I guess I'm the opposite of most on here.  I don't remember ever going on a ride without a pack and I think I would always feel like something's missing if I did.  This may sound dumb and I'm sure most of you are much better riders that me but there have been countless times I've crashed and landed hard on my back on sharp rocks, logs and everything eles.  My trusty pack has always taken the brunt of those great landings for me! So for me I will always ride with a pack!

Man I would love to have the time for the adventures you have!  Great stuff!

I started the CTR with some kind of minor chest issue this year and by the end of day the I had to drop.  Found out it had advanced to bronchitis and my doc said if I would have pushed it much more I might have ended up with permanent chest issue. 

I have the Jerry Can instead of the Gas Tank. 

Thomas wolf here.  I made my way to lake city last night and I'm calling it.  Found out my lack of breathing from the start was due to an awesome chest infection that showed itself Mon night in silverton.  Finished stony pAss segment but had to walk anything that was't downhill.  Throat and chest are trashed. Was a great experience and I'll be back next year!

Well, it's official from the Doc that Bronchitis was my undoing out there... Awesome job to everyone that has finished and to the folks still pushing on! 

Thomas Wolf here.  I made my way to lake city and am out of the race.  My shortness of breath and lack of energy finally revealed itself Mon night by way of an awesome chest infection.  Thought i would get some sleep and try one more day but I couldn't ride at all today unless I was pointed downhill and I've been hacking up nasty stuff all day.  Good luck to the rest of the riders out there!!!

Donated $100 this year.  Well worth it for the quality of the trail!

All Gone...

Anyone have an idea on where to get the gpx file for this?

Pm Sent

Nope, a track is just a line on your GPS. Doesn't matter what way you're going.

Anyone here using the Wingnut Adventure pack or the Camelbak Octane 22 LR?  I've never had a lumbar pack so I'm wondering if they are actually worth anything.  Almost seems to me like hiking with one would be a bit strange?  My 2 standard packs are the Osprey talon 22 and the Gregory Miwok 22.

Yep, after much deliberation and research I did go with a 32 spoke wheelset.  Ended up going with the I9 Torch hub with their Enduro rim.  From the reviews online I will never have to worry about that combo and that's exactly what I wanted.

Hello,
I'm having the good ole internal debate about a wheel set. I've done several bike packing trips/races and tons of endurance rides so i'm not new to the sport.

I'm looking at the 2013 mavic crossmax st 29 wheels for my bike.  Compared to most higher end wheels they are relatively cheap and I've heard nothing but but good things about the new its-4 hubs.  Every crossmax wheel set I've had in the past has been phenomenal.

One of the things I'm really interested in is the fact that the spokes do not actually enter the inside of the rim so if I was to shear a spoke it would not shoot in through my rim tape and turn into a gaping hole with stans everywhere. I've dealt with this before. Fixing a flat on the trail is one thing but trying to get my rim cleaned and dry enough to patch the hole in the rim strip/tape is a pain.  I know I could just throw a tube in there but I'm looking to avoid the issue all together.  I know the spokes are proprietary but I will carry a couple with me since they weigh next to nothing. 

Any thoughts?

Right on... Thanks for the info!

Anyone know when the 5th edition will actually be available?  I can't find a 4th edition and the 5th isn't out yet so I'm kind of SOL for the time being!

I've got an eVENT jacket from REI.  So far I've had great luck with it.  Like Matt Schiff said there are tons of great jackets out there now so it all depends of what fits you and the weight you're willing to carry.  My rain jacket is one place I will not skimp on.  If you're soaked in the mountains your most likely freezing and that will ruin a good time for sure!

These don't exactly match your criteria and they are expensive but I use the Lupine Piko light for all my rides. I have the older 500 lumen version.  They will run for 50 hours on the low setting with a 7.4v 2600mah battery.  The batteries weigh next to nothing so I carry a few spares.  I have no problems riding on the low setting so they work great for me and I like the ability to have the 500 lumens if I think I need it. I do carry a headlamp and a fenix ld20 for backup if I run out of juice.  I'm also not a weight weenie as you can tell.

I'm have a macbook pro and I'm using the Parallels VM program with windows XP...  Topofusion pro runs great for me!  If your computer has enough juice to run it I would highly suggest it...  

Makes sense about the trail crossing itself... All kinds of things get confusing when your sleep deprived!  I deleted the simplified file before adding the split files?  Who knows, maybe it didn't delete or something?