Your mom, though she is a little heavy.

It's my mom's birthday this weekend, be sure to send her a card. Speaking of this weekend, I'm gonna dunk you in the river!

Hi there,
Getting a new bike which will require a new frame bag and probably top tube bag.  My old bike was a hard tail, so I can't use the same frame bag.  Back when I started bikepacking, there were only 2 choices, now there is a dizzying array of options.  Anyone riding a Pivot Mach 429 Trail (size XL)?  If so, what bags are you running?

Thanks,
Keith

Etrex 20 or 30 are both popular, easy to use, and reliable.

Potential issues:
Charging - gonna eat up lots of battery using a GPS app, searching for cell signal if you are in a remote area, and having the screen on lots.  Can be remedied with a dynamo hub with a USB charger.

Service - if you get "way out there" and have no service you might be in a pathfinding pickle.

Thanks man, that gets us in the right direction.
KG

Sorry, I forgot I was the most reviled man in bikepacking.

That's easy. Just point us downhill or ride with you on a nice hot day. Winter is NOT coming.

You should be. I will sit on your bike and break it.

Soothsayer!
Them's fightin' words!

Apparently so....

Anyone? Anyone?
Buehler? Buehler?

Anybody have a GPS for this route?
http://www.taoscyclery.com/mtbrides.htm

Oh man, oh man.  That will be awesome.  My buddies and I have done several 3 day loops out there.

In regards to the miles per day, some of them will be quite slow.  The OT can be quite chunky and steep at times.  40-50 miles per day is pretty ambitious for even a strong rider/experienced bikepacker. At least for the OT part.  The womble is significantly faster.  Don't know about the other trails.

SRAM XX1 - expensive but worth it.  Lasts a LONG time (seriously, longer than anything I've ever used) and easy cheesy to swap between a 32t cog for regular riding and a 28t for bikepacking.  Gear range is great

Good info.  Looks like Rapid City is the closest airport.  Going by Mt Rushmore is pretty rad, not sure my 8 year old will forgive me for not taking her...

Will be sure to bring warm wear, don't like being cold so usually over prepared in this area.  Rain is a wild card that you can bring gear for, but who knows? 

I really enjoyed this last year.  Scenic, challenging, and always an option to head into a nearby town.
http://blackhillsexpedition.blogspot.com

Ooooh, cool.
Anybody got any idea about snow in early June?  Looks like you don't get super high altitude so that should help.

Sooooo,
A buddy and I are fairly rigid on doing a trip the second week of June due to other work and family commitments.  We are looking for a route that takes ~7-8 days.  Both of us are fit and experienced with bikepacking. Seems that a lot of the high routes will still have snow but some of the low routes will be too hot.  Ideas?

Things we have thought about:
Idaho hot springs (snow???)

First 500-600 miles of GDMBR (we could jump off the route and ride over to Missoula to get to an airport)

Oregon 3 Rivers

Virginia MB Trail (interesting, but limited info that we can dig up)

What else?  Pretty open to about anything in North America.

Thanks!
KG

In for the shorty this year.   

In for the whole deal full on lets go rip it up in 2015

Hey everybody,

That was fun, that was hard!  I didn't "do" the race per se, but Jackson and I ended up starting roughly the same time as the group that we knew would be out there.  Great to meet everyone out there, I am impressed by everyone's toughness. Wish I would have seen more of you on the last day to say bye, but that is the nature of this event.

Hope to see everyone out in the woods again sooner rather than later!

Keith in TX

I posted up some questions over there as well.  Hopefully I can get some clarification so I don't get lost like last time.  I love the OT and the Womble.  It's the only area I can think of that is singletrack friendly for bikes that you can ride on for longer than 20 or 30 miles without having to double back on in the region.

Cmon bro, the getting lost was fun!