Trans Am: Final Thoughts

Victory beer.

That's it. It's all said and done. It's been a week and a half since I finished the race in Yorktown. My legs have recovered, my sleep patterns are normal, and most importantly I'm starting to smell like a decent human being again. With my mind back into a semi-state of normalcy, here are some thoughts on how I could have improved my performance and/or comfort.

First of all, a better sleeping bag, or bivvy or something. That LaFuma bag was awful. It was wet, it was drafty, and it was overall just shit. This low end bag held me back the most, because when I would lay down for 5 hours, I wouldn't get 5 solid hours of sleep, I'd get 5 hours of restless sleep and that would require me to sleep longer the next night and made me ride worse. This is certainly something that I would need to remedy.

An attempt at fixing the cold problem, a $40, 5.5 oz SOL Escape Lite bivvy. It will replace my bag for East Coast summer touring and pad my bag in the West. (Crap phone pic 1)

The machine at a gas station.

The bike was great. I don't care if it was heavy, it was comfortable, it fit wide tires, and it didn't fail on me (as much as I've tried to make it fail on me, I just can't). I'd consider a lighter bike next time, but I am not a person to buy a brand new bike for a type of race I've never done before, that's a waste (and probably leads to more S-Works bikes on eBay than anything else). Some stupid things I would make better is first of all understanding how modern STI Triples work, I wouldn't try to run a mountain triple with mismatched rings, because it meant that my triple was essentially a double (d'oh!). I actually had just purchased a Tiagra road triple before I left, but didn't have the time to change it and play with it (it would have given me two less teeth on the low side and two more on the high side). My setup was janky, but I was able to use the double and having a 34 front 32 rear climbing ring was just enough (mountain rears always and forever).

My buddy Ben always asks, "how does that shift?" with bar ends "Great!" with STI "ehhhhhhhhh..." (Crap phone pic 2)

Other gear that needs upgrading is definitely my jacket, a fifty dollar jacket off Amazon is not really going to handle mountainous weather; so that's out. I would probably also just carry more cold weather gear in general. I would also up my light game. My Magnic Lights worked out great for the flats, but climbing they would flicker and descending they just weren't bright enough. I might use these lights again as a "be seen" light, but I would probably also get something brighter so I can see.

Another thing I would fix is the food. Jason Lane was attempting (I don't know how it went) the whole Trans Am on an all liquid diet (Spiz I think is the stuff he was using). To do this he shipped himself a bunch of drops along the route. I shipped myself one drop, and that Alternative Bakery cookie I shipped myself in Scott City was heavenly. If I were to race it again, I would ship myself way more feed drops in Post Offices. I would send enough that if I missed one in the night I wouldn't have to worry about it and focus on making the next one. This does unfortunately add to the expense of the vegan endurance racer.

But enough about the physical stuff. Would I do this race again? Short answer; no. Why? I just have no interest in seeing those little towns again or seeing all the same sights again, but would I recommend it to others? Absolutely. It was a total blast and a real challenge to force myself to push big miles day after day after day. Which is why I'm changing my goals onto a different race; the Tour Divide. So I've got a little bit less than a year to start planning, packing, and training for the 2015 Divide. I hope I can really compete in the Divide race next year with a better understanding of how this style of racing works and hopefully more focused equipment that can help me ride faster and longer.

But first...off to bike tour!

Monster Crossin': A Guide to Building Your Own

This summer I've stuck to what I have come to believe is the near perfect build for my Surly. Sure there are always improvements (always always always), but I think this is as close as I've gotten to a bike that handles just about everything I throw at it well. The dirt drops have given me much better control while not compromising grip positions. The wide slickish tires give me good traction off road without slowing me down on the pavement. The wide gear range allows me to go up and down a whole bunch. So what are the key components to building a Monster-Cross bike?

