Probably true, but I bet most are UL now.

If I remember correctly he had a support team that supplied him and ushered him off and back on the trail.

Of course all cycle tourists have to resupply when doing a "long tour". I realize everyone tours for different reasons. Personally I like back-country adventure travel and I've never been interested in "eateries" while touring. I generally resupply every 2 or 3 days, but have also done 10 days without resupply.

Interesting, this is making me feel like a roadie, only talking about pounds instead of grams. I think I will only make changes that might also benefit comfort and convenience as well as weight. Perhaps a hammock is more comfortable than a tent for solo camping...that sort of decision. It will give me something to obsess about over the winter.

Marc

wow, i made it through.
some good stuff, and funny stuff.

2 of my pics are in the first post.
i'm not ultralight yet. i have a few things i need to swap out in order to make a better go of it, but i can get my kit to ~18-20 or ~20-24 depending on weather and what i'm carrying. certainly need to add in food and water. includes a mini first aid kit, canon g12 camera (heavy, compared to an S100 or none at all), spare batteries for SPOT, GPS, and batteries and lights for running at night (dinotte with 4 swappable AAs and a Fenix LD20 for camp / helmet), and some stuff that will get pared down once again next time out. been overnight temps down into the 20s in a lean to, could likely go colder in a tent, to get a bit of microclimate around me, and keep the wind that was blowing through the floor boards off of me.

here's my dirt road / paved road setup:

IMG_9474 by mbeganyi, on Flickr

add a Jandd frame bag or revelate tangle to it for its current setup.
wingnut gear hyper, pretty much empty on the back - but holding wallet, phone, etc. can stash layers in it as needed - use it for a Patagonia down sweater for cold weather camping. used for cameling up as needed - food, water, etc.

here's my current bike of choice for dirt road, paved, single track, rough stuff (east coast), etc. salsa fargo, bike weighs more than my kit, depending on how i pack - but i can't think of going to a ti fargo frame until i lose 20 pounds off my body, and even then i'm not sure that its the right move to make:

start, intervale, btv by mbeganyi, on Flickr

one thing i will be doing when i save up some $$ is getting a dyno wheel built up for the fargo and adding a supernova to the mix. ditching the dinotte will be huge in terms of mentally being able to ride until after dark, generating my own power, potentially charging batteries for my GPS during the day, and only relying on swapping out my SPOT and headlamp batteries, if / as needed.

and from last years through ride of the ADKs and the Moose River Plains: (should have put on the fork bottle cages, but hindsight is 20/20 or so they say)

Salsa Fargo by mbeganyi, on Flickr

a late fall trip trying out some anything cages (jury is out on these... didn't need em, but filled em up to try em...)

IMG_0089 by mbeganyi, on Flickr

waiting, hoping that i can pick up a full frame bag this fall for the fargo. cook kit, tools, and water bladder will go in there. wingnut hyper will likely still go along as its become so damned convenient and is quite comfortable. yeah, i know some of you hate the idea of a back pack, and so did i, but it kind of grows on you. wallet, phone, in zippered left pouch, accessible on the move. spot tracker in mesh outside pocket, back right. empty bladder inside, for use as needed. knife that can be opened one handed in left shoulder strap mesh. room for all sorts of stuff... if needed. and i never need to think about having my primary items at hand when i get off the bike.


why? why not a rack and panniers? they work fine. i had a trek 520 i used with front and rear ortliebs and h-bar bag. matching set. worked well. but i carried so much stuff. and it isn't conducive to fast and light travel. and i hated (the very few times i did it) pushing a bike with panniers. and i really like the idea of limits. and i'm getting more and more into rough stuff (for the east) touring. tour divide is on my list. and i have some trips in mind where i'll hopefully be modding my gear so that the bike can go on my back as needed to get through / over wilderness areas. making use of soft bags for this is huge...


IMG_7759 by mbeganyi, on Flickr


IMG_7794 by mbeganyi, on Flickr


IMG_7776 by mbeganyi, on Flickr



dirt road, pavement, single track, forest road, etc. etc.
all good with my current setup. last trip out i carried enough food / water testing out a 100 mile resupply range. need to move to the larger convenience store water bottles on the forks, and add the bottle to the downtube. keeping a spare bladder in pack as needed, depending on the trip.

hennessy hammock or tarptent contrail for shelter. i like both. my hammock setup is actually heavier than my contrail.
(or e-bivy and finding some coverage, if needed, but i've only done that on overnights with a lean to potential of good weather)


fargo, contrail by mbeganyi, on Flickr

cook kit is a homemade alky stove or trangia, but i'm likely moving to esbit for longer / colder trips. going to experiment with cold coffee next time out. and no stove (before it gets too cool here), snow peak ti mug, homemade windscreen, bicycle spoke pot stand, etc. includes bag, micro biner, and 50' dyneema for bear bagging.


