Not sure what's up with Bart Spedden. He crashed yesterday but seemed fine when I talked to him at the 126 crossing.

I scratched.

Somewhere around 20 or so miles into the CT I clipped a pedal, got ejected from my bike, tumbled down a rock embankment and luckily got stopped by a pine tree. I had some scrapes on my leg and face but got back on my bike and kept riding. I didn't have much strength in my right leg, so the going was slow, but I could still ride so I figured it would all be fine. I woke up at 4 this morning and wanted to start to get going. But I had a really hard time with my balance, as in I couldn't stand up and pee. I felt like I was drunk. So, after checking in with the rest of my body I notice that neck was really sore and my head hurt, and my knee was swollen. Having a history of concussions it was an easy decision to pull the plug and ride out to Jefferson.

Good luck to everyone else out there on the trail! Sending lots of good energy your way!

I also wonder a little about over training. Lot's of ultra-running books that I have delve into the topic. The body and mind need time to recover. The way that I have started to think about training is: apply stress + recovery = increased strength and endurance. If I don't allow for adequate recovery, I miss out on the benefits of the stress.  I think my brain works in much the same way too. If my body or brain doesn't seem up to the next training mission, I listen now a days, I used to just keep pushing... pushing... pushing... and would ultimately end up sick or injured. I still get all my training in, but it may not be the normal weekend warrior any more.

Depression sucks. I've had to deal with it at times in my life and lucky seem to have gotten through it ok. I think the inherent emotional highs and lows of endurance efforts exercise the emotional self just as much as they exercise the body. I know it sounds corny, but I try to be gentle with myself. If I don't want to get on my bike, or skis, or running shoes... I don't. I figure I just need some more time to recover. By the time my stoke is back, I'm usually feeling great and my legs want to go go go!

I run sintered (metallic) on the back so I can (if I want/need) drag it going down hills and organic on the front for when I actually need to stop.
I also dislike the feel and noise of sintered pads but for the back they're fine.

I like that idea a lot! I'm considering changing the front rotor from 160mm to 180mm as well. I imagine the larger rotor size would decrease the heat somewhat on the longer descents as well, which might extend the life of the organic front pads.

Generally speaking, I run metallic for my long (xc) stuff and organic(resin) for my short steep (dh) stuff. I have never really considered organic pads for bike packing routes because I have been afraid that they would wear out too quickly.... maybe I am wrong. What say you?

Kind of like what I said?

yep - I forgot about the "+1" notation - my apologies

Regardless of the boot you end up with, if it's really wet all the time, chances are it's going to be quite muddy as well. If that's case I would also consider a pair of light weight waterproof gaiters to keep the water and mud out of the boot.  The gaiter will also help shed water from the uppers.

I've been looking at bivy's for 2 yrs & reading reviews & I'm still torn, seems none are totally without the negative reviews of condensation unless vented which defeats the purpose for me since I want to use one without a tarp. I hope I come across one to try someday that meets my needs without breaking the bank!

Something to consider is a breathable bivy + tarp. With a little creativity + MYOG you could end up with a nice shelter that's lighter then a full protection waterproof/breathable bivy.

Hello TheDudeAbides!

The fact that you found this site means that you're ready for an adventure! I think like a lot of others, when I first started this type of adventure I was carrying a lot of gear, in fact too much gear. Enough gear that it got in the way of actual riding sometimes. But with time and experimentation, my kit weight was come down considerably and I have more fun because I can ride more.

40-45 lbs is a lot of gear and it may prove to be not a lot of fun to haul around. I would start thinking about ways to drop some weight.  You don't have to build a new bike to ride the Kokopelli or us a trailer. If you wanted, you could definitely create a DIY frame bag for your bike. Here's a good post to get you thinking: http://www.bikepacking.net/forum/index.php/topic,5585.0.html

Also, take a look at some other peoples' setups: http://www.bikepacking.net/category/individual_setups/ for ideas about how to loose some weight.

Something to also consider is a 30lbs pack on your back. There's lots of threads on packs and how different peoples' bodies respond to different weights. Here's a recent'ish one: http://www.bikepacking.net/forum/index.php/topic,6056.0.html Personally I found that too much weight on the back does a variety of things that aren't fun, like saddle sores and numb hands. Other people get neck pain. And at that weight there's always the threat of the pack hitting you in the back of the head on a downhill. Other people have no problems at all with a back pack. So, before you hit the Kokopelli, I would figure out how your body responds.

Put your whole kit together and go for a ride on your local trails. You'll learn a lot about what you like and don't like. And then you can start sleuthing the posts here looking for ideas like the rest of us  

Also, as far as the OMM racks are concerned ScottM has put some serious miles on his and says they work on a FS http://www.bikepacking.net/reviews/racks/old-man-mountain-sherpa-rear-rack/

Same here. No poll needed. There's almost always a decent tree and if not (and you brought enough cord and stakes) you can do this:



I choose not to go the route of flipping my bike over because of the way I have my cockpit setup. I would have to take off my gps and light and cyclocomputer.

I've commuted for many years (off and on depending on jobs). Sometimes I've used a mountain bike because there were mostly trails and for me trails = fun. Other times the distance was longer and I used a SS Felt because faster = fun. My point is that I pick the bike that will be the most fun. If you get on a bike almost every day your fitness and endurance will improve. And since your distances are shorter the variance between bikes/routes might be very small.

