It was suggested that we create a place for people to introduce themselves.  I'll make this thread a sticky so it's always there.

I'll start.

I'm Scott Morris and I started bikepacking.net.  I've been riding mountain bikes since I was ~12, more or less daily since 14.  As time went on the rides got longer and longer, until I realized the only limitation was a fundamental one: daylight.

I had some experience backpacking, including working as a wilderness ranger for the Forest Service.  It seemed only natural to try to combine the two.  I did a few bikepacking trips, but they started out heavily loaded:



That pic is from our Great Divide Trip in 2004.  Coincidentally, we ran into Mike Curiak on his way to setting the GDR record at ~16 days.   



Meeting Mike and seeing his minimal kit really opened my eyes.  Suddenly, bikepacking on singletrack seemed like a very real possibility.

Upon returning from the Divide I jumped right into preparations for the next challenge, with help and inspiration from Lee Blackwell.

The Arizona Trail.





Our AZT trip was a roaring success, and the rest has flowed since then.  AZT (R and 300), CT, CDT, GET, GLR, KT, OR.  Alphabet soup, for sure, but each has a wonderful stream of memories and a special meaning to me.

I started this site to combine bikepacking with my interest in computers (I am finishing up a PhD in Computer Science) and to help form a more cohesive bikepacking community. 

Oh, I also am the main author of TopoFusion, GPS software.  And I am Krein on MTBR.

Good idea - I think a sticky might work perfectly for now.  I'm trying to keep the number of forums to a minimum until/if traffic dictates the creation of new forums.

That's a tough one, Amy.  I solve it by way of my backpack.  The Talon 22 has more capacity than I need, even with ~3 days food, so there's room to shove bulky items and eventually trash.

You'd think that if you can haul the food you can haul the trash, but it never seems to workout that way, does it?  Trash does pile up sometimes, and it's nice to have it out of the way.

Both the seatbags made by CDW and Epic Designs (newer designs) have bungee cords on the bottom that *might* work for a trash bag, but you may need that space for some items that were on your rack before.

The handlebars are the next place to look at some kind of system of hanging a trash bag.  If the bag was sufficiently sturdy (not regular grocery style) you could tie it onto the seat bag (looped through one of the straps possibly).

Maybe someone else has some better suggestions...

I think that's a good idea.  Any other thoughts for/against an introduction forum?

First lesson learned, it's easier than you think.
Sometimes the biggest hurdle is simply stepping out the door. 

Right on.  Very true!

Thanks for posting your setup both here and on the main site.

I concur with sean's list, but would add that 29ers win in the "fun" category, too.  And that should be the most important one, right?

29er tires are becoming more available.  Most shops seem to have at least a tire or two, but you won't be able to find one at Ace Hardware for a while...

I would only consider 26" for a long tour outside the US. 

I also made it easier to navigate back to the main site from the forums.

The logo in the upper left always went back to the main site.  Now clicking on the "bikepacking.net" portion of the main title also takes you to the main site.  "forums" goes to the forum.

Also, the "Home" link goes to the main site.

I will be adding components of the main site to the forum page (Trip Reports, Gear Reviews) to make them more accessible as well.

Thanks!

[NOT]

Just a quick note about the fact that there are two different account types on bikepacking.net.

Most people will want a forum account.  You need this to post, but not read, entries on the forum.

If you want to contribute to the main site, (e.g. trip reports, personal bikepacking setups, products to review) you need a wordpress account.  Instructions on contributing to the main site are here.

You don't need any account at all to post a review to an existing product on the Gear Reviews page, or to rate a product from 1 to 5 stars.

Registering for one type of account will NOT register you for the other.  But you can use the same name/password for both if you choose.  Some people will probably only need a forum account.

Sorry about the confusion over this and for making it this way.  I looked into several options at integrating forum and main site accounts, but none were very attractive.

Thanks.

Yep, we'd love to see a pic.  I'd also like to get people's setups organized onto this page:

http://www.bikepacking.net/category/individual_setups/

You can add your own using the instructions here:

http://www.bikepacking.net/how-to-contribute-to-bikepackingnet/

Once it's published there you can still edit to suit, or as things evolve, too.

Nice job.  Congrats on a successful first trip, and thanks for taking us along for the ride.  I like the images of your notes/scribblings from the ride.  A little hard to read, but a glimpse into what was going on in your head during the ride.

I'd also be curious what were your best lessons learned on the trip. 

Thanks for the great post and pics.

Also, any thoughts on Phantom Ranch reservations versus getting the back country permit?

If you're willing to throw a few more dollars at it, it's hard to beat the experience of staying at the cabins at Phantom and joining in on the "family style" dinner.  Since you are this far out I would think you'd be able to get a reservation, but it would lock you into a certain date.

Otherwise, you're probably looking at camping at Cottonwood or Bright Angel, and availability is a lot easier.  Worst case you can show up and beg for a permit.  They always hold a few for special cases, like people arriving on bike...

For anyone that has done Utah to the North Rim,  would you say that two days from Utah to the north rim is a reasonable pace for some office jockeys? Is Jacob lake the logical half way point (read, a meal and supply point).

I think two days is pretty reasonable for you guys.  But Jacob Lake isn't really halfway.  It's ~25 miles from Utah to 89A (road to Jacob Lake).  Then about 50 from there to the North Rim. 

With that said, going south, those first 25 miles will be climbing, and the latter 50 more rolling.  So it might not be a bad way to break it up. 

I have some recollection of an outfit that might shuttle bikes around the
GC. Do any of you have any beta on that outfit?

There are a couple companies that do it.  There's a group of guys from BC doing Utah->Phoenix right now, and they had something set up for shuttle.  I can ask them for the details, or encourage them to jump on here, too.

Hey Scott,

What are the bags next to the stem I've seen on your set-up? Kinda like chalk bags.

Yuri--

They are "mountain feed bags."  See:

http://www.bikepacking.net/2008/09/11/mountain-feed-bag/

I'm rather fond of them, and use 'em even on short rides.  For bikepacking, it's another good way to get some weight off the pack and onto the bike.

Hi,

Sorry for the confusion.

A WordPress account is only needed to add Trip Reports, Products and Personal Bikepacking Setups to the main site.

A forum account is all you need, and you should be able to add images using the "additional options" header below the post area.  If you click there an "Attach" option shows up that allows you to choose images from your computer to upload.  Right now the max attachment size is 500k, so keep images under that.  5 images can be posted per post.

The other way (and how some others have done it so far) is to host images on another site (like Picasa, or Flicker) and use html < img > tags to post html code pointing to them.  This gains the advantage that you can put them inline in a story, instead of at the end.  You can also have as many pictures as you want.

But either way works.

Don't hesitate to ask again if something isn't clear.

Test larger pic limits

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Another image test

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Testing




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It was pointed out that contributors couldn't upload/add images.

Now they can!

Hey Scott,

Links (like my "picture" reference) don't pop out very good with the stock preferences. Is that something you can change site wide? Like make them blue or something?

Blue now.  Thanks for pointing that out.

I agree, I'll see if I can fix that.  Gotta ride right now, tho'.