I have done a lot of BikePacking in New Mexico.....

the best near Austin is the area near Ruidoso/ Fort Stanton and the area north of there ....Cody Thurston of the "Bike Shop" is in to BikePacking and is full of info and support.

Cass Gilbert ( While Out Riding.com...Check blogs Carson-Lincoln-Hermits peak)...had a recent (Feb '14) article in the "Mountain Flyer" about Ruidoso and other NM pike pack routes.

The best in NM by far is the area (1)East of Chama (2) north of El Rito (3) west of Tres Piedras.....Look on a map for Canjilon Lakes and Hopewell Lake and the Brazos Cliffs....It is basically a 8,000-9,000-10,000 ft plateau with hundreds of roads ranging from "good" to "fun-ky" to "barely there".....there is a fair amount of good water too. Also there are a couple of tiny towns on the eastern side that are interesting.

Worthy of investigation:.... the area to the north of the Gila Wilderness (not the actual wilderness but the Nat'l Forest to the north).....ALSO.....East of Taos is Angel Fire and the area extending south to Mora and to Las Vegas (NM) is interesting

Tim Nelson   Santa Fe     

 I know Jesse beat the old record......Did Cjell Money (C$) also manage to beat Jay Petervary's record??? It would be an interesting Stat.

Does anyone know Mike Halls new record stats?......14 days 8 hours 5 min (just guessing).....bet that one will stand for quite a while!

Soooooo...... What happen with Craig Stappler??

 I was amazed at his Super Hero performance and I was (and still am) rooting for him .

The Mike Hall vs. Craig Stappler "Battle of the Titans" really made the TDR 2013 interesting.

I think all of us Blue Dot Junkies out here in TDR Fan Land would apprieciate some bit of a story as to what happened to a lengendary racer 

Does anyone have something informative to say about Stappler' Scratch??

I have the Garmin Montana 650.....I bought it for it's extra large screen, figuring that would give me more clue as to where I was. Also considering the longer distance that bike covers versus a hiker.

I am generally happy with the unit but I feel that the Nation Geo mapping software could be better....so...Is there any Gamrin compatible maps that would be better?  Free downloads would be great, but I am willing to pay for the stuff that really works.

ALSO......yesterday I bought a Samsung Galaxy Note II ....I heard the Gaia GPS App is good....Any Others???

ALSO.....On my Laptop I have Garmin BaseCamp & National Geo Topos....I notice a few people use TopoFusion....Any others?


Tim Nelson   Santa Fe

I Tinker with my Bike a lot and invent new ways to strap things on.....Many times I use steel Hose Clamp to fasten extra water bottles to my frames down tube and Salsa Anything racks to the forks and have experimented with homemade front racks that are clamped to the frame.....I must confess to scratching my paint a bit....So, for me the Carbon is not a good choice, Steel or Ti is best for my abusive ways.

Tim Nelson   Santa Fe

After reading the Thread.....I agree about a pistol just turbo pissing a bear....I have heard from backcountry experts that Bear Spray is plenty effective.....I share the same fear of Drunken Rednecks, but I figure the Bear spray will work pretty good on them too (and probably with less legal side effects the shooting someone).....Where I live, fireworks are legal, so, I have pondered carrying a pack or two of firecrackers to scare away the persistent Raccoon for good....I have never followed up on the idea though.

Tim Nelson    Santa Fe

It is still an "Exteme Dream" probably not this year maybe next.

I talk it up as a very cool Colorado month long "Ski area to Ski area" stage race that would be awesome fun  plus a financial boost if 100 racers plus their supporting families were having to stay/eat/ party in each host town

I just recieved an email form Cass Gilbert, the international bike packer with a blog "While Out Riding" ...we are planning some late September trips (in addition to my August trips) (and October trips)....

The More the Merrier.....it would be great to have you and your Amigos along.

Tim

How about NORTHERN NEW MEXICO???

I live in Santa Fe and the weather is just starting to turn perfect.....I know a few routes to suggest....Personally I want to take the bus to Taos and ride back to Santa Fe hopefully on a two day weekend but maybe it would stretch to three days.

The route would be pavement/fire roads/ two track / very little or no singletrack.

Any time from 8-8-12 til end of October is good with me.

P.S. I started a thread in last Feb 6 in the "routes" forum entitled " Anywhere within 5 hrs. of Santa Fe (South) ? "....I recieved a few good suggestions....check it out

Ollie's detailed account of the race is a real highlight for me.....After followig the blue dots faithfully morning, noon & night, it's good to fill in the details and enrich my armchair racer experience.

I've been following (and I am inspired by) the Tour Divide for many years.....this year has been very exciting....BUT... the access to information has been pretty BAD.

The "Tour Divide" website is only good for the Trackerboard with its 'Spot'-ty info which is some time hours and/or days off of current time....ALL of the other Tour Divide website feature that were happening in previous years, were not happen this year.

MTB Cast is great but the riders don't call-in for days....nothing can be done about that...It's great to have the 'human' side of the story with real voices and funny details.

This site (Bikepacking Ultra Racing forum) has been a good source of info....BUT...it's a public forum with opinions & comments etc. etc...... Just getting the straight info can be challenging.

LIKE..... what happend with 2nd...3rd...4th....place riders? .....what time did they turn in???  Their Spot trackers are no longer on the leaderboard......Ollie got first place.... the rest got forgotten?  

