Packing. Do I need this?

Over the years, through various adventures across different disciplines, I’ve compiled a gear inventory that works for different conditions. Through my obsessive research, waiting for sales, and volunteering with outfitters who offered industry discounts, I’ve been fortunate enough to acquire gear that is lighter and more compact whether I’m stuffing it into a pack, kayak hatch, or pannier. Whether it’s three-season, winter, solo trips, or when the family joins me, I have options for most endeavors. With so many choices, it can be challenging to narrow down the selection. Sometimes there are still compromises based on the weather conditions, or choosing gear for a single overnight trip that I wouldn’t for a week-long adventure, or just being willing to endure a little more discomfort.

I highly recommend using an app called Epic Ride Weather. It’s not limited to cycling. You input a route or GPS track, starting time and average travel speed, and it will collect the forecast along the way, graphing it out rather than just providing a pinpoint forecast. For this trip, there was a chance of rain across the vast distance I would cover on the first day and again six days later. While it didn’t appear to be prolonged downpours, but rather a passing shower amidst mostly mid-60 to seventy-degree days. Overnight low temperatures will be relatively warm for the end of September and the first week of October, averaging around fifty degrees. However, two nights may experience temperatures slightly below forty degrees. Overall pretty solid good weather, unlike the week or so of rain I had when kayaking.

So, I would skip the full set of rain gear, including rain socks, gloves, pants, and a jacket, for both on and off the bike. Instead, I would opt for just my waterproof Shakedry jacket in case and I could use that on or off the bike. I didn’t want to bring both pants and shorts for street clothes, so it was just the latter, and I would have the option of adding mid-weight base layers for mornings and evenings at camp and during the couple of chilly nights. This paired with a sub-30-degree sleeping bag should be all I need for camp. When morning starts might be below fifty degrees I’ll have some leg warmers to pair with my bib shorts, rather than dedicated full length bibs.

I wanted to bring a tent, one that was more spacious than one of my bivy-style shelters, but I still wanted to minimize weight. So, it would be my Gossamer Gear – The One for this journey. It’s surprisingly roomy, almost like a 1.5 or even 2 person tent, in a pinch. It has an impressive peak height but is still incredibly lightweight and packable. As a backpacking tent, one would use trekking poles for the uprights, but for biking, I have some carbon fiber poles that work and easily store on the bike frame. It weighs just a bit over one pound.

I’ll be doing a mix of cooking and buying food along the way. Being able to explore local cafes and diners instead of relying on food caches like I did for the kayaking trip. So, I’ll need a stove to boil water for coffee, oatmeal, or a backpacking meal. I’ve used a few systems over the years, with JetBoil being one of my favorites. However, about five years ago, when I was trying to reduce pack weight due to a neck injury, I assembled a compact setup, consisting of a microfiber cloth, lighter, small isobutane fuel canister, stabilizer, scrubber/cleaner tool, and the BRS-3000 burner all nested inside a 650mL titanium pot with a lid. Add in a collapsible Sea to Summit bowl and a spork, and the entire setup is exactly one pound.

In addition to bike clothes, street clothes, camp setup, and cooking setup, I’ll need to pack food, water, a lock, hygiene items, medication, a Goal Zero battery, and an assortment of USB cables to keep the bike lights, GPS, iPhone, and GoPro camera charged from day to day. Of course I also have all the bike tools and repair stuff that comes on every ride anyways. Now, the challenge is figuring out how to pack everything on the bike efficiently.

I have some larger Ortlieb Panniers, but I don’t think they are the method I’m after. I also have a set of Rockgeist Microwave Panniers, which are great!. They’re lightweight, and essentially side of the rear rack holsters that can hold other items securely. One could drop in a backpack, a bag from grocery shopping, or the included dry bag filled with my camping gear, not to mention odd shaped stuff like shoes and a bike lock and have them all be secure. Perhaps though, I could fit everything into my smaller mini panniers from Tailfin? It would offer better weight distribution, organization, and the packs and mounting hardware wouldn’t add as much weight to the setup compared to the other options. It certainly looks like a lot, though. Recalling past trips, that perhaps didn’t include a stove, warmer layers, or a tent and the bike looked a little more sleek than it does now. All in all, the setup with water came in just under 50 pounds, which is less than 5 pounds more than my setup for RAGBRAI. It just seems like so much more volume now. Let’s test it. Rides fine doing passes on our street and loops in the cut-du-sac. Doesn’t feel tippy when mounting or dismounting. 

Perhaps that holds up over hundreds of miles? Maybe I am ready to go? Good thing I still have a few days to let my brain toss and turn about the setup!