maybe a set of 27.5 rims/tires for "road riding" is something to look into

How high is the bottom braacket?  Do you have enough room to lower the bike, or will the pedals stike the ground with shoreter tires?

Why not put 29 x 40 or 50 mm road tires on the stock rims, and build up a nice set of wheels to take 27.5 + tires?  Schwalbe makes tubeless road tires.  When you get used to wide tires, you might not want high pressure thin tires any more.

Did you say, have it set up tubeless?  I recommend struggling to  figure out how to set them up tubeless yourself.  Worth the trouble.

Looks like they have a new map service, and reason to spend all your money on a new modern phone.
It says PNT maps will be available for 2018
https://www.pnt.org/pnta/maps/maps-mobile-devices/
http://atlasguides.com/

more baja

If he sleeps less than 7 hours he wakes up with a lead.

How much sleep does a person need so they can ride safely_?

after 9 days he seems to be 14 minutes ahead, if he sleeps less than 6 hours he could wake up on day 10 with a  lead.

High of 78*, partly cloudy, and a tail wind of 5 to 10 mph.

Wonder if he knows about the fresh water spring around route mile 1,324, or a mile or so south of where he next hits the Gulf of California.

This is what he will see when he wakes  up in the morning,

I want to know the same thing?
Forks are made to go up and down.  They are not made to flex front to back.
Will an extra 5 pounds or so cause the fork to ear out to fast?

  Gravel ride/race in Plumas national forest

You got a Plumas route I can click on?

My Fargo has a 2,25 WTB Nine Line on the front, and a 2.1 WTB Nano on the back at this time.  This could be better for less road and more gravel.  The Small Block 8, is good for people who want to get off the road for a while, but have to get back on the road.  Like the Vulpine, the Small Block 8 sucks if it gets wet.

What about next july?

looks like someone has come up with a route
http://crosswashington.weebly.com/the-route.html

Do these 2 routes work together?
http://ridebdr.com/WABDR
http://oregontimbertrail.org/
California is going to be tough to do north to south  
A couple of summers ago, I was able to ride some dirt roads from Klamath Falls
south past Lassen Volcanic National Park.  Then around Plumas it got hard to find north south roads.

If you have something that needs to stay dry, put it in a zip lock bag.


"Does anyone have any experience with top tube bags that are truly waterproof?"

Edit:
Flicker seems to be working for posting photos.  Takes a few tries to figure it out.   No uglyupyourphotosbucket hash mark to look at.


With photobucket on strike and not letting us post links anymore, we need a new way to add photos to our posts.
this is

 was a photo of a waterfall at Palenque. Now it is a commercial advertisement.  I have no plans to pay them $39.95 a month.  So, what is the best way to post photos in our posts?

So the waterfall posted.  Most of the photos I posted in the past   are no longer there.  Figure that out?
We need a new way to post photos.

most of them look like this

I will try to swap out the nophotosbucket for a flicker image.

http://crosswashington.weebly.com/the-route.html
someone mapped a route to help get you started.

Is it the price or reliability that makes people like xt over xtr brakes_

Yea, the last brake thread I read here, a few years ago, they wanted xt brakes.

reliable for races/trips all over the world. My recommendation.

I wont be doing any Racing.  I am thinking of ways to get further away from everyone else.

I was thinking about getting some xtr brakes.  Some guys on the web are saying they broke their xtr brake levers.  What about Magura?  I don't know.

What am I going to do?
I have been reading the ^^Carrying a bike via a backpack^^ thread.  I want to make my bicycle lighter and more reliable so I can get lost in the woods, and carry it without getting ranger Rex all upset, or stressing my poor tired back.  I had a thought about doing an entire trail instead of taking bike detours.  So, I think I will upgrade a couple of parts first.  My two sets of bb7s are eight years old or so. 

So, how light a set of brakes can I get, while still being reliable.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zLfCnGVeL4

I used to know a guy that sold inner tube hand bags at the Saturday market.
Can not find him on the web but I did find the instructions.
http://www.instructables.com/id/STYLISH-INNER-TUBE-PURSE/
and a store
https://www.alchemygoods.com/
and many more...

yes photos

I've had a DSLR for a couple years now and only started bike packing recently so I'm not looking to switch cameras but I am asking if you guys think attaching my camera to my bike would be a bad idea.

My plan is to DIY a purpose built camera to attach to a rear rack on my bike. The pack will be water proof, padded and a snug fit. I will secure it tightly to the rack.

Any Questions, comments or concerns you guys can foresee?

Did you say purpose built camera?  I will guess you mean build your own camera bag.  I suggest you carry your camera on your body.  Back pack. belt pack, pocket.  Why? your body filters out the vibrations and bumps.  The camera will last longer in a back pack than a bike bag.

The top of the rack hits the ground every time the bike hits the ground.  If you must carry it on the bike, make a handlebar bag.  The handlebar bag will come into contact with the ground very few times.   Yes bicycles do tip over, sometimes hard.

The Sony rx 100 series is the best pocket camera you can get.

photo tip:
A bag of rice works as a tripod.  If you eat your rice, there is no weight penalty.
30 sec  f 4

Maybe someone will help me choose a new phone.  Mostly I want to load tracks and follow them.  If a phone has a removable sim card, it can be used in Mexico.  Just get a second card while you are there.  I am still using a gps from 2009.  It could be time for something modern.  My only real interest is using it to down load bike routes on google maps, or some such thing.  I do not know how many giga bites I need or much other tech.