Awesome. Thanks for both of those links!

Just bought my first sewing machine (1951 Singer 201-2) and excited to play around!

Interested in bag making. What are your favorite online stores/sources of zippers, fabric, etc... common to bikepacking bag making? What's your favorite material to make bags out of?

Thanks for any help you can give!

WOW what a race! Would love to know what gear ratios the SS winners have won using.

Im moving to Pittsburgh in June so going to follow along this thread.......

CT fb page says seg 27 reopens July 11th!!!!! NICE!!!!!

Your son is a bigger badass than 95% of the rest of the people on this site (me included). Rock on!

Hows the fire looking? Much smoke in the air in the durango area?

AWESOME route! Whats your strava name so I can stalk the GPS route. I am looking for a good Norway route this summer

Already did, none available so figured I'd ask the collective

Soooooooooooo, anyone know if any of these Ti fargo framesets are unspoken for? I am looking for medium and I need one ASAP (broke my carbon frame the other day...)

Sold out everywhere I called. I just cracked my current frame a few days ago in a rock vs carbon fiber incident and need a quick replacement for some races this summer. Can anyone help me out to get one within the next few weeks? I have a full buildkit, just need the frame +/- fork.

I, unfortunately, only have vacation at the very start of July so am hoping for an ITT the 1st or 2nd week of July but am doubtful the trail will be even close to snow free by then. Fingers crossed!

http://bikepackersmagazine.com/mike-hall-tour-divide-champion/?utm_content=buffer45095&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer

Just read the interview with mike hall. Wow what a performance out there! Anyone have a pic of his aerobar-less cockpit that he describes in the article?

I just picked up a Tacx Neo (very similar to Kickr but quieter) and have been passing the hours on zwift. I think I like the trainerroad workouts better but zwift has the visual factor to make it fun. I broke my leg 8 months ago so my FTP is still painfully low, but hopefully will be back in time to ride the TD in a couple years.

Would be interesting to hear what the FTP of some of the front runners in the TD/CTR/AZTR are just to be able to give a numerical benchmark for which to strive for with indoor winter trainer miles. Not that FTP is everything, but it is a metric that many people know and one that is easy to train for indoors all winter long.

How much of a weight weenie are you? I have these Bontragers and love them. They are light, and I dont have any numbness issues on rides the length of which you speak of. I did a 150 miler the other day without any numbness issues, the previous year I had some numb fingers for 3 weeks:
http://www.bontrager.com/model/07025

Profile designs makes a similar one that is heavier.
http://www.profile-design.com/product/aerobars/t3-plus-carbon/


Dont forget your Fred bars to put them in the correct position for long distance comfort!
http://www.sirenbicycles.com/collections/all


Also, flip up elbow pads are awesome if you don't want to love out on hand positions when you aren't in aero mode. Make sure they are the correct diameter for the bars you pick.

I also really like TOGS for regular flat bars if not going to use aero bars that day:
http://togs.com/

The new Mone El Continente looks pretty rad: http://www.monebikes.com/el-continente/qk5vrygmxp27jao7vdct0hkpvt3ghj

We clearly need some pics from the route! Ill be joining VMBA soon, hope to do this ride in August

How many pairs of cycling shorts do people bring? I have only gone on 3 day rides and am wondering how well one pair will hold up after 8 days. Is washing shorts in a stream advisable? I would worry about small amounts of silt.

1 chamois, and one pair of fast drying boxer briefs like Exofficio just to sleep in should do the trick. Turn the chamois inside out and let it air dry overnight. It'll be soaked within 60 minutes of riding no matter what you do. No way I'd wash my chamois in a stream, but I'm sensitive to saddle sores so YMMV

I only use the iphone as my primary GPS on routes I know to have service, and that I do frequently and want to easily get them on Strava. Anytime I head into the wilderness the eTrex 30 comes with me. Iphone just isn't reliable enough overal IMHO. But, here are two good links if you decide to use the iphone as primary gps:

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=72254

http://adventurealan.com/iphone4gps.htm