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Old 02-28-13, 05:49 AM
  #21  
Bekologist
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Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: A land that time forgot
Posts: 18,023

Bikes: the ever shifting stable loaded with comfortable road bikes and city and winter bikes

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Nice- i see you've gotten some cold weather riding in, most excellent.

Originally Posted by takeonafrica
In many ways this winter bike touring trip was easier and more enjoyable than dealing with the heat, dust, flies, mosquitoes and lack of water in the desert and too much rain, humidity, spiders and snakes in the equatorial forests! So cold, clean and pristine.
you hit on some of the joys of winter camping - no bugs, no worries finding good water, pristine. Plus, long nights means a lot of down time and just laying about in the tent. (not sure I'd tour above the arctic near winter solstice, but that's just me)

Some buzzwords to help you fine tune your kit ( you probably used some of these), and for others to get steered in the right direction:

Mukkluks for riding
camp booties with tall overboot
stove board
two sleeping mats
candle lantern
emergency winter shelter for unplanned stops and lunches
overbag
puffy suit
bailing wire


for those wondering, a winter emergency shelter is common place winter equipment for alpine environments and scandanavia, where guides and skiers alike bring them to set up and sit in or behind during lunch breaks. They can protect a group when you need to hunker down in bad weather, deal with a medical, etc.

They are essentially huge silnylon sacks with vents and tieouts you string up or simply pull over a huddle of people. A one pound emergency shelter can help shield up to a half dozen people during inclement weather. Also usable as a tarp or windbreak in addition to a cubby shelter. They are fantastic to string up as a windbreak for lunches.

My emergency cubby (old 'Svarsky' design from Integral Designs in Canada) is big enough i simply stake out a narrow end to windward, and can pull the entire thing over me and my bike.

Bailing wire (for arctic, braided may work better, perhaps copper? need to check it out) is invaluable for rack and load bearing repairs in case of equipment failure. Using an awl (if needed) and a piece of bailing wire, a person can attach bags and bits to the bike, make load loops, wire panniers to racks in event of hook failure, substitute for bolts and hold together a broken rack.


and a tip -

frozen pump? Stuff it inside your pants leg while you set up your emergency shelter to get ready to change that tire.

Last edited by Bekologist; 03-03-13 at 05:23 AM.
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