Proto v4, double wall, slightly wider, no wick by mbeganyi, on Flickr

rain gear - sucks. i have a showers pass that i love - but its heavy and packs large. i have worn it with wool base layers down into the teens and freezing rain... so i can't complain - but its a bit overkill for general summer riding.

clothing is tough. bulky in some cases.
wool is awesome - makes great rain gear too, when the temps are high.
jersey, shorts or bibs or knickers, ibex thin baselayer, defeet arm warmers, etc.

lots to learn. more weight to shed - my sleeping pad is next. awesome for the late october / november trip that i will end up taking - but too heavy for most use - insulated air core from big agnes. my bag can use a diet too - big agnes down 30df bag.


for me, this is where i'm at. its been working and being refined for me.
tour divide and colorado trail racers have much tighter, lighter kit.
i've seen some folks carrying more stuff to work, or for an overnight trip.
to each their own.

Thanks for the absolutely awesome breakdown, bmike.

all good stuff.

I keep toying with the idea of using Castelli NanoFlex and possibly ditching the Showers Pass setup
not too sure on that one yet.
that is, when I tried the TD, the weather was fairly significant. booties were like holding rice paper to a typhoon. post holing thru snow, etc...
definitely need either a hood, or a helmet cover. I opted for helmet cover when needed.

that 100 mile range you touched on, the key here is to simply be able to make that jump in one sitting.
it sounds kind of crazy, but each day on the TDR you have to average something like 120 miles per day, staying within 10% of the leader.

in real world "touring mode", being able to comfortably bridge a 100 mile gap in the dirt, pretty much places you at just about any logistical sources.
that goes to say, perhaps if you could manage about 10mph/av (fast) and put in a 12 to 14hr effort covering 100 miles
for me that pretty much equates to about 24 scoops of perpeteum.
2 scoops = 270 calories
so about 300 calories/hr (from what I know, is just about all your body can assimilate per hour)
beware of consuming too many calories per hour.
that puts me at about 4,000 calories of intake for 100 miles of dirt.

Hammer Nutrition has a lot of info on this stuff.

I'm pretty sure the caloric demand when all said and done is much more.

here is Day 2 from my attempt at TDR
https://connect.garmin.com/activity/38071110

[TABLE="class: summaryTable overall"]
[TR]
[TD="class: summaryTableLabel"]Distance:[/TD]
[TD]122.34 mi[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="class: summaryTableLabel"]Time:[/TD]
[TD]10:35:41[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="class: summaryTableLabel"]Avg Speed:[/TD]
[TD]11.5 mph[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="class: summaryTableLabel"]Elevation Gain:[/TD]
[TD]7,782 ft[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="class: summaryTableLabel"]Calories:[/TD]
[TD]8,018 C[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

32 scoops of Perpeteum comes in at about 4.8lbs = approx 8,600 calories
that 2 scoops/hr equation is not necessarily an absolute.
when I start out on a tour, I seem to be burning something close to this rate
but as the days go on, I seem to taper down, and start running leaner each day.

for me fuel and hydration seem to be the fuzziest variables.

it seems that every tour I end up not eating everything I've started with. At times I start giving it away.

when it comes to cooking, I ask myself if there its an advantage.
weight vs calories ratio possibly money comes into the equation. no doubt I've toured on under $10/day, eating quinoa canned tuna, and dried parmesan = cooking.

I love Snickers Bars, they are seriously dense in calories.
another are just about any enteral nutrition products which are found at places like CVS, WallGreens, Rite Aid, etc... products like Boost, Ensure, etc.
CIB is another oldie but goodie. Carnation Instant Breakfast.


one year while on tour from Astoria to Morro Bay, I stopped in Arcata, Ca to do the 12hrs of Humboldt. All I did was buy 12 bottles of Boost, and 1 bag of Jelly Bellies.
easy... consume 1 bottle per lap for 12 laps = 96miles and over 16,000ft of climbing .

the key here is to not chug your calories but instead try your best to meter your intake, you want to establish a baseline.
in order to do this, I simply mix up a volume that I can consume 300 calories/hr in 12 doses (5 minute intervals) of approx 15-30ml each dose, which is about 12oz every hour.

when you need to bolus calories, I'd eat some Jelly Bellies.

while on bicycle tour, I really like those stupid jelly orange slices.