The Frame
Arguably, you can probably get away with building a Monster Cross bike out of a 29er, by adding dirt drops, but where is the fun in that? Half the fun of a Monster Cross bike is the cross geometries can allow you to get real aggressive on the paved stuff. The key thing to look for in finding your monster cross build is wide tire clearance and it seems most non-racey bike manufacturers are making that a standard on cross bikes. Some great cross options would be the obvious Surly Cross Check, where people have fit 50mm slicks in there, but there is also the All-City line (single speed Nature Boy, disc compatible or rim compatible Macho Man), or the Soma Double Cross (again disc and rim brake compatibility). If you've got cash burning a whole in your pocket there are some other non-production bikes to look at, my personal favorite built up in Sonoma County would be the Black Mountain Cycles Monster Cross, where you can fit a whopping 29x1.75 (as the name implies these were meant for fat tires), the Rivendell Atlantis can be built up to Monster Cross as well. Notice something about the frame materials on all these? Steel. Carbon and aluminum break much easier, steel will help you tackle those drops not meant for a cross bike.

Black Mountain Cycles Monster Check Ti Primus Mootry Wolvenberg X from Ted Katai's Flickr

The Tires

Before I get too far into tires, one upgrade from a stock bike that will greatly help a monster cross build is wider rims. Wider rims allow for lower pressure and more contact, meaning more cushion and more grip (this is why Monster Cross bikes are better than regular 32 or 35 mm cross options). I have not made this upgrade quite yet but I am looking at the Pacenti PL23 and the Velocity A23 rims, both 23mm wide, which I think is a great size for a Monster Cross bike, but for those daring enough you can go as wide as 35mm as road racers have taught us about 23mm rims with 23mm tires (also tubeless is your friend for the same reason).

40mm Mondials in their natural environment.

Now, tires. In my opinion, slick and wide is better than narrow and knobby. You can fit a wider slick tire for the fact that the knobs don't protrude out. I particularly like this too because it makes road riding much better. I have been running the Marathon Mondials in a size 40 (I want to upgrade to the 29 x 1.75 when I upgrade rim size). They have been a dream. Only sometimes in the mud, steep inclines, or sand do I feel my tires give out, but the side profile I think helps with that to some extent. As wide tires are gaining popularity there are many options out there, some 'tweener tires I like would be the Kenda Happy Medium, the Ritchey Speedmax tires, and Surly has unveiled their own 700x41 version of the Knard.

Bars

I wrote recently about the On-One Midge bars. Dirt drops I feel are really important to riding a cross bike off road, as cross bars aren't really meant for gnarly descending (although I have seen some much better riders than me knock out crazy descents on slightly flared cross-bars). A quick run down on dirt drop options would the On-One Midge, Soma Junebug, Salsa Woodchipper, Origin-8 Gary bar, or the vintage Specialized BB-2.

'Ey Midge!

Touring, day riding, off-roading, road-riding, a Monster cross bike I feel is the perfect do-it all bike. Of course I blabber on and on about Monster Crossing, but it truly has been great to conquer off road segments on a traditional diamond frame, of which no Mountain bike manufacturer makes anymore (except Rivendell, go Riv), accommodating for suspension. Sure your cross bike is not going to conquer park, or real rocky sections, but it's a cross bike and is therefore meant to be carried too. The best part is though, a 30 mile ride to a trail head won't wear you out as much as a full suspension mountain bike would.

The World is Flat Pedaled

When it comes to building a touring bike there are so many things that are taken as fact; steel frame, high range of gears, quick wicking clothing, but some gear parts are debated. It seems that clipless pedals are one of these things that falls on both sides. I have seen a good deal of "ways to improve riding" or "how to prepare for a bike tour" promote clipless pedals, but I'm going to go ahead and say that these are less than ideal for bike touring.

Casual SPDs were becoming the rage when I first began riding, with Chrome exploding everywhere and other companies finally following in their wake (Teva, Five-Ten, and Vans now all have their own casual clipless pedals). I started with rat cages, but after destroying many metal cages I have taken the plunge into full on flat pedals and could not be happier.

Surly Cross Check rocking Wellgo MG-1s

The tides seem to be turning away from clipless toward flat pedals on touring cyclists, with the rise of casual touring promoted by Rivendell and hike and bike bikepacking as promoted by Cass Gilbert. And here is the real reason why flats are more superior than clipless pedals, they are multifunctional. For anyone who has ever packed for an extended bike tour knows that having multi use items is extremely useful as it saves space and weight, yet people still believe in clipless pedals and off the bike shoes/sandals, when one pair of sneakers functions for both. For me, bike touring is about exploration, and exploring off the bike is half the fun, from incredible day hikes, to museum walks, to unplanned games of soccer, not skating everywhere is fantastic.

