Carrying stuff

The most common way to carry luggage for multi-day adventures seems to be panniers on top of a rear rack.

I used them in the only long bike trip I did across Romania several years ago. Mine were heavy because I didn't know anything about bike travelling at the time and chose the first thing that got in my hand.  I am sure there are lighter versions, but even the lightest float around 1.5 kg which is enormous.
It would be blasphemy to ride a 8 kg carbon race bike with one of these - I imagine my Trek bike like a pure-breed horse trying to shake its heavy load off. :)
They offer plenty of space, which is like a double-edged sword - it makes you take a lot of stuff.
I remember them getting into my spokes in a 64 kph descent on the Transfagarasan. Fortunately the only consequence was that the pannier was ruptured and the spokes held, so I stayed in one piece.

I was happy to learn there are other alternatives to panniers. Mr. Iik does a good analysis on them so there's no point in doing that here. I'll just summarize my choices instead.

After narrowing down the options, the choice was to be made between these:

Rear rack + dry stuff sack

This is the Tubus Fly, one of the lightest out there at 330g for an 18kg load. 

Combine it with one of these to obtain a very versatile carrying solution:

Ultra-Sil Dry Daypack - 90g, 22L

Viscacha bag

Revelate Designs is one really interesting company. They make very cool, functional, well-thought bike bags which can be places allover the bike.

The Viscacha is a seat-mounted bag, so no is rack required.

Viscacha - 391g, 6-14L

Terrapin

The Terrapin (also by Revelate) seems similar to the Viscacha, only that you can come with your own dry sack and stuff it in.

Terrapin - 368g, 14L

It was a tough choice but I will go with the Tubus Fly + Ultra-sil dry daypack as I find it to be the most versatile solution. The sack can also be used for hiking (which I intend to do in my days off the bike). On top of the sack there is place for hanging clothes to dry. On the rack rails I can attach more stuff (like the GoPro camera for some interesting filming angle - might work). And most importantly it can carry a lot of weight in case I need to carry extra water bottles with me (like in Death Valley or Grand Canyon area for example).

For shorter tours I would have definitely chosen one of the Revelate bags since they don't require a rack. In those cases it's also worth considering the other options from Revelate, like the frame bags, really cool stuff.

Front carriers

The main carrier matter now settled, let's move to the front area.

Seeing how light, spacious and adaptive they are, I now have love affair with dry stuff sacks. 

So I'll use two more small ones like the one in the image.

A 2L dry sack will go under the handlebars, attached with some nylon straps. What it will hold I haven't decided yet (it may not even be required if I manage to squeeze most of the things in the 22L rear one).

I have to see how to attach the straps without ruining the waterproof bag.

Another 1L one will go in one of the bottle cages and it will hold the rain gear, warmers, and other stuff I want to access quickly in case of weather turning nasty.

Mr. Iik uses a 1L plastic bottle (cut in the middle to insert things in it) to hold his rain gear on the seat-tube and I loved the idea, so I thought I do it in the same spirit, only a bit more elegant.

On the top tube, near the stem I may use a small bag for storing snacks, money, maybe tools. I'm not sure though about storing tools (which I hope to use very rarely) in such an easily accessible place.

This will be my setup which I will update in this post once I get to experiment with it. There are many other options worth considering and there is really no one-fit-all solution.

One of my criteria was also how easy I can obtain this equipment here in Romania. Some of the cool small companies that make ultra-light niche products are somewhere like in Wyoming, don't ship here, or it takes too long, or it's too expensive.

So I am glad there are European online stores like Bike24, and there are innovative European manufacturers like Cumulus, Rab, Inov8 so we have easy access to the good stuff that was previously accessible only from America.

What to eat and where to sleep?

I will eat whatever I can get - great plan, isn't it?
No cooking equipment with me so just cold food and occasionally hot meals at diners and BB inns. Of course, if I meet Carl's Jr I will always trade in the frugal lifestyle for one of these.
Beef jerky is also something I look forward to for supplementing my protein intake.

I love Cliff bars so I hope to get these for bike snacks. Energy gels... only if I really have to. 

Some vitamins may compensate for what will most likely be a poor diet sometimes.

