Saturday, May 24, 2014

Pre Divide Update... Craziness

Well,  I have been riding and planning and not posting much.  Have spent many an hour agonizing over gear choices and trying to get the stupid Garmin to work.  I have also been attending the Josh Kato school of bicycle mechanics.  I am working on making sure I am self sufficient for the upcoming ride.  I am fairly certain that Josh will be DAYS ahead of me, despite my mother trying to encourage me by referencing the tortoise and the hare.  Anyway even if I caught him he is not allowed to help me.  I really think that is a great idea.  We have toured together a lot, but I like to be able to do it all myself.   One thing I have learned from working in healthcare for 20 years is that you never know what may happen so you are better off being able to be alone.

 I like riding and being alone.  I am so excited for this ride.  Just get up, see gorgeous scenery, eat tons of junk food, do something crazy hard all by your self.  Then go to bed and do it all again in the morning.

I will just post here some photos of my recent rides and gear etc.  I really like looking at pics better than reading anyway (at least when it comes to blogs).

I will also post my gear list  I tried to make this very detailed.

So here is the GEAR LIST (subject to change as I try to get rid of excess stuff):

BIKE

  •  Name:  LaFawnduh, cause all good bikes need a name and when something bad happens you can curse at it.
  •  Frame:  2013 Salsa Fargo Titanium
  •   Fork:  Salsa Fargo V2 steel fork (cause steel is real) Actually I am clumsy and would break carbon.
  • Drivetrain:  Shimano XTR M980 triple crankarms, 24 tooth Blackspire inner ring, XT 32 T middle, XTR 42 T outer ring, XTR M980 front derailleur, XT 9 speed rear derailleur, XTR 12-34 9 speed cassette, Sram PC 991 cross-step chain.  9 is more durable than 10.
  • Pedals: Speedplay Frog Ti
  • Shifter: Sram Attack Betty Gripshift
  • Brakes: Pauls Love Levers (Valentine's Day present from Josh), Avid BB7 Calipers, Avid HS-1 rotors
  • Cables: Custom cut and precisely routed Jagwire Pro
  • Headset: Chris King (it's good to be king)
  • Stem: Salsa Pro Moto Ti
  • Handlebar: Jones Loop H-Bar - wrapped in Salsa Bar tape with Ergon grips
  • Aero Bar: Syntace C3 with extra risers
  • Seatpost: Eriksen Sweetpost (another Valentines day gift from Josh)
  • Seat: Terry Liberator X Gel
  • Seat Collar: Salsa Lip-lock
  • Wheels: (Custom built by Josh) DT 350 Hubs, Sapim CX-Ray spokes, DT alloy nipples, WTB Frequency i19 Rims 32h
  • Tires: Kenda Small Block 8 DTC John Tomac Signature
  • Tubes: (yes some people still use tubes) Schwalbe SV 19A
  • Flat Prophylactics:  Mr. Tuffy Ultralight liners, Flat Attack Sealant (about 50ml per tube and yes we've weighed it all out and it is lighter than a tubeless setup with sealant and proper rim strip and burpy tires.)
  • CycleStuff Stay Wrap
  • Vintage Tektro 102A Chainsuck Device.   Maybe the name depressed sales... but it works!
  • Water bottle cages: Portland Design Works: The Birdcage x3 1 on downtube 2 on fork with Zefal Magnum 33 oz bottles.
REAR BAG- Revelate Viscacha
  • Ziplock with TP, baby wipes, mesh bug hat with snazzy spring ring, hydrocortisone, (for the skeeter bites on you know where), A&D ointment + clotrimazole (to make butt paste, fellow RNs will know) also never forget the hand sanitizer
  • Western Mountaineering Hi Lite 35 degree bag inside ultralightweight  OR drybag.
  • Patagonia 900 fill Down Sweater  inside Sea to Summit waterproof stuffsack
  • Patagonia Torrentshell Raincoat, Patagonia Rainshadow Rainpants,  Proline flyfishing neoprene pantleg band X2, Gorewear gortex socks.
  • Spare straps
Tool Kit: (inside Viscacha)
  • Xtra tube with slime 
  • Dental floss
  • Darning needles 
  • Xtra cleats (Frog)
  • Brake pads X2 (Avid aluminum/organic)
  • Tire Boot (Park) +Dollar bill for backup
  • Patch kit X 3 (Park Glueless)
  • Rear hub replacement DT Ratchets
  • Zipties
  • elastic hairbands
  • Red Zeplin inflater
  • CO2 Cartridges X 2
  • Electrical tape (enough to replace rim strips + more)
  • Leatherman Squirt PS4 
  • Multi tool:  Crank brothers M 17
  • Torx wrench (Oh why don't they still make everything with allen fittings)
  • Xtra Sram masterlink
  • Safety pins
  • Spare Chainring bolts
  • Spare Derailleur hanger
  • Spare Jockey wheel
  • Lots of Duct tape around my seatpost
  • Xtra batteries AAA X 8 and AA X 8 lithium, CR2032 X 2
REVELATE SPROCKET: On outside of Viscacha
  • Spot
  • Titanium Spork (folding, it is my most awesome camping item, I could not leave it; I use it to spoon Nutella directly into my mouth)