Another tenant that the flat pedal fulfills is the keep it simple stupid attitude, an attitude I shortly picked up from Surly upon purchase of my Cross-Check. As an example, I remember being a few days north of San Francisco last summer when I met a couple traveling the coast and it was about this point that one of their touring pedal cleats was so torn up from being walked on over rocks, curbs, pavement, what have you, that they could no longer clip in and needed to limp by on a small platform to get to San Francisco to replace their cleats. Another example comes from an old article from Urban Velo magazine that I found, in which these avid cycle tourists cited the tool or piece that they'd never leave without again and it was consistently pedal bolts. When you go flat, that's one less tool and one less headache.

Another shot with the white MTB pedals.

"But what about the power increases!" well, that's mostly a myth. There may be small gains, but nothing extremely major. People are bound to believe that being clipped in allows you to pull up on the upstroke, which is actually wrong. The only benefit may be that you are less fatigued because you don't have to worry as much with foot position but with grippy shoes and grippy pedals this is not an issue whatsoever.

One of the greatest gains that have come from the switch to platform pedals over rat cages is learning better bike ability. I had never known how to bunny hop and was completely dumbfounded by the process, I kept trying to pull up the rear wheel with my feet, which is dead wrong. Flat pedals have taught me better weight balance on the bike and now I'm having a blast throwing my rear wheel wherever I want it, be it mountain biking, hopping curbs, or bike poloing. For performance, flats reign king in my bike.

What do you ride? Flats, clipless, cages? Why? What are the benefits and disadvantages?

Further reading: Riv Bike on clipless v. flats.

Review: On One Midge Bars

In the mid 80's Wilderness Trail Bikes, one of the earlier pioneers of mountain bike design, unleashed the Dirt Drop Bar, a wide flared drop bar intended for off-road use. The bars were wildly popular on cyclocross style with Specialized even throwing in the mix on their Specialized BB-2, unveiled on their Rockhopper Combo, the manufacturing giant's response to the Bridgestone's XO series (as an example of the lack of interest in drop bar mountain bikes, the Rockhopper Combo only lasted one year and had trouble selling stock).

WTB Dirt Drop bars, credit to My Brain Hurts on Flickr

Specialized Rock Combo with Specialized BB-2 drop bars, credit to Russ Teaches on Flickr

Over the years dirt drops never caught on. While the WTB Dirt Drops stayed in production, mountain drops were rare on full build kits, until the Salsa Fargo 2. The Fargo featured their own in house mountain drops, the Woodchippers. They fit what this bike was intended for very well, for an off-road touring bike, because they offered the multiple hand position of a drop bar but also had more horizontal brakes and wide grips for control.

Salsa Fargo

Now, mountain drops are coming back into style as bike touring is on the rise and off-road bike touring is no longer seen as a totally insane venture. The choices are still slim, but they are out there (besides hounding ebay for the now discontinued Specialized BB-2 or WTB Dirt Drop bars), some of the choices are the aforementioned Salsa Woodchipper,the Soma Junebug, the Origin-8 Gary bar and the On One Midge Bar. After reading reviews I decided give the Midge Bars a run, being my first mountain bike drops, this is both a review of this style and of these bars themselves.

The first thing I noticed on the Midge bars was how natural the hoods were. My hands rested easily on a 45 degree angle on the hoods, both widening my grip and making my ability to reach the brakes much easier, a joy when descending on dirt. This isn't the only good position for descending though, as I found in the hooks was way better, with immense braking power and a very wide balanced controlled position with my hands in that semi-horizontal position. Ascending was equally better with these bars, as I could grab the drops and mash some leverage on the wide position as well as being low enough to keep my butt in the saddle, keeping traction on my skinnier cross tires. The tops were great for road riding too, expanding the hand positions so my wrists never don't tire, as what often happens on flat bar touring.

The cockpit view.

