Introduction Thread

[gbach]

Hi all, I've been lurking here way too long; so first of all I've got to thank Scott for the grand idea of this site.  The vibe here is one of true inspiration.  I'm Greg Bachman, raced road, track, and mtb amateur and pro for a couple of decades back east, I can't go fast anymore. I've raced a bit overseas.  I've worked on a doctoral in biomechanics, and have 2 degrees in exercise physiology.  Love to go from geeking out on equipment (the limited amount I can afford) to riding just about any kind of bike or ride (bikepacking, brevets, track...) as much as I can.  I also run ultras, well no 100's till next year with the goal being Leadman on a ss.  Live in Silverthorne, CO -- yep, right on the Divide Route, so the desire to attempt is ever so growing.  I ride mostly 29er ss rigid, but have been messing around with a 2-speed KM for things like the CTR (since I'm looking at 50 years of age soon).  See you out there!

[phil_rad]

Hi Greg!

Welcome! I agree with you that this is a great forum.  I've gotten lots of info here for the TD that I will be doing this summer.
Maybe I'll see you there.
 
Happy trails!

Phil

[daveB]

After a year or so of lurking, its about time for my introduction.

Dave Blumenthal
Montpelier, Vermont

I grew up day/section hiking the Appalachian Trail, and have by now done about 900 miles.  A few years ago I polished off the New England Hundred Highest, a peakbagging list of notable and distinctly not notable peaks in VT, NH, and ME.  I'm steadily working on the same as winter ascents.  In 2000 I solo end-to-end hiked the Long Trail in Vermont (270 miles).  In 2004 my wife, Lexi, and I thru-hiked the PCT in a disaster-free and ordinary 5 months.   http://www.studiozoic.com/adventures/2004/pct/index.htm 


On Donahue Pass, PCT, High Sierras

Since coming to Vermont 10 years ago, I've taken up cross country skiing, and am a devotee of the Canadian Ski Marathon, a ~165km 2-day event between Montreal and Ottawa.  This year I'll be doing Couerer de Bois D'Or for the 4th time.  For that you pack overnight gear and camp out Saturday night.


Sunset at the CSM

I had previously done centuries, the VT50, and whatnot, but in 2009 ramped up my cycling with a series of longer rides:
Fleche New England (255 miles in 24 hours)
Champlain 300K http://www.studiozoic.com/adventures/2009/champlain300k/index.htm
ACA's Green Mountain Loop (362 miles in 2 1/2 days) http://www.studiozoic.com/adventures/2009/gml/index.htm

For that ride I shifted my familiar ultralight backpacking gear to the bike with a Carousel Design Works seat bag and some homemade stuff.


Groundshine and I began to scout a ~600 mile dirt loop in Vermont.  http://xvtmbr.pbworks.com/
It will probably take another year or two for the trouble spots to get ironed out, but its great fun to explore on this scale so close to home.


Tour Divide for 2010. 

Trip reports always at http://www.studiozoic.com/adventures/
Thanks for a great forum.

Dave

[phil_rad]

Hi Dave,
Nice write up. Sounds like your an a experienced long distant cyclist and outdoorsman. I like the Niner, I have a SIR9.
I'm also doing the TD this year.
Look forward to meeting you in Banff this June.

Happy Training!

Phil

[Milo]

Hi, I'm Milo and I think this is a fantastic idea! I've been thinking about doing something similar for ages, but haven't found an outlet for questions since I'm new to this, so I'm hoping being here can help me out a bit.

[GreenBikeGuy]

Hello, all:

I'm GreenBikeGuy, a life-long cyclist AND lover of nature, who didn't think until about 6 months ago that putting the 2 together might be a good idea!  (Living in Texas, I allowed myself to get distracted by the prospect of learning to ride a horse.)  And having decided to explore the outdoors from 2 wheels (the only mode of transportation that I ever seemed truly good at), I'm naturally pleased to find a site/forum that emphasizes it!  For until now, I only seemed to be able to get my info in bits & pieces.

