A Surly Pugsley, a Rohloff hub, and some observations

I wanted to take a few minutes and talk about my experience with mounting a Rohloff Speedhub 500/14 CC OEM2 to a Surly Pugsley. While doing research for this project I found precious little information, so I hope that my experience might be of benefit to anyone else who might be considering this as an option. Nearly all the information I did find came from the incredibly generous Neil Flock at Cycle Monkey. Neil's never-ending patience with my relentless questions bordered on the angelic, and he always had an answer for me, sometimes late at night or in the wee hours of the morning. I honestly don't know when he sleeps! And the Monkeybone that he sells to integrate the hub and the disc-brake mount is a wonderful piece of engineering and works perfectly. 

Neil Flock from Cycle Monkey. I imagine him saying "No more questions, Rusty!"

As a bikepacker, and by that I mean someone who goes out for the weekend bikepacking (not someone who goes on adventures, I tried that once and it turned out badly), I have always been enamored of the Rohloff hub. The biggest problem with them has been that they are virtually cost prohibitive, unless you happen to find a deal on a used one, or live in a house with at least five bathrooms, or your last name is "Rohloff." After listening to me vacillate for several years back and forth on whether I was going to buy one my co-workers were getting just plain tired of hearing about it. It was a stroke of remarkable good fortune when one of them through an acquaintance found a used hub in mint condition at the reasonable price of $750. I snatched it up and started the research into how to install this monster into my Pugsley. This was when the emails to Neil started...sorry Neil. I did order all the accessories from him that I needed to hook the hub up, I hope that made it worth it!

When the hub finally arrived it was with despair that I realized it was the QR, or "quick release" version, a rare beast among already rare hubs. Unfortunately, the Pugsley has rear-facing horizontal dropouts (I know, thanks Surly...) which are usually considered a no-go for QR axles on off-road bikes. The amount of torque generated, particularly by my massive legs (that's a joke folks), is enough to make the wheel "walk" in the dropouts, either from pedaling uphill in super-low gears, or by hard braking when going down steep terrain. There are a variety of gadgets and doohickies designed to control the wheel's tendency to walk, but they significantly increase the jank factor or "jankiness," which I absolutely hate. I like things to be clean and engineered to work together, and I despise it when a bunch of extra crap is needed to make things do what they should just do on their own. 

The first thing I employed to try and control the wheel slipping was a Surly Tuggnut. This wasn't terrible, it being designed to integrate seamlessly with the Pugsley dropout, but it had a bit of jank to it. It certainly kept the wheel from sliding forward on the drive side, but it did nothing for the slipping on the non-drive side, and made taking the wheel out to work on it a royal PITA. It's already a PITA, so making it any worse was way out. F that!

The Pugsley rear wheel with the Rohloff and Tuggnut

The second thing I tried was filing all of the paint off of the dropouts and roughing them up, then I simply slid the wheel all the way forward. I was hoping that the extra clamping surface for the Shimano XT QR skewer I was using would be enough to hold the wheel in place. This option also required adding a chain tensioner...major jankage, but this method seemed to work OK. On a recent bikepacking trip I wasn't able to slide the wheel under hard pedaling, but under a panic stop the wheel still shifted a little. I think that this option would work for most people though, at least under the conditions where you would normally be riding a Pugsley. 

The Pugsley with the Rohloff in bikepacking mode

Unfortunately for me, my anal-retentive/anti-jank nature simply wouldn't accept the potential wheel movement. That combined with the fairly considerable weight penalty that comes with the Rohloff, and  in the end I decided to pull it off the Pugsley and install it on my Novara Safari. The Safari is a very capable 29'er touring bike, so capable in fact that my friend Erden Eruc rode one around the world! The Safari has (like most normal bikes made in the last 30 years, thanks Surly) vertical dropouts which integrate perfectly with the QR version of the Rohloff. Since I am commuting on the Safari every day in all weather I get the benefit of the hub's sealed mechanism and longevity. And with 29'er off-road tires, I will now be able to use the Safari in bikepacking mode. So far it's a win all around. I shed a bunch of weight off an already heavy Pugsley, and I upgraded the Safari to boot!

The Rohloff installed in the Safari

The Safari in commuting mode 

I'm still back and forth thinking about getting one of the bolt-on axle versions of the Rohloff for my Pugsley though. I just need to check in with my co-workers again and see if they think it's a good idea...

Loop the Lake, Duckpunt style!

Tonight I finally met up with my good friend Shawn for an evening on the water at Greenlake, something we have been wanting to do for a long time. I was feeling pretty lazy after a long day of doing chores at home, but a texted query to see if Shawn wanted to get out there tonight returned an emphatic "Fuck yes!" so it was on. We both live within walking distance to the lake, and with his new paddle board and my Duckpunt it was easy to just head down to the lake from opposite ends and meet somewhere in the middle. The wind was light at around 4 knots, perfect for a relaxing sail. Although it was overcast, it was warm enough to enjoy the breeze. This was a great start to another season of sailing The Donkey!

