfortable even thinking about this as a rookie.  This year…loosey goosey, baby… loosey goosey.
6. Sirius Cold Weather Gloves – Touted as windproof, coldproof, and waterproof.  Bah!  I take “Sirius” issue with these claims.  They are not even close to any of the above.  I had tested a few pairs of gloves before these, and none of them kept the nasty stuff out to any great degree.  So I thought I would just “live” with these.  If only I’d known about the Gordini gloves which I will carry this year. 
7. Seal Skinz Chillblocker Waterproof Socks – Great idea, but they just didn’t work for me.  Heavy, cumbersome, no warmer than thick wool socks, and not waterproof.  When you’re tromping through snowmelt and/or its raining on you all day long, water eventually gets in, either from the top or right through the material, rendering these useless.  I threw them away in Ovando.
8. Pearl Izumi Therma Fleece Tights – Last year I’d thought to use these as my sleepwear as well as cold riding pants.  But I was constantly pulling them up while riding, and they are heavier and bulkier than just separate leg warmers.  Going with the leg warmers this year.
9. Showers Pass Rain Pants – They worked, but they were heavy, bulky, and tight.  My quads are extremely large and sexy…much too sexy for these pants.  They wound up ripping in the groin and down the inseam.  This year I’m going with a cheapo pair of rain pants and just may wind up chucking those.
10. Nanopuff Down Jacket – This one still surprises me a little but it’s the right call.  This lightweight marvel is quite compact and kept me very warm.  Too warm.  I put in on over my base layer and jersey two separate mornings in 30-something degree weather, and a few miles later, I felt like I was in a sauna.  My torso was on friggin’ fire.  It’s just too much.  I didn’t use it after that.  Even when I rode through the snowstorm on Huckleberry Pass, it was just unnecessary.  My Showers Pass rain jacket over my base layer kept me plenty warm.

New Gear I Will Carry!

1. Secondary GPS – See #5 above.  Thanks to Pat Smith for letting me borrow his for backup.
2. Sea to Summit 5 Liter Kitchen Sink – If there was one thing I couldn’t stand about last year’s race, it was myself.  You know…the stench.  Inhaling my own putrescence all day long for days on end wreaked havoc on my psyche.  And trying to locate Laundromats in the cities, let alone spending a couple hours there laundering your stank threads, is not a speedy option.  This compact, magical piece of gear will allow me to launder my clothes and wash my body/hair in the wilds, thus erasing that overwhelming desire to spend way too much time seeking hotel showers and Laundromats.   It lets me stay human, conveniently.
3. Dr. Bonner’s Pure Castile Soap 2 oz – used with the above.
4. Bib Shorts – Yeah, I’ve had enough of the sagging shorts experience.  Time to go full monty.  I’ve just been dreading that little strip tease you have to do when you need to excrete. 
5. Alpine Design Rain pants – Lightweight cheapos that I may just wind up throwing away
6. Epic Design Fuel Cell – Thanks to Pat Smith once again for letting me borrow it
7. Gordini AquaBloc Elite Gloves – Thick and warm, even in freezing temperatures.  Wish I’d have had these last year instead of the CRAPPY Sirius gloves.

My full gear list will be updated shortly.  I am still tinkering with a few things, but the freedom of backpacklessness is an extraordinary gift to myself.  It has really helped to take the pressure off my rump.

In addition to the new gear, I’ve steadily amassed new components for my Orbea over the last half year…a whole new drive train, a new Stans wheelset, new seat and seat post, etc.  I’ll publish full specs soon. 

Next up on the agenda, another multiday this coming weekend and then my rematch with the Red River Riot up neat the Texas/Oklahoma border.  Should be a blast!  I’m hoping to get about 800 miles of riding in for the month, with about 80% of that being fully loaded with TD kit. 

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