TD campsite setup

Veetack and All,
I think the shelter/sleep system is the most difficult kit to fine tune in your adventure biking loadout. It's also the most important system to get right. I'd love to just have a reliable bivvy sack I could slide into each night. A very small cover over the head opening to keep the driving rain/snow out would make the setup watertight. But, realistically, that would never work for me because I sleep too hot. I've found I sweat out even the most breathable bivvys, and it is only compounded in wet, cold climates because of the temperature differential between my hot interior and the cold exterior. Dew/frost forms on the inside surface and everything in the bag ends up moist. Even in last year's first couple nights when it dipped below freezing, I was settling into the sleeping bag with an elevated body temp from the day's pedaling. People who naturally sleep colder may not have the same issue, but I need to have very good ventilation or I will have perpetually damp night clothes and sleeping bag because I can't take the time to let them air out and dry up in the mornings before rolling out on the day's journey. I set my tarp up so there's a few inches open at the bottom. That kept the condensation from forming. If it was a dead calm night, the condensation would form, but gravity pulled it down to the tarp's edge which extended beyond my footprint, so it would just drip to the ground.

Last year's TD 2012 was my first foray into adventure cycling. I used a tarp with a tailor-made insect enclosure from ZPacks. It's Cuben material is super-light, but it has a bit of volume when you pack it down. Since the more compact bivvy doesn't work for me, the tarp's volume is something I'll gladly accommodate in my loadout. The tarp was awesome (for me) during Tour Divide. In Canada/Montana, it kept me bone-dry even though the first three days of the route were constant rain/snow. It uses a single 4' pole and guy lines. Coming out of Canada, I had to break out my sleep shirt (down top) for the very cold descent of Galton Pass enroute to the Roosville border crossing. Stupid me, I removed the broken down tent pole from the handlebar yoke/shelter stuff sack and failed to put the pole back under the cinch straps when I closed everything up. It ended up not being a problem. I just scavenged a suitable branch each night in the Northern sections and just used the handlebar of my bike lying next to me in the sections with no trees.

Reasons I'm sticking with the tarp; (1) it kept me comfortable in hot, cold, wet, and dry conditions, (2) the insect net/Cuben bathtub footprint kept bugs and ground water off of me and my kit, (3) the tarp's modular approach offers many options. I could lay out the tarp in a total downpour, then stick the dry sack of fresh clothes under the tarp while I set it up. Then I simply ducked under the tarp to change out of the wet layers and into the dry layers. If it was still raining the following morning, I'd just reverse the process, keeping my sleep system and clothes dry. In the arid Southern section, I'd simply forego the tarp and just use the insect net with its Cuben footprint.

I used a 40 degree down bag, using thick wool socks, layered compression tights with my thermal bike pants, and a micro-puff polartec synthetic down top for the coldest nights. I was never cold. I rode the Allegheny Mountain Loop 400 back in October and then again in November during Veteran's Day long weekend. In October, I used the same tarp/sleeping bag/polartec top. I ditched the sleeping bag and went with down pants for the November ride. My rationale: I've broke out the down top for cold descents on multiple occasions. At times, my legs would get cold, even with their inherent fleece and windblock materials. The bag serves no purpose on the bike, but the down pants do. There are some very, very long descents along the GDMBT. This year, I plan on taking the down pants and replacing the synthetic fill top with a new 850 fill goose down top with water repellent treatment, but no sleeping bag. Since the down top/bottoms serve a dual purpose, and the sleeping bag doesn't, the bag stays home.

Another lesson learned pertains to the front end of the bike. Mine was way too heavy last year with my sleep system plus two large Nalgene sized beverage holders. All that weight at the handlebars served to sink the front end during all of the snow crossings. Even when there was a hard-packed path, my wheel wanted to break through. It was very awkward and energy sapping to practically "carry" the front end across all the snow fields. This year, my sleep system is joining my spare clothes in the seat bag. The only cargo I'm carrying up front is my rain top and bottoms in a stuff sack laid on top of the aerobar pads, and my map case strapped below the aerobars. Having the rain gear on the bar pads keeps it readily available, plus it adds supplemental padding. The forearms get pretty sore on the long stretches like the Great Basin crossing and all the wash board bumps.

Best of luck to you all. I hope to see you in Banff on June 14.