Shifting on my bar ends was a breeze on the On One bars, as the drops were shallow and when positioned correctly the bar ends sat perfectly near the bottom of the hoods, making that switch easy. I even began to get into the point of on road of finding that shift perfectly in the drops with my pinky. STI shifting is also an option on these bars, but I have never been a fan, as bar ends are far easier to fix on the fly (the ability to switch to friction shifting is even nicer when the cable stretches and you don't feel like playing with it).

Side view on the Cross Check.

The On One Midge Bars make great off road touring bars as they offer the multitude of positions but also allow for more controlled descents and more traction and leverage on the ascents. That plus easy functionality with bar end shifters make these my go to for off-road touring at the moment. How they match up to the Soma Junebugs or Salsa Woodchippers is hard to say, but they definitely work well for me, plus come in at a better price point than the Salsa or Soma bars.

Further reading:

• Guitar Ted on how to setup Mountain Drop Bars on a Mountain Bike not designed for drops.
• 29 Drop on a better history than mine on Mountain Drops.

A Test of Many Miles: Vittoria Randonneurs v. Schwalbe Marathons.

It's a common debate, argubaly two of the best production touring tires on the market, the Schwalbe Marathon and the Vittoria Randoneur. Over the past year I have extensively ridden both, carrying Schwalbe Marathons on my cross-country schlep and Randonneurs around the Bay Area, almost exclusively for commuting. While I did use them in different circumstances, I did get a good feel of riding both of them, so here is how they stack up against one another.

Durability

Vittoria Randonneur – This is why people buy these two tires, they are burly and don't seem to break. Commuting on my Randonneur's it's hard to remember when I actually blew a flat it's become so rare. Sure nothing is “bulletproof” but these get damn close.

Vittoria's come in white or black, a nice option the Schwalbe lacks.

Schwalbe Marathons – Okay, this is an unfair assessment because I rode them a lot more than the Randos with a lot more weight, but I did have some flats on these, but 70 miles a day going across country, they were rare. I remember first purchasing these and pulling glass out of my tire with no flat. Occasionally, a stray piece of metal would strike at the right angle and flat these, but it was rare.

Fully loaded the Marathon's held up well.

Ride

Vittoria Randonneur – One thing I noticed differently from the Marathons is how much quicker the Randonneurs were. There is a difference in weight and I think that's where this comes from, but the first time I put these tires I took off down the road pretty hastily. That comes at a cost though, with a thinner compound, these can't be run at as low pressure as the Marathons and can be a little bumpier of a ride. Sure it's not like a roadie feeling super heavy ride, but noticeable.

Schwalbe Marathons – COMFORTABLE. Their added weight makes these guys a little bit slower, but the trade off of speed to weight is well worth it. The Marathon rolls like a dream, holds pressure well, and can be run at a lower pressure, meaning that bumpy roads don't feel so bumpy.

Verdict

These tires are very similar and serve as great road touring tires, especially for those just getting into it (widely available, affordable, and straightforward). The big difference is what you are going for, speed or comfort. If you are looking for that little bit of extra spin, go with the Randos, but the Marathons will feel more comfortable, especially if you're hauling over long long miles, losing that time for a less bruised under area is nice.

Strava: Not Just for Dweebs Anymore!

Or maybe I'm just becoming one of them. It's hard to say. But one of the greatest things about being a cyclist in today's day and age is the variety of every rider. Commuters are wearing clipless pedals, once deemed solely for the racers and racers are trying their hand at steel, once deemed too heavy to ever put under their legs. People are just becoming enthusiastic about cycling in general, which who can really complain about?

My foray into Strava came once I returned from tour. Now being GPS linked, I realized I had all this data and no way to process it. Send in the Strava. Most of my friends were talking about it before I even started, so I decided to take my tracks and upload them to the website. Now I'm hooked.

But why? What is so intriguing about this website? It's not the king of the mountains, the original competition this site brought that gave it such a negative connotation in my head. Why would I want to race every time I got on my bike? It seemed to me that this constant competition is what I disliked about cycling, it's way nicer to just go out and ride, but at the same time there is someone I like to beat every time I go out. Myself.