Shawn's view as I come screaming across the lake...at all of 5 knots

Good times and big smiles

Sailing The Donkey is such hard work, I may need to take a nap after this

Shawn tried to get a good shot of this Osprey, it was so beautiful staring down at us 

The view from Shawn's gorgeous new paddleboard

Doing a little research for possible stealth camping

What a happy guy! And a wet one...

And another happy guy! The donkey shirt is a tribute to my boat.

It was a super fun evening of being on the water on a beautiful lake with a good friend. Thanks for getting me out there, Shawn!

Bikepacking 101, or how NOT to bikepack.

5/15/15

Today I had big plans. Not necessarily good plans, and not particularly ambitious plans, but big plans just the same. I had planned on driving to Vantage WA, parking the car, and riding my fully loaded fatbike to a place called Whisky Dick Bay in the Quilomene Wilderness area and camping overnight. The area is in Central WA right above the Columbia River, and it is mostly high desert and very hot. Some of my super-fit bikepacking friends call it the Washington Outback, and they love riding out there. It has also recently been dubbed The Deadly Q for an incident where some riders almost got into real trouble, but that story is for them to tell. Unfortunately (or as it turned out, very fortunately) I was going to ride solo because my riding partner John had to cancel. I had mixed feeling about that because on the one hand, I really love riding with John. On the other hand, knowing this ride was going to be a big challenge for me meant that by riding alone I didn't have to worry about holding John up, or not being able to complete the ride and ruining it for him.

Now this is the part where we start to learn the things NOT to do when bikepacking. The first thing is to not lock your water bottle in the trunk under your bike rack on the drive to the trailhead. I knew it was going to be really hot today and I wanted to be well hydrated before the start of the ride, but that is hard to do when your bottle is inaccessible. Once the ride began, I was already way behind the hydration curve because the 2 hour drive to from Seattle to Vantage was HOT.

 I arrived at the gas station where I was told to ask about overnight parking, and the cashier told me that as long as I parked on the gravel behind the building it was fine, and there was no charge. Awesome!

 I loaded up the bike, excited because I had arranged my gear in such a way that I wasn't going to have to ride with a backpack in the oppressive heat. I started sweating immediately though, disconcerted because the weather forecast had predicted mid 70's. This was more like upper 80's, and getting hotter by the minute. The second thing I learned was if you are doing a desert ride, plan to start your ride early in the day. It was almost 2pm by this point and the sun was just cooking. 

I started riding out of the parking lot and onto the main street which leads to the Old Vantage Highway, and about a half mile later to the trailhead. I knew I was in trouble because even on the relatively flat pavement ride to the trailhead I was already sweating profusely, and the temps were continuing to climb. By the time I got to the trailhead I was drenched, and the trail starts off with brutal climbing. It didn't take me but a quarter mile and I was already pushing the bike, and sucking wind like I was running a marathon.  It was ride for a few minutes, stop and desperately try to catch my breath, then push for a few minutes, stop and try to catch my breath, etc. I had ridden out here once before and it was no problem, but that was with an unloaded bike on a cool day. This was something totally different!

It began to dawn on me that I may not have the strength to do this ride when I started to get a little dizzy, and then nauseous. I have had heat-exhaustion once and it is no fun, and actually really dangerous, so the thoughts of turning around started to become more and more compelling, particularly when I was only able to push for a minute before having to stop, and the thermometer was now reading 95 degrees! It got harder and harder to catch my breath, and when I looked at my GPS I saw that I had only come 2.3 miles from the parking lot, not even a quarter of the way. There was just no way I was going to repeat the Idaho Hotsprings Deathmarch, so with the disappointment of another failed attempt at a ride I turned around and headed back down.

While pedaling ignominiously back to the car I was trying to think of an alternate place to ride to for an easy overnight option, and I thought I could just head back up towards Snoqualmie Pass, hop on the Iron Horse Trail, and ride to one of my favorite campsites on Keechelus Lake where it would be nice and cool and I could just take it easy for the evening. Usually I approach the campsite from the West, but I thought it might be nice to approach it from the East and get a chance to ride a bit of the Iron Horse Trail that I had never been on before. Looking at Google Earth showed a trailhead at Easton, so I unloaded everything off of the bike, strapped the bike back on the rack, and started driving back West. And yes, you guessed it, the water bottle was again inaccessible in the trunk. Sigh.

As I got back up towards Snoqualmie Pass the clouds started rolling in and turning dark, and the temperature was dropping like a stone. I finally found the confusing Easton trailhead, parked the car and started loading the bike up, again. Taking a look at the thermometer showed that it was now 55 degrees...a 40 degree temperature variance! Now all the sweat in my clothing was becoming cold and clammy and I was getting a chill loading the bike up. No matter, as soon as I start riding I will warm back up, right? Nope. I had a headwind, it was getting colder, and I forgot that there is a fair amount of elevation to gain on the 15 or so miles to the campsite. Of course, I hadn't eaten much all day because who can eat in that kind of heat? So here comes the bonk, a sensation of empty legs and woozy head. I managed to cram down a Clif bar, sip some water, and kept riding. I must be getting close, right? 

It seemed like I had been riding a long way, and the lake must be getting close, and I was feeling like if I didn't get to a campsite soon and get some hot food and drink into me I was going to drop. I took a look at the GPS and saw that I had ridden less than 7 miles out of the 15 to the campsite. I started to get that trapped animal feeling, knowing either way I went I had more riding than I wanted to do. Screw the lake! I needed to find a place to pull over and make camp, ASAP.

