Touring - MY Surly LHT build

I'm planning a self-supported tour from Deadhorse, Alaska to Missoula, Montana next summer and need a bomb proof heavy touring bike. My other bike is a Rivendell Romulus but I can't afford an Atlantis and a SLHT is the next best choice. Just thought it might help others with a similar project if I listed what my components are:

Shimano M760 series front and rear derailers and cassette (12-34) and a Shimona XT M752 Crankset (44, 32, 22) with a Shimono ES-71 Bottom bracket (118 mm spindle).
Avid 7 V-pull brakes with Dia-compe brake levers and Dura-ace bar end shifters.
Cane Creek C-1 headset and a 46 cm Nitto Noodle handlebar. I have aerobars for headwinds and for another position in which to ride.
Speedplay X pedals. (I plan to change these out to SPD's when I tour.)
An old Brooks honey-brown saddle. It looks a lot like a B-17 (I have a B-17 on my Romulus) except the nose is much shorter. A friend had it and hated it (though he loves his B-17) and lent it to me to try out. I love it though I'm thinking of replacing it with a single-spring Brooks when I tour.
I'm having a custom wheel set (700c) built with Phil Wood Touring hubs 48 DT spokes front and rear with Mavic T519 Rims. I haven't decided on tires yet though they will be at least 42 wide for the first segment of the trip (the Dalton highway). I'm still waiting on my Surly front and rear racks and I haven't purchased panniers yet.

I built it all up myself with the help of a much more experienced friend.

I really like the bike and find it handles quite well unloaded. It doesn't seem that different than the Romulus in its geometry or the way it feels. It climbs hills well and the MT bike drivetrain seems adequate for the speeds at which I like to go down hills. I have had great fun spinning up all the local walls.

I originally wrapped the handlebars in yellow cloth tape and secured it with hemp twine and then coated all with amber shellac (2 parts alcohol to 1 part shellac). It looked great but the lack of padding made my pinky go numb so I took that off and put bar phat on. I'm considering wrapping yellow cloth tape over the black bar phat (2.5mm) and then shellacing that. My hands are big so I don't think the bars would be too wide. I would appreciate any suggestions on ways to wrap the bars.

I used cork tape on my recent tour, I didn't have any problems. I hate to ask a stupid question, but you were wearing some serious gloves right? I'm old school, a lot of the new gloves have really thin leather. Gel might work, but I couldn't find it. I use this kind of thing, though not this brand yet:

http://www.nashbar.com/profile.cfm?category=140&subcategory=1224&brand=&sku=3833&storetype=&estoreid=&pagename=

I used decent, but not great, Trek gloves. I just bought some new gloves with the thickest pad I could find. My pinky is still numb but less so.

Sounds like a killer buildup, good and sturdy. I drove that route many years ago, it's going to be a wonderful trip. As for the gloves, I'd recommend going with cork tape, even a second layer if you have big hands. I've got an aerobar on my c-dale, love it for the extra positions and when all the trees are leaning toward me days.

One thing I did was take an inexpensive fanny pack and had a couple of velco strips sown onto it so that I could strap it to my handlebars and have it drape over the stem toward me, to hold snacks, camera, wallet, stuff like that I wanted handy. I ended up cutting off the waistband, it always seemed to be a chore getting those wrapped up out of the way.

Have a great trip.

Steve W.