Looks awesome. This stuff is inspirational.
When you go for a road bike tour do you plan on stealth camping? I am probably going to leave my tent off my rig when I go, taking only the Hammock, and two tarps, one smaller camo for stealth, and one bigger sub one pound nysil tarp(bright red) to bivy in in heavy rain and in campgrounds where hanging is not an option. The smaller tarp will then be a ground cloth to protect the hammock bottom. Will take some pegs to stormproof things.
I figure that rest days can be spent in grotty little motels. Generaly follow the once a week thing for rest days, unless a snow storm or the like convinces me to take one.
On my last longer(1000+ miles)trip I took one tarp and a hammock, so its not my first rodeo, but there were some nights where I just literally threw myself on the ground to sleep wrapped in the tarp. Luckily it was winter so ticks were less of an issue.
I weighed my home made bags the other day, and the front, rear and middle came in at 1 pound 4 ounces. So I am convinced that I should go whole hog and really reduce.
Looking at this as a bag,
http://www.rei.com/product/746296/re...5-sleeping-bag. Cheap enough that I can still make the rent. Its really low powered at 55F for a fall tour, but with a adventure medical bivy sack it would still bulk less than my current bag, and come in at just under two pounds. In a hammock it could be used as an under quilt, with the bivy on top. As a warm sleeper who used to do winter backpacking with one wool blanket, I am not to worried.
my biggest current issue is the pad. Would like to just take a Z rest, I am used to those in a hammock, but while the weight it super low, its bulk is such that it would have to be strapped on the outside of the bags. I don't like inflatables for longer trips than a week. finding leaks and patching stinks.
All in all, going for simplicity and the potential for higher mile days seems like a great option, but still planning on doing some, ahem, encumbered touring, particularly when going with others who will be doing the same.