Instead of which bike/route, I would start to think more about things like, "How long will I be doing this commute?" If the answer is a long time then I would start thinking about how to deal with the tough stuff to keep you riding. Like bad weather, maybe fenders and a some good rain gear? How about dealing with the dark during the winter? There's lots of lighting options out there nowadays. The cold. Getting your commuting clothing dialed in for winter.

The idea here is to keep you on the bike and having fun on the commute. Maybe one day the road bike is calling to you, and the next it's the call of the trails. To quote a rather fun beer maker... "follow your folly".

having never raced the TDR but dreamed of it often...

Clearly starting with everyone at least once is something that seems like a must for me. But I've thought that starting down south makes more sense. You would get through the hotter parts of NM when it's cooler and you would give the northern passes a chance to melt out.

I wonder what the veterans think about this logic?

Since I don't have experience with your bars, my recommendation is merely anecdotal, but...

bending/distorting your shifter housing/cables to the point of impacting your shifting seems like you might want to consider swapping out your housing/cables to route them in such a way that there are always smooth arcs in the housing. Sheldon Brown has a very thorough explanation here: http://sheldonbrown.com/cables.html.

Personally I keep my cables a bit longer so that my bar bag can go inside of them or have the cables lay on top of the bag like this:



Hope that gives you some ideas.

+1 for X-Alp with either the candy or the egg beaters - I used the candy's for years and decided to give the egg beaters a shot. I was concerned that I would feel more of the spindle on the beaters, but it never happened. I recently used the X-Alp/egg beater combo on a 24 hour race without any issues. For me, the benefit of the egg beater is mud clearance since I don't notice any comfort differences between the two pedals using the X-Alp.

The Ergons are leaving my R. thumb  numb. I think the Ergon little fin thing is doing more harm than good on these rocky portions. Or maybe figure out some more hand positions - little pads to put in the middle of the bars for the "road" portions, and maybe bar ends as well?
 

I have the same problems with the ergons and so did my wife. I know lots of folks have good experiences with these grips so I tried many different angles without any success.  I also talked to different people at multiple LBSs, still no luck. So I went back to what worked in the past, which is a set of ODI Rogue's and I put the ergon's on my SS commuter.  I don't seem to have any issues on the SS with the ergon's - who know's for sure, but one idea that I've had is that the top tube on my mtb is longer then my SS causing me to put more pressure on my hands. I carry a couple sections of blue closed cell foam in case my hands ever get too numb so that I can zip-tie/tape them to bars for some relief. Super light, so it's not hard to justify.

As for weight, how much does your gear weigh? Looks like you have a well thought out kit.

Sargents Mesa is haunted.  Just an FYI.

Two years ago I foolishly decided to "camp" in a little nook near the trail head at Sargents Mesa where the CT goes back into the trees. I crashed around 11pm and woke up at 2am so spooked that I decided it was time to get out of there and just started riding. I couldn't help but feeling like I wasn't welcome there and it was time to go. No where else along the trail did I experience anything like that. There's a whole bunch of stones scattered around the memorial up there with phrases in different languages. I promise I will never even consider camping there again. Creep factor high!

Just an FYI - the area around waterton canyon has just been closed due to the lime gulch forest fire:

http://www.dailycamera.com/news/ci_23501754/lime-gulch-fire-prompts-closure-waterton-canyon

I use two different dry bags depending on how much space and durability I want. The larger more durable bag is 20L and smaller lighter weight is 13L. The larger one is a more traditional dry bag material (pvc?) and is quite durable. The smaller one is fraction the weight and is made of ultra-sil nylon and would not likely survive a real crash. I found that I really like the extra weight on the bars when I've got extra weight on the seat post. It seems to help balance the bike out on steep climbs.

I carry my sleeping bag inside of my bivy and stuffed into a small dry bag that straps to my bars. In the dry bag also goes a full length air mattress and tyvek ground sheet. I've used booth down and synthetic and choose based on expected moisture. I find that things pack better when not in their own stuff sacks. Plus you save a little bit of weight by not having the stuff sacks.

I went from 3 to 1 about 4 years ago and have had a good experience. It was a bit a mental jump to be honest. When I first tried it I just removed my front derailleur and big/small chainring and went for a ride. I picked a very techy route to see how I felt. It was a 32T chain ring and I forget the rear, but it was a 9 speed. The chain came off a number of times, but I was hooked. I went out on a smoother loop and felt like a hero after cleaning all the climbs (all small for a total of about 1600'). I kept riding all my normal trails and it all felt new.  Each ride was more fun. I was spending more time riding, less time shifting. I got a straight tooth chain ring and a chain guide, and I stopped dropping my chain. So, when it came time to build up a new bike in 2010 I went 1x10 and still love it!

It is a mental hurdle though, but in the end, I'm not sure what I was so scared of. It's just a hill/mountain. I'm gonna work hard regardless. I did get stronger. But now I don't really care much about how much vert a climb is, I just pick my pace and chug through it.

I would start to ask questions like:
 - Am I a warm or cool sleeper? (warm:quilt cool:mummy)
 - Do I sweat from my feet and legs? (yes:quilt no:mummy)
 - Do I turn at night sleep on my side? (yes: full pads no:klymit)

Not sure what you are thinking about with the sheet or the heat sheet. For me, the sheet is just another 1/2 pound of weight to schelp around. and the heat sheet it florida seems like a swamp fest waiting to happen.

For me (my only camping in Florida is on Big Pine Key and have never camped in Texas) I would go with a full length neoair and a quilt because I don't like my feet hanging off the thick neoair and a quilt allows me to easily adjust temps if I get too hot.