After what seemed like an eternity, I finally saw a spot next to a small stream, with a nice flat spot for a tent, and a fire-pit. This seemed like it would be perfect! I leaned the bike against a fallen tree, cleared an area for my tent, and started unloading the bike. I grabbed the tent, and...wait a minute. That bush has 3 leaves on every branch. And there are a million of them everywhere I look, right next to the bike, right next to the spot for the tent, next to the water, everywhere! Yep, it was Poison Oak, and it was covering almost every inch of the campsite. I almost shed a tear as I realized I had to pack the bike back up and get back on it. 

I was totally beaten. I was hungry, cold, wet with sweat, and the sun was going down in about an hour. I had to make the decision to face my second failure in one day and head back to the car, the shortest of my diminishing options. At least I had the benefit of a gradual downhill as I rode the railroad grade back down to the car. A half hour later I was back at the car and I had the bike unloaded for the third time today, and what a day it had been. Thank goodness the heater could bake me back to warmth, and the car could carry me back to the safety and comfort of my house. Adventures can be so amazing! But, sometimes they just plain suck ass. There's no place like home.

The 2nd Annual Ancient Lakes Fatbike Overnighter 2015

The 2nd Annual Ancient Lakes Fatbike Overnighter 2015

Two friends and I finally got out on Saturday, April 26th, for one of the rides that I have really been looking forward to since riding it the first time, something I call the Ancient Lakes Fatbike Overnighter. It is so beautiful, and so much fun, I am definitely making it an annual ride from now on.

My friend and coworker Boo has a nearly new XS 2014 Surly Pugsley, and although it had been out on a couple of day rides it was time to get it properly dirty and broken in. After our miserable experience attempting the Idaho Hotsprings Ride we wanted to get this year's bikepacking adventures off on the right tire, so we made plans with my veteran riding buddy John, and the good Dr. Ian to head back to Central Washington, where all of us had at least done day rides before, and where John and I had done the first Ancient Lakes Ride in 2014. This would be Dr. Ian's shakedown ride on his new Borealis Yampa fatty, and I had a new Rohloff Speedhub 500/14 laced into my rear wheel. With Boo's nearly mint Pugsley we were all psyched to get out there and break in some new gear, ride some dirt, dodge some rattlesnakes, and spend some time in the outdoors. 

Good friends on awesome bikes

The loose plan was to head to Dusty Lake on the first day and camp out, find another undetermined destination for the second night, and then head back to Seattle to complete the 3-days/2-nights ride. Unfortunately, Saturday was looking pretty crappy weather-wise, so I decided to postpone the first day and start the ride on Sunday for just a single overnighter to Dusty Lake and back. Boo and I were carpooling, and Dr. Ian and John were going to drive together, but at the last minute the good Dr. needed to bail, so then we were down to 3. John, being the badass that he is, decided to brave the weather and go out on Saturday anyway. His plan was to do the ride to Dusty Lake, camp out overnight, and then ride out to meet us at the trailhead on Sunday so he could join us for the ride back in to Dusty Lake for Sunday night.

John the badass

Meanwhile, Boo's family has a cabin on Lake Wenatchee, and he offered it up for Saturday night as a place to stay for a halfway point on the drive to Vantage and the trailhead for our Sunday ride. The cabin is a rustic but cozy little hideaway, just a short walk downhill right to the beautiful lake. Boo and I drove over there and spent a cold but very relaxing day and night hanging by the fire insert, shooting the shit, and eating pasta, bread, and cookies till we were ready to explode. 

Boo's cabin on Lake Wenatchee

Sunday morning, after a painfully lengthy packing session as Boo sorted out his gear, we finally had the car loaded and drove over Blewett Pass to I-90 and made our way east past Vantage and over the Columbia River. After crossing the river it was just a short drive to the Frenchman Coulee climbing area and the trailhead where our ride was to begin. John, not knowing what time we were planning on arriving, had been waiting quite a while, but met us with smiles and tales of good weather and a fun previous day's ride. At this point it was just gorgeous out, so after more fussing and sorting of Boo's gear, we were almost ready to ride!

"C'mon, Boo!"

I had planned on filming the ride with all of us carrying cameras and GoPros, but my digital curse struck once again. My fully charged GoPro ended up having a dead battery and I said, "Fuck it, let's just ride and forget the filming." Of course at this point I am really disappointed because I love documenting these rides and making YouTube films out of them, but it does add an incredible amount of work and complication to a ride, and sometimes it's just nice to skip the whole rigmarole and just ride the bike. And, we can always shoot stills and some video on our iPhones.

