September 22, 2019
Two weeks to go
With only two weeks remaining; I’ve pretty-much completed my training; I’ve assembled my kit; so I guess that’s it; all that’s left is to pray it’s not raining
I rode one of the last rides on the Niner today before I break it down and pack it up to ship to Bar Harbor, ME for the start of the trip. I’m sure everyone has their own packing strategy and what they take and how they pack their bike. Well, so do I. I’ll post it below in case you’re wondering what i’m bringing, but you’re probably just waiting for the pictures anyway.
Here are a few “highlights” on what I’m taking. My total weight is just shy of 25lbs. That might seem light to some, heavier to others. I decided I really like the rackless bag (I.e. “bikepacking”) setup on my bike. I’m riding a gravel bike; a Niner RLT9 steel frame with carbon fork.
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What you see in the picture is only part of the load. The frame bag carries the majority of the weight. I carry a 2-liter water bladder in the top portion, linked to a “straw” which feeds up to the handlebars. I also keep my kitchen (jetboil) in the upper portion along with easy-to-grab warmer weather gear. The lower portion of the framebag contains my rain jacket and rain pants. Hopefully I won’t have to use either of those. Ah, well, it’s a wish anyway.
The harness contains my tent, rainfly, groundcloth, and tent poles.
Left fork and right fork bags hold personal items, mug, electronics, and a collapsible backpack. I’ll use the backpack for flying to my destination with everything I need prior to shipping the bike. Things such as personal effects, rechargeable batteries, etc.
The seat bag is for the 30-degree down quilt and my day clothes. I also strap my kryptonite lock on top of the seat bag.
I’ll have more pics when I’m under way. Until then, i’m looking forward to heading out Oct 4 and starting th odyssey.
If you looked at the bike and said, “hey -there’s no front derailleur” well you’d be very observant and correct. I’m running a 1x11 setup on this bike, which is considered a gravel bike, but for me, it rides just fine on the pavement, thank you very much. I reduced the front chainring from a 42T to a 30T which gives me a good climbing gear. I also retrofitted the tires to tubeless - can’t say they’re that much better but haven’t experienced a flat in about 1400 miles. And to get ready for the trip, I replaced the chain, installed new disk brake pads, and filled the tires with Stan’s notubes. So at this point I think I’m ready to go.
Certainly from a work perspective I’m ready to go, mind you...
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Whenever you get time, could you list the bags you are using? I'm planning a 5 day tour from Venice FL to Jacksonville FL (then back to Washington DC on Amtrak) on my Jamison Renegade with 1 x 11 drivetrain and am planning using a similar bike-packing set up, credit card style touring. I have a Revelate expandable saddle bag that works great, looking at bar bags and maybe frame bags - would like to know what you are using and if you like them.
I've had a top tube bag for a while, doesn't fit much - and the geometry of the Jamis makes the cockpit space pretty crowded. Would also like to know which top tube bag your using.
Save travels, have fun!
5 years ago
I use a specialized harness on the handlebars which holds the tent, rainfly, and voile straps to hold the tent poles under the handlebars. Easy fork has a Blackburn adventure cage on it with a 5-liter sea to summit drybag. These contain electronics, food, personal affects, etc. the main framebag is custom made by Rockgeist in Asheville (pretty neat - you send them a picture of your bike with a tape measure and they make the custom bag based on that). It holds iPad, 2-liter water bladder, jet oil, and foul weather gear. The seatbag is a Blackburn seat bag. It’s 11- liters and holds my 30-degree down quilt and off-the-bike clothes.
Have a great tour - Amtrak is definitely the way to go. Roll the bike on and don’t even have to box it up. I’m taking the sleeper car Friday from DC to Atlanta.
5 years ago
Every few years we vacation at Cape Cod - biking there is just plain fun, great system of trails and decent biking roads connecting them. But, not when a nor'easter is hitting!
I did *not* spring for a sleeping car on Amtrak, I will probably regret that. When I get to Union Station, will either just bike home or if the January weather is particularly biking unfriendly will put bike onto Metro and shorten the ride a good bit.
5 years ago