Originally Posted by
Bassmanbob
I've decided not to take a spare tire. My buddy is taking two pieces of old tire as a boot. If he doesn't go, then I'll be OK with no extra tire.
I do have, and will use, my mirror on my glasses.
Cold in SE Florida in April? Honestly, not usually, but it did go down to the mid to high 50's last week. Besides simulating a week or two summer tour, I'm also simulating a tour outside of Florida, hence a top and bottom base layer and buff as well as my rain jacket. I do have rain pants, but I really would rather not considering it's fairly heavy.
Food & Water: I'm taking two days worth, even though I don't need to. We will be near a quickie mart/ gas station Friday night and a supermarket Saturday night. but I want to simulate a situation where I'm not near a reliable food source for two days. I will have access to water at the camp sites, and I'm taking two 28 oz water bottles and 2 empty liter Smart Water bottles. I will fill them up Saturday and Sunday mornings, considering we will not have a water source for about 40 miles during that ride and about 30-35 miles the next day. For those of you who know Florida, Saturday we are riding out of Palm City to Okeechobee. Sunday we are riding out of Okeechobee to Ft. Pierce. There is no reliable water source between each of those towns. Then I will continue, solo, to my home about 20 miles south of Ft. Pierce with plenty of water purchasing opportunities.
sounds all very reasonable.
(my rain pants are quite light, its my rain jacket that is heavyish, but its what I got...)
re a boot for the rare occurance of slicing a tire, take some pieces of tyvek envelopes, apparently it makes a great tire boot. I finally just bought a pack of Parks stick on tire boots, pack of 2 or 3, so I have one in my repair kit now. The old dollar bill trick apparently works well too, never had to myself, but modern bills are very tough. We however, use Loonies, a dollar coin, so we can not get away with using a buck...
Yup, making sure to have water , more than needed, is really smart. Totally worth carrying the weight.
and yes, a great idea to jot down what you didnt use, what you know you really didnt need, what you would have liked to have had, etc etc. What clothes worked great, what combos to take and use for a given temp, ie was I comfortable etc....
Its a great exercise for "next time" planning your equipment list.