Good Stuff.  Fun to watch and listen from the sidelines.
Seriously.

The Apache 200 looks like it is of interest to me!

+1 on the esbit.

nicely done!

the aluminum bar is mounted to the waterbottle bosses on the downtube.  Bag is velcroed to the bar.  Very stable with 100oz water in it.

since the weather was questionable these past few days, instead of my planned Flagstaff to Sedona ride, i opted to do something from my house.

it was really nice out there!
http://gordy.wordpress.com/2010/04/23/spur-cross-connected/

casner mountain loop - I do not see a .gpx on it. I am on the AES Files page..

Thanks for the reply - I am headed to Flag on the 22nd and was looking for a overnighter loop and thought the coco rout to Sedona and back might be an option.  Thoughts for any other routes in the area?

Is this something that can be done on trail?
How are conditions for it?
anyone?

Would anyone happen to have a gps file of new singletrak from Picketpost through the Wilderness area?

I'm new to the board and bikepacking so I could use a little advice on my setup. A little background first: I consider mountain biking to be my primary sport, followed by backpacking. (why didn't I combine them sooner?!) My bike is a fully rigid 29er. My backpacking gear is down to about 8lbs carried excluding food and water. I have two questions:

Packing:
I love the frame bag concept but I'd like to go a cheaper route using as much existing gear as possible. (simplification is king for me) It looks like I should be able to make a workable kit out of a 15L or 20L Sea To Summit dry bag strapped to a seatpost rack. Is any particular brand or model of seatpost rack recommended? I've found Zefal, Topeak and Delta. I don't have rack mounts on my frame so using a traditional rear rack would be difficult. Will I have issues with sway using a seatpost rack? Should I just bite the bullet and just get a frame bag?

I'd plan on getting the rest of my gear in a Camelbak Mule (bike maintenance gear, water filter, snacks, camera, etc). To save space in the dry bag I'm thinking I could strap my Thermarest PL3 short under or possibly around the top tube. For longer multi-day use I could always replace the Mule with my GoLite Ion for plenty of additional volume (~20L).

GPS:
My bike computer is dead and needs to be replaced. I'm considering replacing it with an Edge 305, Edge 705 or Vista HCx. I'm leaning towards the 305 because its hard to justify the extra cost of the 705 for mapping and longer battery life. It looks like I can get a 305 for around $200 off of Craigslist. The HCx would be nicer for backpacking and kayaking but I don't really need one now. I'm thinking: why compromise for a unit that isn't focused on cycling? I do like that the Vista takes AA batteries. On a multi-day trip I'm not sure what I'd do to recharge the 305.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

As for the GPS, take a look at the Garmin Dakota series.  Mapping, AA batteries, nice h-bar/stem mount, lots of memory and pretty rugged.
Seat bag and a frame bag are great ways to go.
+1 on the Talon 22 bag from Osprey.

I guess I will leave Friday night and then ride.  Camp. Ride. Camp.  And then ride home.

now, that is just retarded.

sounds reasonable.

Not sure.  I hate driving.  So maybe I will just start from my house and head to a suggestion.

I have a small window (10/24 - 10/25) and was looking for a singletrack route (overnighter) loop slightly out of town (Phoenix) in the 80 mile range.  any ideas out there?

thanks!

can I ask where you got that fabric?

AZT reroute!

you can make it all singletrack if you want.  The actual Cabin Loop with the AZT is all singletrack (well in the upper 98% range).  We just chose to add some spinning on the road to make it to where we wanted to camp each nite.