The next round of light bike touring is scheduled for this weekend. Big D and I are going to head out on Sunday, camp, and return Monday. The temperature is going to be a little cooler than last time, with an overnight low forcasted at 25.
We're trying a couple of different things. To mitigate the cold, we'll be zipping our mummy bags together. That should help generate more than enough heat to make up for the 7 degree reduction in temp. Pickles and I were just on the edge of being cold last time in our individual bags. Combined with warm clothes to sleep in, this should be fine.
We're abandoning the backpacker prepackaged food. We figure that's not something that's going to be readily available at any time during a longer tour, so there's no point depending on it now. It's lightweight and easy to make, but it's not the reality of our future doing this so it's out. Our dinner this time will be flavored rice (in a package) cooked with chicken. We'll cook the chicken beforehand, chop it up, and bag it to add to our rice. We'll pack a lunch for the first day, and grab lunch (probably in Brunswick) on the way back. For breakfast D is going to have instant grits, and I'm just going with Ramen noodles. (which are actually one of my favorite foods)
I've applied a metric ass-load of saddle oil to my Brooks Leather Saddle. Last trip, it occurred to me that it was nowhere near as broken in as it should be by now. This was due to me not reading the directions because I'm a dude and that's just how that goes.
We've borrowed a set of Arkel T-54 panniers. They're a bit larger than the Ortlieb bags that I have already, and include a fabric attachment for carrying your tent. We should be able to get more of our gear in the bags and less strapped to the platform. That will give the bikes a bit of a lower center of gravity and make them easier to handle. The Arkel bags also have a lot of compartmented pockets that will allow us to have access to things without dismantling everything, or digging to the bottom of a bag. (The Ortleibs are basically just a big waterproof bag)
All in all, it should be a good trip. It'll be colder, but we have the necessary gear to keep us warm, both while riding and camping. I'm going to try and take more pictures this time and some better video as well. Last trip I was more focused on just getting it done.
More to come.
We're trying a couple of different things. To mitigate the cold, we'll be zipping our mummy bags together. That should help generate more than enough heat to make up for the 7 degree reduction in temp. Pickles and I were just on the edge of being cold last time in our individual bags. Combined with warm clothes to sleep in, this should be fine.
We're abandoning the backpacker prepackaged food. We figure that's not something that's going to be readily available at any time during a longer tour, so there's no point depending on it now. It's lightweight and easy to make, but it's not the reality of our future doing this so it's out. Our dinner this time will be flavored rice (in a package) cooked with chicken. We'll cook the chicken beforehand, chop it up, and bag it to add to our rice. We'll pack a lunch for the first day, and grab lunch (probably in Brunswick) on the way back. For breakfast D is going to have instant grits, and I'm just going with Ramen noodles. (which are actually one of my favorite foods)
I've applied a metric ass-load of saddle oil to my Brooks Leather Saddle. Last trip, it occurred to me that it was nowhere near as broken in as it should be by now. This was due to me not reading the directions because I'm a dude and that's just how that goes.
We've borrowed a set of Arkel T-54 panniers. They're a bit larger than the Ortlieb bags that I have already, and include a fabric attachment for carrying your tent. We should be able to get more of our gear in the bags and less strapped to the platform. That will give the bikes a bit of a lower center of gravity and make them easier to handle. The Arkel bags also have a lot of compartmented pockets that will allow us to have access to things without dismantling everything, or digging to the bottom of a bag. (The Ortleibs are basically just a big waterproof bag)
All in all, it should be a good trip. It'll be colder, but we have the necessary gear to keep us warm, both while riding and camping. I'm going to try and take more pictures this time and some better video as well. Last trip I was more focused on just getting it done.
More to come.
No comments:
Post a Comment