Now, I'm not a complete novice: more than 15 years ago, at 19, I went on a 3-week bikepacking trip (as part of a college class, if you can believe it).  We traversed the peaks and valleys of Colorado on steel-framed, 21-speed rigids, with thumb shifters and rear panniers only!  It's been a while, though, and my beloved hybrid bike, so faithful in the city, clearly won't do for the trail.

I anticipate a lot of long-distance WilderTrekking, and some bike-mounted hunting, as well.  This will necessitate panniers, and probably front- AND rear racks (I'm looking at Old Man Mountain), and maybe even a trailer, from time to time.  I also have a bit of an aesthetic taste for a very old-timey look, inspired in no small part by these guys (whom JCruz, I see, was kind enough to highlight, as well):







That's a pretty tall order, I'm sure.

My most recent experience, trying out the latest models, took me to REI and some local bike shops, where I tried out various 26- and 29-inch bikes, both with disc brakes and without, attempting to adapt the sport-oriented designs of today's market for my preferred emphasis on EXPLORATION.  While I'm not totally sold on 29ers or discs for the light riding I was doing in the store parking lot, I'm prepared to consider them for more "heavy-duty" purposes, along with fat-tire bikes like the Pugsley, and even stranger options.  I definitely prefer steel, and springs are a good thing.

I'm looking forward to exchanging ideas with all of you, as I prepare to take my first pedal-strokes onto the trail since Kurt Cobain was still alive!

[sherpaxc]

Welcome!   There are several of us from Texas on these here boards...

[bmike-vt]

... and some bike-mounted hunting, as well. 

[GreenBikeGuy]

That, I think, merited the use of a trailer......

[mtbikernate]

Howdy, everybody.

The name's Nate.  I'm 29 at the moment, and I float around the interwebs mostly with the same screen name, but in a few places I have a different one.

I've been mountain biking for about 11yrs now.  I enjoyed riding a bike long before that, but I didn't get a decent bike until I could buy one myself when I got my first job in high school.

I've loved the idea of camping with my bike for awhile, but I've lacked both sufficient lightweight camping gear and adequate trails nearby to use.  I've got the camping gear (primarily for backpacking), and now that I live in E. TX, I've found a few trails relatively close by where I could get out.  And since I'm recovering from a battle with cancer in 09, I have extra motivation to get out and ride.

[Pivvay]

Welcome Nate. Congrats on recovering (my pops is too and he lives in Dallas area) and hope you get out bikepacking soon. There are some good threads on cheap ultralight at backpackinglight.com

[mtbikernate]

Oh, I'm not concerned about gear anymore.  I have a good setup nowadays, and I'm playing with an ENO hammock this spring.

[IanB]

Hi,

My name's Ian, I'm a thirty-something mountain biker from Wales, UK. I got in to mountain biking about 19 years ago to do some off road cycle touring (as it was known back then). I had numerous excursions in Wales and the Lake District during the early nineties before turning my attention to navigation events with a camping element, known here as the Polaris Challenge. University came and went (degree in Forestry), I got married, got into endurance racing, 24hr races and then 24hr solo's. I'm just coming back into more regular riding after taking some time out from racing while we raise our first boy, who's nearly two.

The Polaris Challenge events are interesting, and of course fun, with navigation against the clock, but they have a mandatory kit list which includes things that seem to be missing from some kits lists I see here; like stove and tent. Anyway, the challenge is always to keep the weight as low as possible without compromising function, which fits with the ethos of much of what I read here. I currently cram all my gear into a tiny 20 litre backpack that weighs about 4kg (9lbs) without water. I'm looking at (my wife) making me a  frame pack at the moment to redistribute weight from me to the bike. She say's she'll only do it if I post a picture of the sewing machine up on here - it's a bit of an antique and you have to wide a wheel round by hand to make the needle go up and down.