Seeing days you rode and days you missed is helpful to track if you're finding time to ride or not.

Maps with plenty o' data.

It's an old ethos I carry over from my cross country (that's running not mountain biking) days in high school. Day in and day out, you can never control how fast the person next to you goes. They have their good and bad days just as you do. But the one person who you can constantly control whether you beat or lose to is yourself. It's training advice I truly take to heart and that's what Strava provides me. I can see over time how my climbs compare, how my mileage compares and more. Plus it tallies up my mileage, so it can help motivate me more to get out and do the ride I wasn't planning on. Even further it's the ultimate social network for cyclists, following your other friends as they break their first century or as they set a new PR on their favorite climb, it's exciting to see how they're doing.

Elevation plots and the infamous segments underneath.

Certainly some people take it too far. There are some people who constantly go for a new PR on group rides (not cool, if you want that ride on your own or with a paceline, not the group rides I sign myself up for usually). Or the people who ride extremely dangerously for the extra seconds (the Berkeley tale is so close to home that it's a constant reminder to compete on the ups and play it safe on the downs). Having a way to truly measure my fitness is really rewarding and I'm glad I finally signed up and have been trying to stay on top of my riding because I have the mile ticker to know when I decided to sit inside instead of see something gorgeous.

(Follow me on Strava: here)

Who Doesn't Love Packlists?

Packlists are my favorite. If it wasn't for the help of great packlists like Cass Gilber's at While Out Riding or Joe Cruz's at Pedaling in Place, my kit would have gone through some of the errors they went through. Nevertheless here is my packlist from my tour up to Tahoe.

Bags

First let's talk where it all goes. Bags and where to put them is an art that I'm slowly learning to perfect. Last summer's build was a maxamilist approach and built in the wrong places. I upgraded from the bulky pannier rack system on the front to an easier to manage bigger handlebar bag. I also added the tool bag under the seat, which makes getting them convenient on the road and opens up room in my panniers. I was able to manage to pack up food, clothing, and tent all on the rear. It made picking up the bike wonky, which I want to fix in the future, but as of now, I really like the way this is built, it handles very well. All the bags are Detours made. The rear rack is a Tubus Vega (light durable, great). I carry my water in my bottlecages along with hydration bladders buried away, the Klean Kanteen didn't really work as it held coffee flavors that's going to get axed for a lightweight camp mug (or a smaller Klean Kanteen for camp and carrying ice/ice cream to camp!) and put another waterbottle in the cage, that is if I don't have a framebag by then. I also have a Topeak Morph Mini pump pictured here, it broke on tour, but I prefer it to the Planet Bike one I replaced it with. I also carried an REI Flashpack to add some room and take weight off the bags/racks/bike, not ideal on the back, but it was real handy (until a bear tore it in two).

Clothing

Riding clothes.

Camp clothes.

Clothing is usually the bulkiest, but not the heaviest, but it is easy to go overboard on clothing. What I have here might actually be too much. The top is my riding gear, the bottom is camp gear. My riding gear consists of Novarra cycle shorts ($10 at Used Gear Sale!), cheap falling apart Nashbar rain jacket, Canari jersey (looks good, works), cycle shorts (probably cut these next), Ex-Officio boxers (GREAT purchase, dry quickly, hold no smell), gloves, Smart Wool hat, Goodwill merino sweater (5 bucks, why pay more?), Novarra leg warmers, and my North Coast Brewery cycle cap.

My camp clothes consist of a casual t (might get axed for another jersey instead), Smart Wool baselayer (comfortable and can be used when it gets real cold), Smart Wool leggings (pack small retain heat, also good for riding, might go with this or the legwarmers next time, not both), and gym shorts (want to replace with quicker drying active shorts). I wore Salomon water shoes on this tour, I liked them for their quick drying, ability to be worn without socks, and breathability, but I'm not 100 percent sold on them as the go to touring sneaker yet.

Camp Gear

Sleeping

Eating

Camp gear is where weight can really be saved. Sleepwise I've upgraded to a 45 degree LaFuma bag, good for summer, but even on some nights I found myself chilly, probably need another bag to compensate when I'm not doing hot parts of the world. Sierra Designs LightYear One tent, works, but can be tight and the front entrance is awkward, still looking at a Tarptent or Six Moon Design solution possibly. Nemo Zor sleeping pad, comfortable, warm, works.