The first mile or two of the trail is incredibly rough, which may be why this is not a more popular riding destination. Still, our fatbikes eat up the terrain and we bounce and bump along until the trail more or less smoothes out, turning into a mix of rock, sand, dust, and dirt. Some of the soft stuff is just like flour, and our drivetrains quickly start grinding and creaking, sounding absolutely horrible in the quiet of the desert environment. We are three professional bike mechanics, but not one of us thought to bring chain lube, so we just try to ignore the sound of our drivetrains trying to sand themselves into a slow, horrible death. This is where I am thankful for the Rohloff, an IGH wonder machine where all the shifting and gears are sealed inside a dustproof metal housing in the rear wheel. Nevertheless, the chain and cogs are on the outside, and they sound just as bad as everyone else's, making me wonder if our bikes are going to hold together for the duration of the ride. On the positive side, Boo's Pugsley is finally going to get really and truly dirty! 

Boo on his shiny new Pugsley. Not shiny for long!

As we make our way northward, paralleling the Columbia River, it gets hotter and the sun starts to work on any exposed skin. John is already getting pretty burned, having already spent a day out here, and everyone adopts my no-helmet/wide-brimmed-hat style of desert riding. At an average speed of under 5mph and a more or less flat route, there just isn't much risk in riding without a helmet out here. But heat exhaustion and sunstroke are a very real threat, and it is better to stay covered up if you can stand it. In the interest of traveling with as little gear and clothing as possible I am riding in a long sleeve base-layer shirt, and wind-blocking long pants...all black. Surprisingly, for me it is not too hot, as long as we are moving and there is a breeze. 

A happy rider!

It takes us about two and a half hours to get to Dusty Lake, and by the time we get there we are dirty and satisfyingly tired. 

The Dusty Lake campsite

Although Saturday night John found the premium camp site to be totally packed with people, today on Sunday there is not another person in sight and we have the entire place to ourselves. Boo and I set up our tents while John lays out his bivy sack, and we start to think about dinner as the sun slowly drops behind the few wispy clouds. 

As usual, I brought at least twice as much food as I need, and I immediately start foisting the extra off on my riding partners, who accept offerings of string cheese with appreciation, if not exactly enthusiasm. 

It is going to be a beautiful night, with a half moon that turns out to be almost bright enough to read by. It is surprisingly mild and warm out, with a soft breeze blowing, and as the sun sets, the voices of thousands of frogs call us to our waiting sleeping bags. Too tired to even read, we each drift off to sleep listening to the croaking chorus.

Monday dawns warm and bright, with full morning sun glowing through my tent wall and baking me out of my comfy sleeping arrangements. I see Boo drag himself out of his tent, John somehow extricates himself from his bivy, and we all gather around last night's dinner spot to make breakfast. For some of us it's granola, for me it's potatoes and eggs, and for all of us it's coffee, with plenty of extra string cheese to go around! 

Mmmmm, string cheese! 

After breakfast John is packed and ready to ride in about ten minutes, and about fifteen minutes later I am ready as well, but Boo is still sortin' gear. Patience is the order of the day, and we have no place we need to be, so I take a walk, John finds minimal shade under a small bush, and we wait for Boo to get himself organized and ready to go. Bikepacking is a challenging balance of what to bring, what not to bring, and how to carry it efficiently in the very limited space you have available on a bike. John rides minimalist, I am a little more indulgent, and Boo is still finding his balance, having to deal with riding and carrying everything on an XS-size fatbike, which makes figuring out how to pack things that much harder. It will take time and practice, but he will get there and find his own style. 

We finally get going, and by now it is midday and much hotter than yesterday. It has been cool enough to not worry about, but I expect that today or tomorrow the rattlesnakes will finally hatch and the trails will be covered with thousands of the little nasties. I want to be out of here before that happens! The ride out is hot, the guys are running low on water, and I am making it worse by wanting to film today. I brought an auxiliary battery pack and was able to charge my GoPro back up, so filming has begun again with all its back and forth for setting up shots, riding through, and going back for the camera. It is extra exhausting, but Boo and John are real troopers and their patience is a big help in trying to document the ride so others can vicariously enjoy it.

The Ancient Lakes Fatbike Overnighter video

It seems like too soon, but before we know it we are back at our cars for the hero shots, the high fives, and the assurances to make plans for the next ride. Boo's bike is well broken in, we are sunburned, smiling, and starving! It's time to get loaded up, and head into Ellensburg for some Mexican food, ice cold drinks, and lots of talk about what worked, what didn't, and what we will do different next time. Damn...I can't wait for next time!!! 

Thanks so much to Boo and John for being great riding partners and good friends. I really look forward to our next fatbiking/bikepacking adventure together!

The ill fated Idaho Hot Springs Mountain Bike Ride, final wrap-up

Click here for day 1

In this post I will be talking about my gear, our trip planning, what worked, and what didn't.

The bike:
I rode a size small Surly Pugsley that I built up from a bare frame set. It was mostly 9 speed Shimano SLX, with Avid BB7 brakes, and Jones H-Bars. The drive train performed flawlessly, but then again it had better because I am a professional bike mechanic! Like many riders doing long distance dirt touring, I LOVE the Jones bars for both their comfort on the bike, and for the options they provide for mounting points and hand positions. I used Ergon GP-1 grips, super comfortable and great at relieving hot spots and hand pressure.  My saddle is a Brooks Flyer, really heavy, but the most comfortable saddle I have ever owned, and well worth the extra weight. I used Welgo MG1 cage pedals. The wheels were hand built using Surly Holy Rolling Daryl rims laced to a Hope Fatsno front hub and a SRAM X-7 rear hub. They are still as perfectly true as the day I built them. I rode regular Surly Endomorph tires and had no flats, although I had put Stan's in the tubes. I ran the tires between 16 and 20 PSI, which is much higher than you would run them for sand or snow, but perfect for the conditions we were riding while carrying a full load. I had two Salsa anything cages, one on each fork leg. Unloaded, the bike weighs about 35lbs, which seems heavy, but it rides really nice. I really think a fat bike is the perfect bike for this kind of touring.