obviously this process takes practice.
if you make it a regular part of your daily/weekly training, you can really start to nail your calories.

if you use something like a Garmin, it will estimate your the calories you've used up thus far. One of these days, I'll get a power meter of some sort, like a Quarq

of course if you do things like Double Centuries, some 24hr MTB races, etc... that experience is yet another tool in your favor.

clothing and sleeping gear. typically I ride thru the day, only pitching camp at the last minute.
1. to avoid "the explosion" where you pull everything out of your bags, and strew it everywhere. complete waste of time and energy. this can easily consume 2hrs per day if not careful.
2. I try my best to stay as mobile as possible, vs sitting around camp and staring at a fire. fire is fire, I've stared at enough campfires that I'm not curious anymore. I'd rather ramble about until 9pm, shower, then pitch camp, and go to bed.
3. typically when I shut down for the day, my body produces a ton of heat! I like to sit and do some kind of recovery, drink/eat whatever you can, stretch and massage my legs.

lately my tours have been in good weather. this last little jaunt the temps rarely dipped below 46F. I can still just lay directly on the ground and have no problems. If the ground is wet and its hovering in the 40's, I need some insulation. Doesn't really matter what it is.

vulpines are awesome
I have no idea why WTB has quit producing them for '13.
so this last jaunt I opted for the heavier Nanos, which are also awesome. old school.

electronics:
another major problem for me.
i try my best to simply ditch everything, but damn it, I still carry a cell phone camera, Garmin, digi cam, a Knog USB Boomer tail light (awesome), 1 Knog Frog front light (i use this light simply as a marker light), a Petzel E lite, and a Light and Motion Stella.
the light issue kills me.
at times I want to simply give in and use my Princeton Tech EOS Bike and use it for headlamp and bike light.
but that 300 lumens from the Stella is pretty nice. its definitely enough to ride thru the night with.


somehow when it gets dark, and I've finished some food somewhere, like mexi food, and I'm rested, I have this drive to simply want to crank out another 4hrs.

a thought about coffee.

either just give it up, which is what I do.
or
maybe try Espresso Hammer Gel
or
if you get headaches, you can just take some excedrin, its tylenol, aspirin and caffeine.

yes, you can simply just do away with the headache and use a large seat bag.

I considered that but the 10 ounce rack mounted on the canti bosses and the eVent dry bag I used last trip weighed less than any saddle bag that I have seen that was similar in capacity. It also carried the weight lower and was cheaper. Saddle bags work well for some but I really have not found them to be the best choice for me.

Do you mean do that to avoid carrying a stove? That might be a reasonable choice for some who do not want to cook or heat water, but carrying cook stuff is not exactly a crushing burden.

Those hints are great for someone who doesn't want to bother with coffee and is caffeine addicted, but for those who just like coffee they miss the mark.

I do tend to not bother with coffee in camp and do without except when I can stop for it, but that is because I don't want to bother, preferring to break camp more quickly. That said I don't see why someone would go without some means of cooking or at least heating water unless they just plain don't want to cook. My cook set in its basic configuration is 10 ounces and it is included in my 8 pound list. If that is too much it isn't that hard to make a 4 ounce cook set using pop can stove and Fosters can pot.

Interesting post. Thanks for sharing.

Rain gear....The last frontier. I tried the Marmot Mica ....meh. Light, breathable but eventually wets through. I'm thinking(especially for cold weather rain) the cheap plastic jackets from Performance. Cheap, light, compact, disposable(ish) and will keep you away from the cold elements. You will sweat like a pig though, so ride slowly.

Asanas post about Castelli nanoflex looks interesting. But ultimately you want your core warm and the arms and legs expendable. Perhaps a rain vest and Castelli for the arms and legs.

After three long tours my Mica now wets through. It also tore and now has a duct tape patch. 7.4 ounces (7.8 ounces with duct tape) is great but $50 per tour is an expensive disposable, especially one that's not used every day. I'm considering trying to revitalize it with waterproof spray.

I like the Princeton Tec light, but its metering leaves you with no indication the batteries are low until it simply refuses to work. I was out on a moonless night with a suddenly non-working Princeton Tec light. Good thing i've taken to wearing a very small micro headlamp like a necklace as backup.

I've taken to carrying less and less electronics to where even the video camera is being left behind these days.

And trying to stay respectable in my light demands to not need a super high powered front light, but a 1W or so like the Princeton Tec for battery life and non-rechargable factor. Off road and gravel you've got to pack the bigger lights - or generator? that'd be nice.