Cook kit consists of; Trangia alcohol stove, I'm still unhappy with flame control, but alcohol is the way to go (the stove is the one included with it and the alcohol is obvious). Sea to Summit collapsible bowl, great for cutting board and easy to clean, like it. GSI Ultralight cofffee maker, bought this one because I lost the bigger plastic version of this, but I'm glad I did, no filters needed, easy to clean, and makes delicious coffee (downside to it is only one at a time, while the other could make three or four cups). Sea to Summit Ti spork, easy to store, easy to clean, useful. I also have a handkerchief and a gross looking cleaning pad in the shot. I also carried a Platypus 2+ L hydration pack, which gave me plenty of water over the night and into the morning, I even had a cheap free one I got in a giveaway, but if I go to one water bottle next tour I'll get a second Platypus I think.

Tools and Toiletries

I put these in the same shot, mostly because they were small and both fit in the same pockets on opposite sides of the bike. The tools consist of the basic Crank Brothers multitool, spare tube, tire levers, patchkit, and spare chain (with spare quicklinks). The things that aren't standards that I really like is my Leatherman Skeletool, great camp tool and easy to have on my belt loop. Anti theft skewer tool on my keychain, it's probably unnecessary, but zero weight for added security? Sounds good to me. Hypercracker, that's a great tool, I can pull off my Shimano cassette to change rear spokes on my bike (spokes not shown because I brought the wrong size spokes with me, d'oh!). Electrical tape, duct tape (wrapped around a pencil), handkerchief, chain lube, and zipties finish off the tool list.

Toiletries are easy to cut, but sometimes are just needed. Sunscreen, Dr. Brommers, toothbrush, toothpaste, floss (good for sewing too, if I remembered my needles!), moist towellettes (my tentmate on the Inca Trail had this great tip for feeling clean on the trail), ibuprofen helped me cure a hangover, and the Band-Aids were to solve my busted thumb. Also in this pic is an emergency blanket, just in case.

Electronics/Misc

Electronics is definitely the things that I carry for comfort. Starting in the top right is my MP3 player that my good friend Eric loaded up for me last summer with some great Americana tunes for riding across the country, it's attached to an X-Mini capsule speaker, good sound for small weight. GPS Etrex 20 was the greatest addition to my kit, it helped me get off the highways and really found amazing things. Steripen helped me carry less water if I saw I would be traveling next to water (which happened frequently on this trip). Gorilla pod camera stand, with camera case, as of now I just have a cheap Fujifilm Point and Shoot, hope to upgrade this winter. The headlamp was a great addition too, don't know why I didn't think to have that last summer, but it makes camp life easier and can be used for nightriding when necessary. The top bag is my chargers, next to it is a AA battery charger for my headlamp and GPS. I carried my laptop this time, but it's really what's going to hold me back from going lighter in the future, it helped a ton, but I'm thinking of going with a tablet next to also replace what's under my laptop, my Kindle, which has been great for carrying, but I also like real books, which is why Cadillac Desert is in the shot (great book too). The final bag is my notebook and pens and pencils, I'm trying to write and sketch more and my little Moleskin is great for it. Oh and I do carry a U-lock, because if you know my story from last summer you'd know why I carry it.

That's the gist of it. It's always a work in progress making things better and lighter.

The List (bold are things I really like and recommend, *s are things on their way out)