Bikepacking bags:
I used a full set of Revelate Designs bike bags, including the Pugsley frame bag, Viscacha seat bag, Gas Tank,  Jerry Can, 2 Mountain Feed Bags, Harness, and the Large Front Pocket. Eric makes a fantastic line of bags! My only criticism is the zipper on the frame bag, which was super difficult to open and close when the bag was full. I used several Sea to Summit products, including their Big River,  eVent and Ultra-Sil compression dry sacks, and a Reactor Thermolite Liner for inside my sleeping bag. I was really happy with all of these products and have no criticisms whatsoever, they worked awesome.

Tools:
I carried a selection of tools and spare parts in the small compartment of the frame bag, none of which I really needed, but all of which I was very happy to have along. I had a cheap multi-tool, a leatherman, chain tool and spare chain links, low pressure tire gauge, CO2 canisters and inflator, spoke wrench, tire lever, patch kit, needle and thread for repairing sidewall cuts, a spare tube in the Jerry Can with a bottle of chain lube, a spare shift and brake cable, spare brake pads, zip ties, and misc 5mm and 6mm bolts and nylock nuts and washers. I carried a Lezyne Low Volume hand pump in the frame bag's main compartment. This is a fantastic pump, I have been super happy with it. I am sure there are other things in there that I am forgetting!

Cooking:
For cooking I carried a simple Jetboil stove on the fork, which I cannot recommend highly enough! For a backup, and just for fun, in the main frame bag compartment I also carried an Emberlit Ti wood stove, which works awesome. Also in the frame bag I carried a Snowpeak Multi Compact Ti cook kit for eating out of, and a Ti Spork. For washing up I carried an MSR Alpine Dish Brush/Scraper which is small, light weight, and works perfectly. I carried a spare canister of fuel in the cook kit, with the scraper and a bic lighter. For water in camp, I filled an MSR Dromedary bag which I carried in the front pocket with my MSR Miniworks water filter. On the opposite fork leg from the stove, I carried a Nalgene 1 litre bottle filled with water, and wrapped on the outside with a few yards of Gorilla Tape. And lastly, in the frame bag I carried my beloved insulated mug!

Sleep:
My sleeping bag was the much maligned Mountain Hardwear Ultra Lamina 32, carried in a dry bag inside the front harness. I can't really blame the bag since I was unknowingly sleeping well outside of its recommended comfort range. The bag is super light weight, compresses down smaller than any bag I have seen, and works perfectly for a summer bag down to about 40 degrees. I need to find a cold weather bag though if I plan on doing anything like this in the future. My pillow is a simple rubber inflatable thing that I have been dragging around for about 25 years, it still works perfectly. I also used the earlier mentioned Reactor Thermolite Liner inside my sleeping bag, both for extra warmth and to keep the bag clean. My sleeping pad was the diminutive Cascade Designs NeoAir Xlite. So incredibly tiny and light, but very comfortable, and seems to be durable as well. Very noisy though. Some people say it sounds like you are sleeping on a potato chip bag. I never found it to be that bad, but it may annoy your neighbors if they are sleeping too close!

Tent:
My tent, also carried in a dry bag in the front harness was the wonderful MSR Hubba. I just LOVE this tent! It also packs down incredibly small, is very lightweight, sets up super easily with one pole (which I carried in the frame bag main compartment,) and can be used in 3 different configurations. This is the best tent I have ever used.

Clothing:
Worn while riding- My beloved Tilley T3 hat with a bandana draped under to cover my neck, clear lens riding glasses, a simple synthetic t-shirt, Pearl Izumi short finger gloves,  Fox Sergeant shorts with liner, synthetic bike socks, and simple Shimano bike shoes.
In addition, in my seat bag I carried a pair of regular underwear, a pair of swim trunks, an extra t-shirt, extra pair of riding socks, extra liner, mid weight long sleeve synthetic shirt, wool buff, wool watchman's cap, fleece gloves, wool socks, puffy jacket with hood, and windproof winter riding pants.
I also carried a full set of rain gear in a stuff sack strapped to the top of the seat bag, but thankfully never needed to use it!
One of my favorite pieces of gear were my Crocs. I had a major bias against these, but after reading about everyone carrying them for bike packing, I decided to give them a try. They are super light weight, super comfortable, great for wearing in water, dry instantly, and will be the first thing I reach for when packing for any trip in the future. They are a must have!
I also carried a helmet strapped onto the seat bag which I wore for the downhills.

Backpack:
I wore a backpack, partially for the extra capacity, but also to carry a 3 litre water bladder to drink from while riding. The pack was an Arcteryx Chilcotin 20 which I found to be surprisingly comfortable, considering how much weight I was carrying in it.