As to riding at night - on paved roads, often riding without lights or very minimal lights is really nice at night. I've been on near totally deserted paved roads after dark and the greatest thing is to turn off the headlight and ride with ambient light and a faint hint of the white line guiding your direction. Stellar experience when conditions allow. Full moon especially so.

Personally I don't worry too much whether it wets through or not. I also do not worry if I am soaked with sweat. I assume I will be wet and wear something that will sufficiently block wind combined with a light insulation layer that maintains warmth. For me I have in the past used a 7.5 oz. Sierra Designs coated nylon jacket with a light pile kayaking sweater. I have since moved to a DWR Stoic Wraith jacket.

This system does have its limits temperature wise but I have used it on tour with overnight lows in the mid teens and been OK. The coldest when it was actually raining that I have used it on tour was probably in the low 40s though.

tent-tarp or hammock-fly poncho?

I seldom hear anyone else mention this. I will say that I love to ride before first light in the morning and while I usually run some kind of blinkie on the back generally do not use a front light. I would feel less comfortable about this in town, but out on the open road I think it works very well. It wouldn't really bother me to go sans lights altogether in rural open road low traffic conditions where I most often ride in the dark.

I have found that I really can ride in most conditions without a light to see by and would probably only use be seen lights on tour if I use lights at all. I did ride out of Marfa TX on a moonless night with no headlamp and it was a bit dicey when cars passed because it was hard to tell where there was or was not a ride-able shoulder. Most other times it has been pleasant and a non issue.

Off road I have ridden a good bit with a minimal light like a Tikka and find that acceptable. When it is a full moon light-less single track is a lot of fun. None my night off road riding was in a touring context though.

I have a silnylon poncho/tarp. Haven't used it for cycling though. Perhaps I need to look into more.

My Marmot Super-mica went unused when it rained on one of our biking days. Why, you ask?

Backpackers deal with this issue all the time. One of my comrades was a Long Trail/AT Veteran. When it began to rain and he saw me getting on my raincoat, he said "What are you doing? That's for camp."

Instead, I had my Merino Wool bike pants, my Under Armour t-shirt, and Merino Wool Arm Warmers from Smartwool. Water beaded up on the outside of the wool and eventually soaked in, but warmth was retained and 10 minutes after the rain stopped, I was completely dry. My best rain option has been to use my raincoat when my tent needs adjusting mid-storm, but for actual riding, merino wool is king.

I agree, while I ride I don't care, warm sweat or cold rain. It's later, at camp. Since I carry few clothes this can be an issue. I guess I either carry more clothes or better rain gear. Summer doesn't matter but spring and fall are of concern.

Interesting. I carry wool, might give this a go. Save the Mica for camp. I found that the Mica wets through more quickly if put on over wet clothes though. I commute everyday and discover this by accident.

big fan of wool in the wet. how much, how long, depends on temps.
the rain jacket (showers pass at the moment, but also an old marmot precip that is pretty much done) would come out for snow, freezing rain, high wind, camp, or long descending.
i also have a pair of rainlegs, those work for my rando riding in spring and late fall. too warm on the legs for summer.

i've thought about getting a poncho / tarp combo for camp. still might do it. love my carradice poncho for town riding (when i have fenders). too heavy to take on a tour.
a sil version would be good for camp, not for riding, as it would be too light in the wind.

I agree with the concept and do ride in misty/drizzly weather with only my icebreaker top, and water does bead up. The water beads dry quickly, but if the rain continues you never dry out. When camping in the rain the only way to dry the wool is by wearing it. This works OK in mild temps, but in the 40's or lower, riding wet is very uncomfortable, as is wet wool in camp (mid 50's or <), at least for me.

It depends on how cold it is, how much wind, and how fast you are riding, but I often find I need a windproof layer while riding. Since my wind shirt is my only rain jacket, saving it for camp is often not an option.

If I carry rain pants they are generally reserved for in camp though.

In my mind, UL tourist are those that tend to have a limited period of time to be on tour and generally have a 'tour plan'. I'm not one of them. I feel that most of use that use 4 panniers are more of the open ended cycle tourist. We don't really know where we are going, we haven't made a plan and don't know when we will come 'home'. Hence why we take the kitchen sink, waffle iron and the panniers too.

thin wool layers don't hold that much water. in camp, with a wind break layer on, i've had good luck drying myself out.
and i also usually take a second layer for camp.
throw the wet stuff (not soaking, but damp, rung out, etc.) into the bottom of your bag at night.
will likely be dry by morning.
be warned if you bivy, you'll have more moisture inside than normal.
worked for me and a riding partner down into the 20s after we got wet in the 40s for several hours.