 REVELATE FRAMEBAG:  R side large pocket
  • Xtra Tube with slime
  • MSR Dromlite 4L with tubing and camel back bitevalve + flipcap in bag for filtering H20
  • Minipump  Topeak Peakini Master Blaster (Version I from the '90's, baby!)
  • Tent pole
  • Passport + Xtra credit card
REVELATE FRAME BAG:  L side small pocket
  • Cable lock: kabeltek flexweave
  • Xtra spokes X 5 + nipples in a different color so I know what I had to fix
REVELATE SWEETROLL Medium + JONES BAR ADAPTER
  • Henry Shires Contrail tarp tent in a garbage bag
  • Space blankets X 2 for ground cloths in ziplocks
  • Thermarest Neoair Xlight women's
  • Paracord 25 feet for hanging smellables in bear country + various repairs
  • Med kit in ziplock;  Xtra contacts X 6, magnesium vitamin tabs (gas station food is constipating) fluconazole 150 mg X 3, Claritin 25 tabs, Benadryl 10 tabs, Flonase nasal spray Bactrim 14 tabs, ( meds for allergies, as well as yeast, and urinary tract infections), tampax X 5
  • Sleeping kit in a light weight OR dry sack:  Casio Illuminator PQ 13 Travel clock,  patagonia T-shirt, xtra sports bra, smartwool ski socks, Patagonia expedition weight fleece pants, 1 pair regular undies, lightweight running shorts, Rite in the rain mini note pad +pencil (for recording my misery)
  • Maps + cue cards printed on Rite in the Rain paper
  • Lightweight dry sack with clean bike shorts and xtra riding socks
REVELATE FRONT POCKET Large
  • Sawyer mini filter + 60 cc syringe flush+ Platypus 1 Liter bag with cap (I ditched the tiny useless non gusseted bag that came with the Sawyer)
  • Food: emergency peanut butter or Nutella and flour tortillas, instant coffee powder
  • Sunscreen
  • Katadyn purification tabs
REVELATE GASTANK
  • Granola bars
  • Blue Diamond Smokey Almonds
  • Swedish Fish
  • Whatever other delights I can find along the way
REVELATE JERRY CAN
  • Cannon PowerShot A1400 Camera (runs on AA batteries)
  • HotHands handwarmers. 
WINGNUT BACKPACK:
  • Xtra Platypus bag 100 oz + hose (empty)
  • Pearl Izumi Arm warmers
  • Primal Wear leg warmers
  • Giro 100 proof lobster gloves + liners in a ziplock
  • Buff
  • Smartwool beanie
  • Marmot Trailwind Hoody light jacket
  • Garbage bags/ ziplocks
  • Smith Slider sunglasses case with xtra lenses + regular glasses
  • Bear Spray
  • Phone charger
  • iphone
  • ipod mini waterproof + charger
  • Duracell instant USB charger
  • Ziplock with money  and credit card
  • Albuterol inhaler for asthma
  • Blackburn Mars 4.0 rear blinky
  • Princeton Tec Eos light
  • Park tools chain cleaner
  • fleece rag
  • chain lube bottle
REVELATE MOUNTAIN FEEDBAG
  • toothpaste/tooth brush
  • more food
HANDLEBAR/HELMET/BODY:
  • Helmet Giro Athlon
  • Knog Frog rear blinky on helmet (held on to helmet with a ziptie)
  • Princeton Tec Eos light bracket (on my helmet)
  • 3rd Eye Pro Hemet Mirror
  • Garmin ETrex 30 + Garmin mount and lanyard stolen from another item.
  • VDO MC 1.0 Plus cyclo computer (was so cool they had to stop making it)
  • Fenix LD 22 light + Two Fish Mount
  • Gore wear bike shorts, apparently they don't make my style anymore.
  • Gore wear jersey again out of style must be my style.  
  • Smartwool Saturn casual socks
  • Pearl Izumi X Alp Enduro shoes
  • Timex Women's Ironman Pulse Calculator watch
  • BIG SMILE!! I am going to get to ride my bike for almost a month!!

Now as promised a bunch of photos... Mostly these are for myself when I have a hard day on the ride, to remind my self of good times.

Chumstick Mountain Summit.  Cashmere Riding is the best

Idaho River Fly Fishing

Washington Cascades Summer Glacier Skiing

Winter Skiing Washington Cascades

More Summer Skiing 3 hrs from my house... how cool is that?!

Logging... mucking up our roads.  not so cool but good training

Canyons and more Canyons. Amazing.

Spring Training on Indian Camp Road

Top of the World, Wenatchee Mountain Ski


E. Wash at its best, Study in Blue

Just Follow the GPS!!

Spring Near Home

Is This A Road?

Gummies keep you Going!


And Miles to Go Before I Sleep.

On and On

Wimps Ride

I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas!

Ghost Rider In the Sky

Back in the Saddle Again

Camp on the High Prarie


Dang!  That is GOOD! Breakfast of champions


Spring Creek, Surprisingly warm, until you start to go again with WET feet.