It's stupid to worry about food in America, right?

Sleeping happens in a bivouac tent. Motels now and then for a shower & relaxation in a real bed, and if the weather is too nasty.

Meet the Vaude bivi tent:

It weighs less than a 1L bottle of water. In doing my research I haven't found other complete tents under 1kg and in the 200 euro price range out there. There are tarps (basically a single tent sheet) which are lighter, but I have to carry some other nylon sheet for ground cover, and also some mosquito net. And I still won't get the same weather protection so I prefer the all-in-one tent for this trip.

This is the feather-light sleeping bag:

At 415g for a comfort temperature of 3°C it is indeed a marvel of technology. The zip-less version is 370g, the lightest in the world rated at this temperature. No zip would mean one less point of failure, but I need to be able to use it as a blanket for warmer nights. How tough it is built - remains to be seen.

For ground insulation I am thinking of using either a foam pad ( ro: "izopren") or just a sheet of bubble wrap. 

I was looking at a light self-inflating map (Thermarest makes these) but the lightest one has 350g, and costs 150E.

Foam pad I have used many times, I know I can sleep well on it. It's under 200g and very cheap, but the issue is with packing it - I have to ride with that big roll of foam pad.

Bubble wrap is a more radical idea that I got from one ultra-light biker (a special post on this guy and others that inspire me will follow). I think it weighs 20-30g and costs, well, nothing I guess, but doesn't look too comfy, or providing much insulation.

All of these will get tested next week in the Balkan Challenge, so I'll have more material for a good review.

Clothing

Here are all the clothes I plan to take either on me or in the rear rack, or in a bag somewhere on the bike frame:

• rain & wind jacket
• polar fleece
• rain pants
• bike shorts (the ones without shoulder straps)
• light running shoes
• leg & arm warmers
• thin gloves
• fleece gloves
• plastic gloves (the ones used for house cleaning)
• bandanna
• cycling jersey
• overshoes
• long city pants that convert to short pants
• 2 extra pair of socks, one warm

Each item will have to go trough my kitchen scale test. After tent and sleeping bag, clothes are on the top of my best-bang-for-the-buck weight-saving list. Each piece of clothing may not weigh much, but if you add them together then the weight becomes significant.

It may seem not much stuff for 40+ days on the road, but it is enough to keep me going even at temperatures around -5 Celsius, or in heavy rain.

This is no fashion show. Each piece is functional and some even have multiple uses. For example the bandanna can be used as a wiping cloth for tent condensation. While I wash and dry the bike pants, I can wear the city pants or the rain pants.

Same with the cycling jersey - I can use the polar fleece while it is drying.

This is a moderate version of the list that is used by more "extreme"  ultra light travelers.

Some guys use women nylon stockings as leg and arm warmers. These keep warm and are lighter than regular warmers. 

I don't dismiss the idea, I will try it, but there's a limit to how ridiculous I can allow myself to look, don't feel like crossing it.

After much deliberation I chose to go with my winter overshoes instead of using plastic bags to cover my feet in rain. At just 190 grams they keep me very warm and are fully waterproof. Never had numb feet even in cold winters. And if some nights get really cold I could even wear them while sleeping.

I have a very light pair of long pants that turn into short pants. It's a good idea to have something to wear other than the regular bike tights to look less conspicuous and blend in some rural areas.

So no cycling shoes?

Nope. Only one pair of footwear. And I need to be able to walk with it and be as comfortable as possible. None of my bike shoes fit this description. So I'll go with light running shoes with a tougher out-sole for more efficient pedaling.

The combination of flat pedals & regular footwear also weighs less than clipless pedals & cycling shoes.

Ok, I won't be as efficient as I could be in the hills, because I cannot pull the pedal, I can only push. But the thing that actually matters more for efficiency is removing the weight of the non-pushing leg off the pedal.

Gloves, like the pants and the upper layers, are meant to be combined depending on the weather conditions.
For dry moderate cold I'll use thin gloves (the stretchy silk-like kind). These are amazingly warm considering their light-weight. In 3 degrees Celsius I don't have any problem with them. They can be found cheap at Decathlon store.
Fleece gloves get over the thin gloves if things go below freezing (also found at Decathlon).
Plastic gloves are for rain. I chose these over some other Gore-Tex cover gloves because it's obviously the lightest&cheapest choice, and are 100% water proof.

