Colorado mountains are at about 200% of average snowfall and it keeps coming.
It will be an interesting ride this year.

I have a Camelbak phone pouch that attaches to one of the straps.  It works very good and is secure.  You might look there.
Wayne

I have 2 bikes with the Jones bar, and it is the best bar I have ever ridden with.
I have old Hope Mono Minis and Grip shift twisters on one and Hope E-2's with XTR thumb shifters.  Both bikes have the brakes mounted on the grip side of the loop.  The Grip Shift feel easier to use; but not by much.  eithe works great.

Enjoy riding with these great bars!

Wayne

Michael,
I am sorry to hear about your having issues with your sceral lens during the TD.  I think I figured out who you are and was following you on track leaders, and noticed a couple of down days, and was hoping they were not sceral lens issues.  Mechanicals suck under the best of conditions but on the TD they really have to suck.  Glad you got them solves though and could continue.

I must be lucky in that I can and do wear my lens 16-18+ hours a day without any issues, and my eye doc says if I do not have issues no problem.

I am not sure what you are referring to with problems with getting the lens to seat on your eye ball.  I occasionally get a bubble under my lens when I am inserting it, and the only solution is to remove it and re-insert it.  My lens are 22 or 23 mm in diameter, the largest available I think, and my eyes are narrow, so getting the lens in without hitting an eye lid is challenging.

Did you rinse the baby shampoo off your hands before using fingers to handle the lens or clean out your eyes?  Getting anything with any preservatives or chemicals under the lens is not a good thing and I have been told to be careful here.  I was thinking on having a bottle/bladder (new and clean) for clean water to wash my hands with before touching my eyes or lens.  I understand this is added weight but if I can keep going I think it would be worth it.  I have always used Unisol 4 (yes I got lucky and still have some) in my lens before inserting it.  I also use it for cleaning out my eyes and for lubrication when I need it, or think I need it.  I plan on going to Pura Lens Plus when my Unsiol 4 is gone.  They are the same solution, just different names.  My eye doc says they have clients using it with no issues.  I use Boston Advanced cleaner and store my lens with Boston Simplex and totally rise it off with water before I insert the lens.  This is what my eye doc taught me to do when I got my Scearl lens.  My objective is to help us figure out how do deal with our Scearl lens on bikepacking trips and the TD.  It sounds like you were having enough issues to be detrimental to the health of your corneas, especially since KC is a deterioration and thinning of the cornea.  I was also scolded, by my eye doc, for sleeping with my lens in too.

I started to look at going from motel to motel and looking at distance and time based on staying in a room so i could better care for my lens.  This will take time; but we may not need to plan for off days.  If I remove my lens, I am totally blind and cannot see anything, so spending a day not seeing would not be fun.  It is no fun when I get my enes dilated and cannot wear my lens for several hours!

Yagi,
I am glad that you are enjoying your scearl lens.  they are really a great tool to us in seeing and comfortably wearing our contact lens.

Pleas keep us posted on what you find on your back packing trips.  Right now I am not able to do any overnight trips, and I am slowly building up riding time and distances; but my hopefully goal is to try the TD in 2018, when I will be 70 years old.  i ho;e it is not a pipe dream.  By the way I live in Lakewood, CO.

Wayne

I have been having saddle sores and butt problems for the past 2 2.5 years.  I was thinking that I was going to have to give up riding off road and back way down on road riding.

I had a friend recommend the Selle Anatomic X Series saddle, who had worse problems than I had and knows others that have butt problems that this saddle cleared up for them.  I weigh close to 250 with my CamelBak and water, so I am at the upper posted limit for the saddle.  I used Lantisptic on my sores and the saddle.  I now have no butt problems, and I ride sitting down where I was riding standing up to save my butt.

I have tightened both saddles, I have one on each bike, as they loosen.  I think I had one too tight and loosened it a little.

I have not heard about the bending rails until I read this post.  I will start watching them real close; but the they are rated for 250 pounds.

If you have problems they are worth a try and they have a 30 day trial period, so you risk little by trying one.

Wayne

I agree, I was looking for a saddle but trying to continue riding until I got a new saddle.
I got a Selle anatomic X series saddle, and it is what us old guys need for dry skin.  The new saddle and Lantiseptic realy works.

Steve,

Here are some links for information on inserting solution for Scearl lens:

https://www.reddit.com/r/Keratoconus/comments/3tshch/unisol_4_is_being_discontinued_replacement/

https://keratoconusinfo.wordpress.com/scleral/

https://www.dryeyeshop.com/articles/lifeafterunisol4.htm?gclid=CjwKEAiA58a1BRDw6Jan_PLapw8SJABJz-ZWWw8lX1mTl0FoeJqtg3h6Jij46h8cstKvMVY5QUYknRoCbw3w_wcB

https://www.dryeyeshop.com/purilens-plus-saline-3pack-p706.aspx

Wayne

Steve
Welcome to the club.  Getting them in is my biggest problem.  But mine are the largest diameter available, likely yours will be smaller.  The other issue is getting a bubble under the lens,   the key is do not bump the lens when you put it in and to fill it with solution, the solution has to be basically chemical free.  They will recommend one that works.  When i get on the computer tonight I will post a couple links that provide a lot of good information on inserting solutions.
Wayne

You will enjoy the comfort.  Dust no longer bothers me, I have not beat exposed to lots of free pollen with them, but with GDP lens it was painful.

