Mike Johnson is forging ahead from Silver City w just over 100 miles left. Hoping he's going to finish it off in one last big push. I can only imagine the mix of exhaustion and excitement that he's experiencing right now.

Been watching since the start. Pulling super hard for my friend and fellow Iowan Mike Johnson to finish this thing off today. It will be a huge task, but I think he's up to it.

Agree with everything said above. If you are in the area, this is a no-brainer to sign up for and attend. As Boney said, the 162 has a smaller field and a mellower vibe. Either event is worth entering.

asthma? + allergies.
i can tell you it sucks, regardless of fitness level.

We just got back from western SD / eastern WY area last week. My wife's allergies went completely ballistic due to something out there (suspecting the pine trees). She's still not back to 100% even tho we've been back nearly a week now.

sorry about the size of those pics, having trouble exporting smaller ones from lightroom

There should be a "image sizing" option in the dialog box if you are using the "export to hard drive" option in LR (at least there is in 3 and 4 on the Mac)

Looks like that was a signal thing too. Back on course.

Appears that Jason Gaikowski's spot tracker is having some issues. Only a couple of points recorded so far.

Payton,

Glad to see you got this done, and good to know that the route is still there and rideable. I'm also happy that all of the stuff that I ketp was worth saving.  Put me down as interested in this for next year.

Steve

The Autumn 2012 edition of Bicycle Quarterly had a huge section comparing all of the major dyno hubs that are currently on the market. Their summary was basically that the Son28 and Son Delux are the best out there from an efficiency and durability standpoint. The SP-Dynamo PV-8 (which I think is the Supernova) appears to be a good alternative, but they did have questions about it's durability since it's a relatively new product. They also said that its resistance is a bit higher than the SON, both when switched on or off. But, higher is maybe around 1 - 1.5 watts depending on speed. There also appeared to be some variability between the three samples of the PV-8 that they tested. The Plug2 should work fine with either dynamo.

Hope this helps.

If it were me, I'd look at one of the many lithium external battery packs on the market. Search for "battery pack" on Amazon and you will find a ton of them. One full charge on one of the medium size ones should easily allow you to recharge your Garmin over the course of 3 days.

Something like this would be good - http://www.amazon.com/PowerGen-PGMPP8400-8400mAh-External-Battery/dp/B0073F92OK/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1362015161&sr=8-8&keywords=battery+pack

Good deal on the dry bag. 30L seems pretty large for the handlebars tho.

I had issues with both of my hands after an attempt at the TransWisconsin in 2010. Mine were shot after 4 days of riding on a bike that I had not done a proper fit on. I had the numbness you're experiencing due to irritation of the ulnar nerve, along with numbness in my other fingers, and a severe loss of feeling and grip strength. I spent the first month after the race having to look at anything I wanted to hold to make sure I was actually gripping it. We won't get into the other issues that crop up when this happens to your dominant hand

The only thing that really heals nerve damage is time, and depending on the level of damage, the healing is slow. I ended up having thoracic outlet syndrome, and used a combination of massage, accupuncture and time off the bike to heal up. I've since had a proper fit done on my Fargo and mounted a set of aero bars for an additional hand position and I have not had any issues since.

I've had good luck with the cheap sunshade when sleeping on the ground. No reason to think that it won't work well in the hammock, as long as you can stay on top of it. It's also nice and light.

Hit him up through his contact page. He can tell you what lead times are, etc.

Must be a hell of a battery. You might need to go with something custom, or modify an existing bag and add a second zipper so that it opens like a panel. I had Scott Felter at Porcelain rocket build one for me and it's handy for loading, unloading.

http://www.porcelainrocket.com/products/frame-packs/panel-loader-frame-pack/

Steve

I did 10 days on my Fargo riding pavement and some gravel using a Porcelain rocket frame bag, seat bag, and a couple of 5L dry bags on the fork. I kept riding clothes in one 5L dry sack, and "street clothes" in the other. Tarp, sleeping bag, and bivy in the seat bag. Stove, and other things in the frame bag. I hit a laundromat about every 3rd or 4th day for 10 days. No issues with banging my knees on my frame bag when climbing out of the saddle or riding hard tempo in the seat. I could eliminate the dry bags, move some stuff around and use something like the Revelate Sling for carrying stuff on the bars if I wanted to.

bmike-vt's setup is perfect too, as long as you are willing to pare down to what you really need.

I just picked my Wölvhammers up tonight since they arrived at the shop. I tried on two sizes and ended up not going up a size. I felt I had enough space with them at the size I ordered.

JayP - You said you had used a set of Wölvhammer's already. Did you make any adjustments in sizing compared to your regular summer cycling shoe? My LBS has sets coming in, and I took a chance on them being properly warm when using my "true size" based on the marketing interviews. It's not too late for me to change my mind if that's not truly the case.

I've never had an issue with that happening, and my frame bag is built to be a bit wider at the headtube.

With that wider BB, you could maybe think about clearance for the new Surly 3.0" Knard tires. They might be overkill, but depending on where you are going and what you are riding on, they might not be. Of course, that will affect your hub, fork and driveline choices too.