Anyway, I digress. I found this site while researching the Tour Divide, which is on my list of things to do. I've found some great tips and inspiration on here so far - hopefully I have something to share in due course too.

I have two bikes - both MTB's. One a 26" wheeled Cotic Soda (titanium hardtail), and a 29er Singular Swift (steel hardtail, rigid fork) which runs in either SS or with a 4 or 5sp range of cogs on the SS rear hub.

Diolch yn fawr,

Ian

[phil_rad]

Welcome IanB! I think this is the right place for you. A lot of good people here, and good info for bikepacking.
Enjoy!

Phil 

[Outsider]

I posted by first message here yesterday and since this site represents the core of my mtb interest, I think it is prudent to introduce myself here.

My name is Peter and I go by the moniker of Outsider here and on MTBR and Yeti on a couple of Scandinavian forums. I also have a bike blog in English at yetirides.blogspot.com. I've been biking all of my life, but most of it has been commuting. Some three years ago I started mountain biking more actively, since I found it to be a very suitable activity after a back injury and got hooked. I commute and ride my mountain bike both winter and summer.

Due to family obligations, I won't go on any month long expeditions anytime soon. My mountain biking consists of pre-work morning rides as well as longer rides, endurance races and some occasional 24H solos events. My intention is to start doing more S24O:s this year and some 2-3 day rides. I see myself more as a nature and outdoors enthusiast than an athlete.

I live in Finland and while I do have lots of trails to ride starting immediately from my back yard, those nice mountain vistas are sadly missing completely.

[elobeck]

Hey all, I'll add another intro. My name is Erik Lobeck and I've been bike touring "heavy" since I was about 20. I grew up in Germany, but have been living in Steamboat Springs, CO for the past 12 years. I started touring light last year when I rolled the tour divide(2009)with "near" success.( Everything went well until Giardia set in in pie town on day 19.) I have a desire to race the route again this year, I daydream about it a lot, but the side effects of wall street gambling has hit my profession hard, and I'm finding I need to reinvent my career somehow. We'll see if this proves too distracting to concentrate on prep. Regardless, I will enjoy using my gear to do short exploratory rides throughout COlorado and Utah. I have ridden a few rides through the alps of Austria, Germany and Switzerland with "heavy" gear and managed quite well. Panniers work well as "bumpers" on tight alpine singletrack. I hope to visit the alps again, and attempt to map out a tour divide style route traversing the alps, perhaps winding up in Italy. That would be a fun event! This is a spectacular website and I love being along like minded individuals. Carry on!

[GreenBikeGuy]

The bulk of my MTBing, to date, was done in Colorado: when they talk about "sunburn over your frostbite," they aren't kidding!

Welcome aboard.

[antoneady]

Hello All

As I've been reading the site for about a month, and as my TN Laser Comp and Neoair mat both arrived today, its time to sign up. I'm a forty-something biker in the UK, although I visit the USA at least once a year (riding in Moab last summer :-). I'll be enjoying a couple of multiday trips over the Easter Holidays (I'm a teacher, so holidays aren't a problem) and hope to do something challenging in the US come summer.

[Cyclesafe]

Rather than light weight to be fast enough to ride out of trouble, I'm much heavier in order to better deal with what can go wrong.  But nobody wants weight "for no reason" and for that I have found the information on this site very useful.

I plan to be on the Great Divide this summer, leaving Banff June 26.  And I'll have a full complement of tools that I'd be happy to loan out.  Hopefully though, when we meet we all will be riding.

http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/directory/?user=Cyclesafe&v=H

Steve

[ISU Colin]

Greetings!

I'm a grad student/camera guy/mtb/gamer/scholar of nerd culture. From and currently residing in Indiana. This site is more or less what I've been looking for. Love the idea of getting lost in the woods on a bike for a few days.

I noticed there's another southern Indiana guy on here posting about riding in the Hoosier National Forest. I'm planning on doing some trips in Hickory Ridge and perhaps linking the southern rec areas with fire roads. Anyhow, glad to be here!

-Colin