Can someone please act as the "News Reporter" on one of the websites and come up with some posting of useful info  (like finish times....or other facts & figures)

I use the Mountainsmith "Day" with "Strapettes" ....It's a HUGE fanny pack with optional shoulder strap system.....Relatively cheap....Love it

ekloco santa fe

Go to Six Moons Designs ...Their Lunar Solo works as a 2 man if you don't mind being close and their Lunar Duo is awesome on all levels ( I own Both).

Bear Paw Wilderness Designs has some good products as well (I don't own but want a Cuben "La Garita 3")

Mont Bell makes  their "Super Spiral Down Hugger"....I have only tried one at the mountaineering store....But... the idea is that the bag itself is huge thereby allowing lots of freedom of movement....the "Hugger" part comes in with design + elastic to keep the down closer to your body and thus warmer.....It was really comfortable and roomy....I want one but for now I have my sleeping bag scene covered.

ekloco santa fe

The main idea for ulralite-ing is multipurposing everything possible.....thus I sleep in my MontBell UL down Jacket & down vest along with DOWN PANTS along with my lycra tights and long sleeve capelene etc. etc. This setup is also my around camp wear.

The layering system also allows for fine tuning according to temperature , both around camp & while sleeping.
 
My "sleeping bag" is a Adventure Medical Kits SOL bivy...8 oz. They just came out with a breathable version which I ordered and has been delivered but not tested yet...it looks great!
 
The only thing to remember is down camp booties or some other way to keep your feet warm while sleeping  (a warm hat)....Thermarest NeoAir and I am good for most summer time adventures up to about 10,000 ft elevation in New Mexico. 

 I live in Santa Fe....I am wanting to do a 3-day (4?) weekender Bike pack in southern NM or AZ During late Feb early March.... I have a very outdoorsy female friend as a Partner who has bike toured before but not true Bikepacking. This will be her first time out and I.want to make it a Primo experience...Moderate Trails w/ two track/ dirt / minimum  pavement mix preferred.....remote w/ground water but no grocery refuel OK .....Hot Spring would be over the top perfect....80-150-ish miles long

   
I just read the Dirt Rag Black Canyon Trail article .... Looks perfect....how tough are the hard parts??  All the way to Phoenix might be to much road time...But if it is truly awesome I would make the trip.  Any Opinions??


 To keep the Highway hours down.....Any thing Near Gallup / McGaffey  Zuni MTN ?......Ruidoso/ White Sands??.... The Gila / Mogollon.......Arizona's White Mtns.

Any suggestions of anywhere within 5 Hour Max drive time from Santa Fe would be appreciated...warm-ish and dry in Feb/March

Thanks    E K Loco

I am dreaming BIG....(and crazy)

The Colorado trails takes you to Durango....from there the Southern Kokopelli trail takes you to Moab...The Northern Kokopelli to Grand Junction....Ummmm...Not sure...(HELP!).....Tabeguache to Grand Mesa to some Dirt/ pavement back to Colorado Trail near Leadville ....back to Denver...

I figure that I could do the Colorado Trail a serious but leisurely pace in 2 weeks followed by Kokopelli Durango--Moab--Grand Junction in 2 weeks...Grand Junction to Denver in another 2 weeks....(I am allowing for play time in Durango & Moab & Fruita etc.)...for a total of 6 weeks

With long lasting snow in the high country passes versus scorching temps in Moab.....

QUESTION #1... When would be the best time of year to do the full Loop?

QUESTION #2 .... Because of the high country snows in the passes or late fall snow storms dictate a summertime attempt...should I skip the Moab miles and do the South Kokopelli out of Durango but shortcut near the Utah border and catch the North Kokopelli back to higher and cooler territory heading towards Grand Junction?

QUESTION #3 ....Any Hot Springs on the Loop to soak my tired muscles?

QUESTION #4.... Any route suggestions after Grand Mesa that would avoid backtracking on the Colorado Trail?

QUESTION #5.... Anyone want to join me?


 Tim Nelson      Santa Fe

Ummmmm..... I was a little frustrated too..... Zero in the way of numbers and specs (I looked pretty carefully)

The information I posted earlier was from the Adventure Cycling Association online store. I have to convert 300 – 500 cubic inches, with 5-9 liters so I could compare Revelate to Carousel.....and also compare it to the extra small compression sack (6 liter down to 2 liter) that I am currently using.

I was also a little frustrated with Carousel's website in that not all the photos were labeled.... It was hard to tell if you're looking at a small – medium – large at maximum or minimum expansion etc. Obviously, labels would really help a lot.

I'm glad I created a thread that has some interest.... I hope some real info comes through for the entire community.


E.K.Loco   Santa Fe

I am getting ready to buy a medium-sized seat bag.

 Both Revelate and Carousel look very, very good to me.

Revelate Pika (6-12 Liter) is $130.... Carousel Escape Pod (5-9 Liter) $160.

Obviously there are some design differences that I can see in the photographs. I presume that they're both adequately weatherproof.

Each one has a different attachment/compression/suspension system.... Is one or the other superior?

Both bags get excellent reviews.... But.... Has anybody compared them side-by-side or had experience with both?

I am aware of Carousel Designs reputation for slow service, but it's not a problem I've got plenty of time till spring.... Besides, Adventure Cycling Association list the carousel seat bag in their online store (not 100% sure it's in stock)

Thanks for the help .....E. K. Loco

(I did a search on the forum.... I'm pretty sure this exact question has not been asked before)