Taken off a bike I bought before they were ridden, 26 x 4.8", 120tpi, folding. I just like a different tire set up for my local trails. $150 for the pair, free shipping US only

you got me thinking about this route, I did a lot of pavement riding down that way in 2004 after starting from Seattle on a 3 month ride. It is indeed a beautiful part of the country. I found this on Crazy Guy...

http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/categories/?o=RrzKj&category_id=311&doctype=journal

hope these journals help, I'm going to have a look at them and maybe plan to do it next fall

That's assuming that the type of person who would heckle you for wearing lycra would even recognize a Union Jack as coming from somewhere other than Dakadakastan!

That's assuming that the type of person who would heckle you for wearing lycra would even recognize a Union Jack as coming from somewhere other than Dakadakastan!

Sat outside the gas station in Lima Montana on my solo tour last year, a bloke comes up to me and after seeing the Union Jack patch sewn to my pannier asks "Are you from Canada?". He never mentioned my lycra.

try Pearl Izumi x-alp shoes, they make several models, I've used the Seek model a lot. They are very comfortable,  really easy to walk in and you can use one pair of shoes for everything. Drawbacks... they are pretty heavy and during a long day with lots of pedalling they can start to cause hot spots because there's not a lot of stiffness around the cleat area. PI's top model in this shoe comes with a carbon plate around the cleat which is supposed to solve this problem but I haven't tried those yet.

Another option would be to buy a pair of foam flip-flops from Walmart for $4, they are really light and it feels great to get your shoes off at the end of the day.

2 x 30L should be fine, you may have to strap some stuff to the top of the rack...tent, pad. I used 2 x 27L on the rear rack for the GDMBR with a 10L stuff sack on top of the front rack to balance the weight a bit. Without food one of the panniers was almost empty.

I use Tyvek with the ends folded over a few inches and taped like a pocket so my pad doesn't slide off. It fits my Big Agnes 20" x 78"  Air Core pad perfectly, weighs 3oz and rolls up to the size of a soda can. If you go to a construction site or anywhere you see someone working on a house they usually have cut-offs or leftovers they don't mind giving away or trading for some beer money. I once got two roll ends of about 40x4ft and 40x3ft for $10, that was enough to make a tarp, bivvy and 2 groundsheets with some leftover.

I also carry a small piece to use as a tire boot or for repairs if I ever need it. It can also be sliced up into strips and use instead of zip ties, the list is endless, I love me some Tyvek.

Don't know if this needs to be said but it won't hurt. 0.75 miles after Gudy's lookout on Segment 28, the final descent into Durango, there's a tree across the trail. Normally it's not a big deal but it's coming out of a left hand bend and the 2' diameter tree is snapped in half with one end at head height...dangerous if riding at night and looking down at the trail. Be careful!

1 pair of padded bibs, Dr Naylor's Udder Balm and baby wipes, antiseptic cream while sleeping, up to 4 days between washing shorts and showering. No sores

Udder Balm is about $10 for a 9oz can and is intended for cows with sore, infected or just plain nasty udders, or teats. 'Animal use Only' probably just means it hasn't been tested on humans, I hope. It works fantastic for me, slap a bit on in the morning and it'll last 5 or 6 hours of actual sitting in the saddle. The antiseptic properties reduce the chance of infection by stopping those evil bacteria from growing. It's better than any of the expensive chamois creams or butters I used to try.

Only problem I've found is when it gets really cold outside this stuff gets really thick but leave it on your finger for a while and it'll loosen up.

If your local bike shop doesn't sell it I'm not sure where you'd get it. My friends always stock up when they visit.

3m clear bra..it's the stuff they put on the front of cars to stop stone chips. Go to your nearest window tinting place and they should have some off-cuts they can give you or sell you. Cut it into the desired shapes/sizes and stick to your cleaned frame where the bags make contact.

Or by an anodized frame.

another option for the reinforcements is from Target, I bought some dinner place mats for $1.99 each that are 14" x 18". It's the closest I could find to what I was looking for, I glued 2 pieces together for the top and bottom sections of my seatbag and it worked a treat. Pics to follow.

I used this...

http://www.questoutfitters.com/coated.html#OXFORD 

part #1013. It is pretty thin but seems tough. It's light though, really easy to work with and how long do you need your bags to last anyway? I think I'll change my bike AGAIN before the bags fail! I cut up an old pannier for the tougher material needed at contact points under the seat, bars etc. If you are going to order material, try and work out all the webbing, velcro, clip supplies you'll need and order those too, they are a hell of a lot cheaper than I can find anywhere in town, sometimes $1 cheaper for a fastener!

I got 3 yards and made a big saddlebag, a framebag, a gas tank and a handlebar bag. I have probably used less than half the material but I have plans to do other stuff, refine my original designs and make some for friends, I'm hooked!

Thanks for the advice!

do this type of saddlebag swing around a lot? I'm in the process of making some bags and was just wondering?

PM sent

Thank you all for these absolute Gems of info. Good luck all of you LUCKY enough to race this year. After touring the route last year I have a hankering to come back and "race" it! Thanks again for all of the valuable info.
Needed to comment to get notification of new posts :-)
Cheers, Scott

Scott, did I meet you and Jo on your first day on the dam...it was my last day riding in to Banff?

i bet the connector is cleanable as a northbounder?

 

I have a Bob and racks and both have their benefits and drawbacks. I rode the Divide route plus sidetrips this summer and used Old Man Mountain Racks, I had zero bike issues or rack issues, heck I didn't even get a flat in ~4000 miles. The racks were bomber and the bike handled fantastic, I only had to walk two little uphill sections on the whole route (Fleecer Ridge and a tiny section of the Lava Mountain Trail) which were unrideable even without a load, I rode everything else and some of it is techy or steep, I hit 53mph on a downhill and rode it like a mountain bike all the time. I saw lots of trailers being used by other folks but also lots of triple tire tracks with footprints next to them when the climbs got steep or techy. I wouldn't hesitate for a second to recommend the racks to anyone who needs to carry a lot of stuff, I had my clothes, food, cooking gear and 11 litres of water on my rear rack for the Great Divide Basin and still no problems.
 When I use the trailer, mainly for groceries, it's always noticeable... I have to slow right down for kerbs and steps (down as well as up) otherwise it bounces a lot and stuff gets bent, it's less stable at high speed than racks and panniers but it's so convenient to throw stuff in there, especially big packs of loo roll, boxes of cereal etc, even other bikes! The Bob is really easy to attach and remove and switch to many bikes, I just keep a Bob QR in each bike and it takes a minute tops, whereas the racks need tools and take a lot longer.
You can't go wrong either way but if the raft and kit is bulky and you don't mind riding a bit slower go for the Bob.

truing the rear wheel could be a pain in the ass...it looks like you'd have to remove the wheel then the skewer to use the spoke wrench but in an emergency it's better than nothing

sold

ship the bike in two boxes, one for the frame and parts, the other for the wheels. It's easier/safer to carry and actually way cheaper than one big box because it's the same weight but neither box is oversized, the frames doesn't get scratched by the wheels when the carrier inevitably drops/throws the bike and the wheels don't get damaged by the parts. or the weight of the frame laying on them(with another 30 parcels piled on top!)

I shipped a bike last week, UPS, just enterring the weight gave a price of $26, I put the dimensions of a bike box in and the rate went up to $96(with company discount!). I used 2 smaller boxes and it was only $38 for both.