• Bags
• Detours D2R Handlebar Bag
• Detours D2R Large Panniers
• Detours Wedgie
• OR Stuff Sack
• REI Flashpack (not picture)
• Clothing
• Canari Jersey
• Peral Izumi Cycle Shorts*
• Novarra Casual Cycle Shorts
• Ex Officio Boxers
• Nashbar Rain Jacket*
• Novarra Leg Warmers
• REI pack towel (not picture)
• North Coast Brewery Cycle Hat
• Smart Wool Cap
• Gloves
• Goodwill Merino Wool Sweater
• Casual T (Broken Rim Records for pop punk fans)*
• Smart Wool long sleeve baselayer.
• Smart Wool leggings.
• Casual shorts*
• Salomon Water Shoes (not pictured)
• Camp
• Sierra Lightyear One
• LaFuma 45 bag.
• Nemo Zor Pad
• Cook
• Trangia backpackers cookit
• Sea to Summit collapsible bowl.
• Sea to Summit ti spork.
• GSI Ultralight Coffee Kit
• Platypus bladder
• Tools
• Crank Brothers Multi 17
• Hypercracker (although goodluck finding it)
• Leatherman Skeletool
• Anti-theft skewer tool (on keys)
• Spare tube.
• Patch kit.
• Tire Levers.
• Spare chain with quicklinks.
• Electrical tape.
• Duct tape.
• Zip ties.
• Emergency Blanket
• Kryptonite Mini U-Lock
• Topeak Morph Mini Pump
• Toiletries
• Dr. Brommers
• Moist Towelettes
• Toothbrush/Paste
• Dental Floss
• Sunscreen
• Painkillers
• Bandaids
• Electronics
• Garmin Etrex 20
• Laptop*
• Kindle*(maybe out depending if I get the tablet)
• MP3 player
• X-Mini
• AA Battery Charger
• Steripen
• Headlamp
• Fujifilm Finepix JX520* with Gorillapod
• Misc.
• Book
• Moleskin with good pens!

"The Future is Unwritten"

Things never seem carefully planned, but instead just happen. Sometimes it feels like there is a movement that sweeps you up til you don't really know where you are going and your best bet is to steer the general course and get swayed as you can. This is the story of bike touring; some people plan every day to a tee, but that is rare, because there are so many x-factors in cycle touring, from mechanicals to weather to sickness. Things just happen and the direction is the only thing that may be deliberate. And sometimes this is how life happens.

Two weeks from now I'll be living without a roof for another summer. Not necessarily strictly bike touring, but two bike tours will sandwich my summer plans; that being a camp counselor at Camp Mendocino, run by Boys and Girls Club of San Francisco. This will be an interesting summer of outdoor adventuring.

The adventure doesn't end camp, but only continues from there as I'll have Aug 11th - Aug 31st before I can come back to my apartment. That's 20 days on the road. Where to go is the question and that's what makes this tour so nice is that there is no destination but only time. The only destination after camp will be to Auburn CA on August 31st for the California Sierra Trail Race.

Now, I'm not much of a racer, but am very much competitive with myself (as the Nifty Ten Fifty can attest to). The CSTR is an endurance trail race, similar to the Tour Divide (which there is a great documentary about this race encapsulating the loneliness of cycle touring very well) or the Stagecoach 400. These races interest me in there challenge of both the physicality of cycling, the mental struggle of pushing over barriers, the smarts of time/body management, and then of course the cleverness in camping on a race like this. The CSTR is one of the newer of these races (currently in its infancy), this I think is partially what draws me to it, and the fact that most people who have done these trails say they are beautiful and not super tough. This will be my first adventure in lightweight bikepacking and off roading (yes I am taking the X-Check, changes coming).

New gear...changes coming.

So here is the rough tentative schedule:

June 1st - June 11th: Tour to Fort Bragg (stops? Not sure, just exploring the Sonoma County backroads seems fun)

June 11th - August 11th: Camp!

August 11th - August 31st: Tour around (might go North, might stretch out to NV, who knows).

August 31st: California Sierra Trail Race.

So two more weeks and the adventure begins. I'm currently building up my kit to get back on the road. Sometimes you don't have to look for adventure, sometimes it finds you.

Marathon Mondial Review

Lately, I've been obsessed with fat tire bikes.The thought of floating over snow has me dreaming of the Buffalo winter's I ran away from. If I had stayed there, I most certainly would have gotten one. Here on the coast of California, snow is not an issue. This dream of popping over snow was partly why I left for Buffalo in December to ride along the Erie Canal.

Urban tires at UN Plaza.