FOOD!
 I carried all my food in the backpack. We had planned on seven days unsupported for the first leg, and since I am vegetarian and knew it would be hard to find things I could eat in small towns I had a full weeks worth of food in my pack. Each meal was individually packed in a ziploc bag. I repacked the freeze-dried dinners in smaller ziploc bags as well.
My daily meal plan was as follows:
Breakfast every morning was 1 cup of granola premixed with powdered soy milk that I just needed to add water to, and either hot chocolate or hot tea. I was really surprised how good the powdered soy milk actually was, it was delicious!
Snacks for morning and afternoon were Peanut Butter Clif Bars. I never get tired of these things! Sometimes I would carry some trail mix as well.
Lunch was 1/2 cup of TVP premixed with spices and rehydrated in 1/2 cup boiling water. TVP has zero fat, is high in iron and protein, and is really filling. I would wrap it in a tortilla shell with some cheddar cheese, and have a delicious and power packed lunch in under ten minutes.
Dinner was almost always Backpackers Pantry Freeze Dried Lasagna, followed by hot chocolate.

Peripherals:

On the side of the front pouch I carried a small monocular for bird watching. In the pouch I also carried a line for hanging food at night, an extra bic lighter, and the map I so seldom referred to, as well as my water filtering equipment.

In the feed bags I carried my electronics on one side, and snacks for the day on the other.

Toiletries and medical kit were carried in the outer pocket of the backpack for easy access.

 Electronics:
My electronics were really simple, my iPhone synched to a Delorme Inreach, my Kindle Paperwhite (carried in the back pack,) and a Mophie Powerstation Pro for battery backup and charging. Although the Delorme is a pain in the ass to use on its own, when linked to the iPhone it works well, and was a lifesaver when we were out of cell range and I wanted to stay in touch with my wife, or when I had cancelled the ride and I needed to get Lee to come pick us up.

The map:
 This is a tough one. I know that there is a ton of work that goes into the creation of a route like this, and that things change so quickly that you have to be really flexible and able to adapt to the changes as they come. That being said, I feel like the map, and the descriptions of the route, don't even come close to describing how incredibly difficult this ride actually is. The level of fitness required is way, way above what you would normally expect for a traditional bike tour, even an off pavement tour for mountain bikes. I know incredibly strong, younger, experienced riders who have had to bail on this ride because it was much harder than they expected. It was disappointing to not have accurate mileages listed for the climbs so you could get a better sense of how steep they really are. The elevation profile is just not a reasonable way to accurately represent the steepness of those climbs, they are brutal!

Training:
 I really overestimated my fitness and preparedness for this ride. I ride my bike to work everyday, year round, and I thought that would make me stronger and more prepared for this ride than it did. I needed to do a lot more long distance riding, and a ton more training climbing hills. I can easily do a ride over Snoqualmie Pass and gain almost 3000' of elevation, but that is over 25 miles, not 8. It's a huge difference, and I just was not prepared for it.

I will continue to add to this list as I remember all the things I have forgotten!

Click here to go to day 1

www.rustyknorr.com

The ill fated Idaho Hot Springs Mountain Bike Ride...Day 4

Click here for day 1

It was about 4am, and once again, I awoke absolutely freezing. There was nothing for it, so I just tried to go back to sleep, knowing it was going to be my last night sleeping cold. As soon as I saw the sun rise I immediately put my shoes on, and walked out to the road where the sun was already shining. I just stood there in the road, trying to warm my shivering body. After about half an hour, I was warm enough to head back to the campsite and make some hot chocolate and hot granola, which helped some. It did seem like I was getting colder, and staying colder, for longer each morning. 

The sun shining on Boo's tent was enough to finally roust him out of bed, and he dragged himself into the light of day. Just as he was thinking about what to eat, the ATV riders in the camp next to ours invited us over to join them for breakfast, and with a big fire burning in their fire pit, we gladly accepted and hurried over! Boo enjoyed the breakfast burritos they offered him, and I had room for a muffin, and we all just chatted by the fire for a while. They were really nice folks, and we really appreciated their generosity, and their fire!

We slowly packed up camp, knowing we were in no hurry today, and still feeling the effects of yesterday's ordeal. It was nearly lunch time before we finally got on the road, and had made our way back into the town of Featherville.

The town of Featherville

Once we arrived in town we were met by the owner of Cindie's Featherville Cafe, and he proceeded to tell us all about the town, the route we were on, the other riders who had passed through town, the roads in the surrounding areas, the weather, etc. He was really nice, and super helpful, and I highly recommend stopping by if you are ever in Featherville. He found out for us that the local motel was all booked up for the night (wtf?) and helped us call the motel in Pine so I could book us a room there for later tonight.

We were starving again by now, so we went inside to check out the menu. I couldn't believe it...a veggie burger! Boo ordered the special, I had the veggie burger, and they were both delicious. There was cell reception in town, and free wi-fi in the cafe, so we were able to catch up with email and call our loved ones to let them know about the change in plans. 