Wayne

I second Robotfury comments above.
Thanks everyone,
Wayne

robotfury

I was having problems and went to my contact specialist, and she told me to NEVER sleep in Sceral lens , as this can damage the cornea.

I am now thinking about carrying baby shampoo and extra water to wash my hands with and deal with putting them in and taking them out in a tent.  Plus cleaning them when I get a chance on the route.  At least dust will not be as big of a problem.  I always wear glasses when I ride.

I don't think one bottle of PuriLens Plus saline (a recommended replacement for Unsiol 4, which is no longer available) will do the whole tour, and I do not think it will be available on the route.  I was thinking of starting with 2 or 3 bottles, which I would also use for eye drops.  I am thinking about having a new water bottle for cleaning my hands only.  I could use my CamelBak since I only put water in it; but I am concerned with filtering water and getting any contamination in the bladder.

I have an appointment with my eye doc next month and I plan on asking him for thoughts/recommendations.

Wayne

I am training for a long bike tour and I am having saddle sores coming from?? 
I have read about wearing 2 pair of shorts and wondering if:

1. wear both shorts normally, with inner short being clean and the outer short being yesterdays short.  Both pair right side out, or

2. wearing the inner short inside out and the outer short right side out?  Somewhere I remember this was the way to do it; but it does not make sense to have the outside of the shorts against your skin.

3. Or how do you wear 2 pair of shorts?

Thanks,
Wayne

Adam,
It is great that you have had a successful transplant!  And that you can see with glasses is even better IMHO.
I have had both eyes transplanted and my corneas are steep enough that keeping hard GP contacts in a challenge.  I then was given the new Scearl lens and they stay in, they cannot blow out.  The comfort the scearl lens provide is unbelievable, dust and wind no longer bothers me!!!  .  Please keep this in mind if you have further problems with GP contacts.
Wayne

Yep, that sounds like a good plan. 
Good luck,
Wayne

Not a bad idea but getting any soap or typical wetting solution under ascearl lens can cause burning in your eye.  But it sure sounds like it is worth a try.

Rinsing your hands would work but would take up water.

I have thought about rinsing with Unsiol 4 too

Thanks
Wayne

All,
Robotfury and I have an eye disease called keratoconus, which is a disformation of the cornea. Glasses, and all forms of long term ware soft contacts will not correct our vision.  We both wear a special contacts called sclear lens, which are rigid gas permeable lens which covers some of the white part of the eye.  Mine are 22.5 MM in diameter.

After giving it quite a bit of thought, you probably could sleep in motels and when you can't then you will need to clean your lens at the next location where you can wash your hands and clean the lens and reinsert them.  The more I wear them the easier it is for me to tell if I get a bubble without looking in a mirror.  Going too long and getting major discomfort seems very risky to damage your cornea, or this is the way I am looking at it.

From my experience dust and wind bother my eyes a lot lot less with the sclear lens, which is told is the same experience with other wears.

Wayne

M,

You are right about KC, but we can still see.  I am forever grateful for the sclear lens.

I was thinking about going from motel room to motel room so I could take out the lens; but that will not always work.

How about when stopping where you can take them out and clean them?  When I have slept with them I took them out and cleaned them and did not have any problems.

Can you wear regular GP lens?  If so take cleaning and soaking solutions and take them out in the tent and put them in the next morning?  I can'g keep regular lens in so this is not an option for me.

I do not think you want to push it to where you have difficulty seeing be keeping them too long, as this might cause more damage to your corneas.

I am out of ideas, other than talking to your eye doc.  I know someone who knows the person who invented sclear lens, if I see her I can see if she can get any answers but we only run into each other once a year.

Wayne

I have sclearl lens and they work a lot better than my old gas permeable.
I have kc and my corneas are now "droopy" so I was popping out my old permeable lens.
I have thought about TD buy my contacts and care tell me not really.  I am thinking about sleeping with the sclearl lens, which I haave done and no problems other than one eye is a little foggy in the morning.
Thanks for asking the question as I am equally interested in other replys.
Wayne

I am an older and slower rider who has previously suffered from leg cramps.
I now use Hammer Nutrition Endurolytes  http://www.hammernutrition.com/products/endurolytes.elt.html?navcat=fuels-energy-drinks and they have basically ended my leg cramping.
However you have some good advice above too.

Good luck,
Wayne