With snow in the forecast for me I needed tires that could handle the snow; the only name that came to mind was Schwalbe. Schwalbe is known for two reasons, one is their winter tires (specifically studded tires) and the other is their touring tires. I rode their touring tires across the country and loved them, then being foiled by Continental's afterwards (a mess of constant flats). With previous positive experience and a push towards snowy markets I went with the Marathon Mondial's topping out what my bike would allow at 40mm with fenders.

Rumbling on dirt.

Adding the extra 12 mm around the whole tire meant these were a little tougher to get going, but that lack of speed was worth it. The wider base meant lower pressure and lower pressure meant going over whatever I wanted. This meant that the short cut over the median was no big deal. The treads on these tires also gave me more possibilities. I never went super technical on these tires, only hitting single track really once, but given the bike I was on, the tires fared well on soil. I'm not saying I would take it down Cinderella Trail, but fire roads felt as good as pavement, and even a little more technical was not a downer.

At $40 a pop, they are not exactly cheap, so durability is definitely a plus on these. On my previous pair of Marathon's I wore them out to the tread every time, never having any blowouts, they were solid and reliable. The Mondial's on the other hand didn't turn out so well. About three months into these tire, admittedly giving them some rough terrain, the sidewall of the rear tire blew out. It was unexpected and unfortunate.

The end.

While I never truly got to test them on snow, I'd say for an aggressive urban commuter or a casual off roader, these tires are worth the investment. They make curb hopping or potholes much easier to deal with and grip very well around tight bends. Off-roading was a blast on these, not super comfortable, but manageable, and despite their final blowout, they were very puncture resistant. If I had to cross the country again, I'd consider taking these so that I could get off the Interstates and into the forests, maybe next time!

Review: Detours Sodo Handlebar Bag

Since my last tour, I've been working to downsize my kit. Being that it was my first tour, going out with fully loaded panniers, carrying everything including the kitchen sink, wasn't really all that bad (the guys who helped me out in Medford, OR made fun of how much I had). Now, with that first tour experience under my belt, it's not okay to just have huge bags to throw everything into. The first step in shrinking my touring bike was to find a decent handlebar bag that was bigger than my little Jandd I had for the previous tour (in hopes of losing the front panniers).

In my hunt for the right bag it started to become apparent that bag makers make handlebar bags in two different styles and two different prices; the first being randoneurring bags. Usually made from canvas or a similar materials these bags have class, but that class comes at a price, it was hard to find any of these bags within my price range. The second were utility handlebar bags, big huge waterproof bags made of nylon that looked, well, very unclassy. Then I came across Detours, a Portland based bag company. The first thing I noticed is their lower prices compared to most bag prices. With the Sodo pricing at $78 does this price come at a discount of quality?

Mounted on the Surly.

First thing I noticed about the Sodo was that it was not as big as I was hoping. I was expecting a huge Ortlieb or Arkel style handlebar bag, but once putting the bag on the handlebars, I was glad it wasn't. The bag looks real good on the handlebars, it's not bulking out beyond the drops. That doesn't mean it's small either. I was able to stuff in several notebooks, some Cliff Bars, my electronics and still had plenty of room. The thing I really like about this bag though is that is that it was designed with organization in mind. My Jandd bag was basically a bag to throw everything in, making it so when I needed something I had to dig through everything to get to it, the Sodo has various pockets, pen holders, and two separate zippable sections, making finding things a breeze. Then add on top of that the top has a waterproof map case (a must in my bag search), the Detours seemed to be made for disorganized people like me. The bag comes with a quick attach system making it easy to take and go (also with a shoulder strap too), perfect for valuables on tour.

Lots of room and organized too!

The bag itself is not waterproof, but underneath the bag is another zippered pocket with a waterproof cover that has it's own convenient carrying case (and clip to help you even more not to lose it). The only strange thing about this is having the waterproof map case, the cover seems to cover the map case when trying to use the waterproof cover. It's possible to make it work, but would involve not clipping closed the map case. The other thing that I was not crazy about, but this could also come from my lack of having a real handlebar bag is how close the bag is to the actual handlebars, making sticking my hands on the top of the bars a little tight, doable, but not ideal.

A tad tight, but workable.

These drawbacks don't take away from the utility of this bag. A touring bag with the class of a rando bag at a competitive price, I think this is a good way to go.