The Route

Here's a rough approximation of The Route (as I affectionately call it):


 


The points marked on the map are places I know about. I'm sure there are tens more I don't know about now, but I will leave some to be discovered on the way, that's part of the magic surrounding this trip.

It goes through it all: big cities, never-ending plains, mountains, desert, forests, coast land, you name it.
There will be big climbs, long flats, tormenting winds, really hot places, and freezing mountain passes. All waiting to test me, so I really must prepare well.
It will be a real challenge also to find the right equipment for all these conditions while keeping the weight down so I can be as nimble as possible. (Update: actually not so much of a challenge these days as it may have been 10 years ago. Some amazing stuff exists out there for ultra-light packers.)

Why not going straight East to West? Are you trying to make life harder?

There is so much to see, so indeed it is not really a straight line from East to West. When I come up with the exact GPS route I'll know how long it is, until then I can only guess.

I may not get to all the places I marked here, as the route may be too long to cover in 40 days, but now I am allowed to dream. Reality check later.

So what exactly is it your big idea?

To travel ultra-light (I have to emphasise this ultra-light aspect) on my racing bike (bicycle that is - for the motor fans out there - but I want to make it sound cooler) across the North America from New York to San Francisco, covering around 6000 km (the exact amount I haven't finished counting as the route is not finalized) in around 40 days give or take.

And when is this supposed to happen?
Sometime around the end of April - beginning of June 2014.

The accent here is not on the endurance aspect (though it won't be easy!) but on the ADVENTURE and LIGHT & AUTONOMOUS TRAVEL! I won't break any record, but I plan on breaking my limits.

But WHY???

This should be the subject of a different post but here it goes:

because I can, because I like to ride, because I like to travel, because I love a challenge, because it gives me purpose, because I love nature, because I'm fascinated by America, because I love being "on my own", because I like to "scheme" plans, because I like being uncomfortable sometimes, because I have a wonderful and supportive wife and family, because I am a thrill seeker, because I enjoy solitude, because I like routines, because I like to live simple and uncluttered, because I always like a good effort, because it makes me think, because it makes me better, because it's healthy (some may have some doubts here, that's ok), because I have a visa (is this really a reason or are you out of things to say?) ...


Because I have the gut feeling it is what I need to do.

Ok... and why blog about it?

To share and give back to the world my thoughts and experience, just like I received it from others countless people who shared and influenced me into who I am.

It will be about motivation, equipment, route, planning, training and more.

I loved reading about other people tours and experiences so hopefully there will be at least one person that will love reading mine. If not, I will use it as an english learning suport for my grandkids (they will learn english and get stories at the same time).


And why you no speak your mother tongue? You not patriot?

Because although it would make it easier, not everyone I care about and want to share with speaks Romanian. And to help my grandkids learn rudimentary english.

In the beginning there was an IDEA

I find it fascinating how ideas are born. Even the most stupid ones, which you can throw back in the brain's melting pot and transform them into others, maybe less stupid. Carry on decreasing the stupidity, while keeping it interesting, until you actually come up with a good one that might change your life forever.

Of course this is a very simplistic view. I don't have a clue how I got this one, but one day it was there, in my conscience, like an alien spaceship shipwrecked on Earth. At first I was blinking at it in disbelief. Then curiosity kicked in and I started exploring it, first from a distance, then getting closer and closer.

"This is actually for real!" I thought.

The more I looked at it, the more details I was discovering, my curiosity changing slowly into amazement and then into pure joy as I realized I could actually learn to drive this thing and take off into the unknown.

Ok, ok, Sergiu, time to wake up, it's not a real spaceship, it's your bike. And the unknown you're diving in is just relative to your experience. People have traveled America in more ways than you can think of.

Some crazy guy even rode one of these not just across America, but in a World Tour!

I am fine with that.
But still...

Welcome to my spaceship and the journey I'm about to take on it!
(details to follow :) )