Once we were fed and hydrated, we got back on the road heading to Pine. We had heard mileage ranging from 7 to 18 miles, but since it was all on pavement and mostly downhill we weren't too worried. Boo was feeling pretty empty from yesterday, and had to take a break about halfway, but I was feeling surprisingly OK, although I am sure I couldn't have climbed anything at all if we had had any elevation gain to speak of.

13 miles later we arrived in the town of Pine, and immediately made our way to Nester's Pine Motel. I was shocked at the cost, $80 a night, but I would have payed ten times that much to sleep in a warm bed and have a hot shower. The room was actually really nice and clean, and we were so psyched to see that the motel had a hot tub! We were going to get one more "hot spring" before the ride was over! 

After taking awesome and much needed showers, and relaxing in the room for a while, we took a walk around town, which took about ten minutes, and then headed down to the river to see if we could see some birds. I once again soaked my feet in the nice cool water, and we saw some beautiful raptors soaring overhead, and then it was back to the room for a nap before dinner. 

There aren't a lot of options for dinner in Pine, so we went to the Pine Resort Cafe which was attached to the Pine Resort Saloon and separated by...yep, double swinging saloon doors. I had heard there was pizza at the cafe, but when the menu came out, there was no pizza on it. The server said "You have to order pizza in the saloon." So, we headed though the swinging doors into the smoky, noisy, smelly saloon and grabbed a table with the biggest ashtray on it I had ever seen. There was only the bartender serving, and it took her a while to get to us, and when she did...she brought us the exact same menus! I said "I wanted to order pizza but I don't see it on the menu." She said "We got frozen pizza for ten bucks, or pizza from Featherville for twenty five bucks." I said "Well, what kind do you have?" And she said "We got frozen pepperoni, frozen sausage, or frozen supreme with pepperoni and sausage. Or we got pizza from Featherville that's pepperoni, sausage, or supreme with pepperoni and sausage." And then she walked away. I looked at Boo and said "Fuck this, let's go back to the cafe!" So off we went back through the swinging doors, to the cafe and the strange look from the server as she brings us back the same menus. I looked the menu up and down, and couldn't find a single thing vegetarian except for the toasted cheese sandwich. Oh, boy. I asked her if she could sauté up some veggies to throw in it and she said "Sure." Boo decided it was safest to have a burger, and my sandwich arrived in all it's glory...toasted Wonder bread with Velveeta and sautéed frozen veggies inside, and tater tots on the side. I cracked up laughing, and dug into my dinner, thoroughly enjoying my return to civilization.

Click here for my gear list, and the wrap-up of what worked, and what didn't.

www.rustyknorr.com 

The ill fated Idaho Hot Springs Mountain Bike Ride...Day 3

Click here for day 1

It was still dark, and I couldn't believe how cold I was. I was starting to get scared, thinking I might have to buy a new bag once we reached Ketchum, if I didn't freeze to death before we got there. 

"Dammit! When is the sun going to come up?!" We were down in a valley again, and the sun didn't actually shine down there until late in the morning, so I put my shoes on and headed down to the hot spring to at least warm my feet on the rocks. It wasn't long before Boo dragged himself out of his tent and joined me, having endured another cold night, but at least avoiding getting wet from sweat by using his bag as a quilt rather than a bag. What a pathetic pair we were! It was after heading back to the campsite for breakfast that I noticed ice on my bike. It had dropped below freezing overnight! In a bag with a 40 degree comfort rating I was going to have to do something drastic to be able to sleep safely and comfortably, I just didn't know what it was going to be.

The amazing view from camp in the morning

I still felt awful, and was getting worried I had picked up some bug. Regardless, I managed to force down some hot granola and tea, and got myself packed up and ready to ride. We only had about three miles to go to reach the base of our next significant challenge, and the one I was most worried about...the Unnamed Summit, a 3000+ foot gain in elevation over less than 8 miles. I thought it was going to be super hard, it turns out I had no idea what I was in for. 

We started riding and it was turning out to be another gorgeous day. Although it had been bitterly cold at night, the weather had been perfect during the last couple of days. And today we were passing by some of the prettiest scenery yet.

Breathtaking

We were both out of water, so three miles later when we came to the bridge that marked the beginning of our climb, we were only too happy to pull over and take some time to filter some water. I was feeling a bit better by this time so I ate a Clif bar in the hopes I could keep my energy up. Now, with a full supply of water, we crossed the bridge and began what would be physically the hardest day of my life. 

Now, it always takes me a while to get warmed up, but once I do I am fine. And we were both thinking that the climb would be a gradual, but progressively steeper grade. Nope. We hit the wall, immediately dropped to our lowest gears, and began grinding away. We would ride for a while, our lungs would burn, and we would stop and try to catch our breath. Ride, stop, breathe, repeat. 

After what seemed like a really long time, but was only 1.2 miles in, it got so steep I had to start pushing the bike. This was not too much of a problem, because in Boo's lowest gear he was riding at the same speed I was walking! I would ride a bit, then stop, then walk a bit, then stop. Repeat until you can't believe you aren't at the top yet. Finally, thinking we had to be pretty close, I asked Boo (who had the cyclometer) "How far have we climbed so far?" He said "Two miles." Two miles?! Are you kidding me?! We aren't even half way? We are barely a quarter of the way? I was totally crestfallen because I was getting really tired at this point, or at least I thought I was tired. In actuality the climb, and the suffering, had barely begun.

Of course, this gives no idea of how steep it was

This was me, for about 6 hours

There was no choice but to keep going, keep pushing, keep moving. I no longer had the legs to ride, it was too steep and I was not in good enough shape to push through it. I just had to put my head down, and put one foot after the other, and keep pushing from one shady spot to the next. That became my only source of motivation, "Just get to that next shady spot so you can rest a minute. OK, start pushing, the next shady spot is just up there a bit. Keep going." And this went on for literally hours, and hours, until I became this bike pushing, suffering thing. I dug deeper than I ever thought I could to keep going, to keep pushing that stupid bike up that stupid mountain. 

It was about 5 hours in when a Sheriff drove up, going up the pass. If there had been any space in his rig, I would have begged him on hands and knees for a ride, but it was not to be. Instead, he asked "How ya doin?" And I said "Not great. How much farther to the summit?" He replied "Well, to be honest, it's a looong way. Have you got food, and water?" In a totally broken spirit, I said "Yeah." And he wished me good luck, and drove away. I made my way up to Boo, and he asked me what the Sheriff said, and I told him, and we just shook our heads and kept going. At this point I had no choice. I couldn't go back because we would have had to go back through the washout again, I couldn't stay there on the mountain because I would seriously have frozen overnight, I just had to go forward.

About 15 minutes later, we saw a pickup truck coming down the pass, and he stopped when he pulled up next to us. He leaned out the window and said "The Sheriff wanted me to tell you boys he was mistaken about the distance to the summit. It's only about two tenths of a mile from here, you are almost there." We thanked the guy profusely, and somehow got a small burst of energy to push us to the top. Once there, we collapsed in a heap under the shade of a huge tree that people had been using for a toilet, and tried to eat some food. Boo got me to take a "jumping for joy" pic of him, although I didn't have any joy to share. 

Boo, jumping for joy at the "summit"

Painful as it was, we still had a lot of miles to put in today, with another small summit right before the town of Featherville, so we threw on some warm clothes and got back on the bikes with the knowledge that "it's all down hill until then." And then again, maybe we should have been paying closer attention to the map. We started down the hill, happily coasting along...until the road flattened out...and then began to climb again, and get steeper and steeper, until I was back off the bike, pushing and cursing when I realized that we had been on a FALSE SUMMIT!!! We had another two miles to go, all of it up. I could have cried right there if it had done any good, but I was too broken to do even that. 

The road begins to climb again, after the false summit

The summit, once we finally reached it, was utterly anticlimactic and we rolled over it without even realizing we had finally summited. The road just got gradually easier, until we were riding, and then coasting downhill once again. We had a brief moment of panic when we came to a fork in the road and a broken sign with the directions we needed lying in the bushes. One fork went down, the other began a steep climb, and I thought "If our route takes us up that steep hill, I am going to kill myself right here and now." Fortunately, a truck full of loggers rolled up and told us our way was down, meaning I would live to see another day. There isn't a lot more to tell about the downhill to Rocky Bar. We enjoyed the well earned free ride, although it was pretty cold and we had to stop and add layers to keep warm and block the wind. 

Rocky Bar was really kind of creepy. Just a couple of old buildings, and what looked to be a couple of occupied houses with windows boarded up, but no sign of people anywhere. It was the kind of place they make scary movies about, and I was happy to move on as soon as possible.

Old and new in Rocky Bar

We raised the population from 4 to 6 while we were there

 A creepy, old, abandoned house

Once we passed through Rocky Bar we new that the next climb was not far off. I desperately hoped it would be a shallower grade so I could ride it, otherwise we wouldn't make it to our campsite until after dark! As it turned out, most of it was rideable, although my legs were so exhausted by this time that I still had to walk almost half of it. Undeterred, once we had finished the last downhill of the day we finally rode into Featherville, and after a quick pass through the town to have a look around, we headed for our campsite for the night, and 28 miles for the day later we arrived at Abbott Campground. 

I was happy to realize that I had my appetite back, and once we had camp set up I quickly made up a healthy dose of veggie lasagna. It was while sitting down to dinner that I had to break the news to Boo...I was done with the trip, I couldn't go on. We had another pass to climb the next day, which was 4000+ feet of elevation gain over about the same mileage as today, and I couldn't do it. And even if I could, I didn't want to spend another 8 hours pushing my bike up a mountain. I had had a lot of time to think while climbing that pass, and I had to admit that the ride was out of my league. I had been looking for a fun challenge, and this was not it. Freezing every night, and suffering every day? That's not my idea of a vacation! I was so sorry for Boo, but I think he was as wiped out as I was, and I knew he would be OK with my decision, once he got over his disappointment. 

So, it was decided that we would camp tonight, and head back into Featherville tomorrow to see about getting a motel, or head down to the town of Pine about 12 miles away and get a motel there. Our rescue driver Lee would come out to pick our sorry asses up, and take us back to Boise for some well deserved R and R. With a sense of relief, and disappointment, I headed off to the tent, and the hopes that it might be a warmer night.

Click here for day 4

www.rustyknorr.com