Arizona Trail Race 750 Packlist

Caught a whiff of some sage on the commute this morning. Smelled like summer’s on the way.

I’m leaving at the end of the week to start the ride down to the border. I’ll have a little less than two weeks to make it down, which might be shaving it a little close, and might be a fairly bad idea if I want to race well. But life’s too short for boring stuff like commercial airplane rides.

Anyway, here’s the packlist. My hog is about 39 pounds dry (which I’m stoked about- my Pigsley, which I’ve been riding all winter, is the same weight without anything on it).

Surly Krampus

• Industry Nine Torch SS hub
• Shutter Precision Dynamo, 15mm axle (on test)
• Blunt 35 rims
• Maxxis Chronicle tires
• Whiskey No. 9 plastic fork
• Jones Loop Bars, ESI Extra Chunkys
• 35mm Hope stem (slam that handlebar. against the steerer tube)
• Shimano XT crank, and XT brakes
• Chromag Trailmaster saddle
• Xpedo Baldwin pedals
• 34×22 gearing

Defiant Framepack (no zippers, no problems)

• Repair stuff- little Stan’s bottle, chain, chain tool, big curved needle, patches, tire plugs, lube, super glue
• Two-liter water bladder (for backup on really hot stretches)
• Two tubes
• Mountain Hardwear puffy coat
• Cue sheets, water tables
• Space for food

Porcelain Rock Mr. Fusion Seatbag (review in the next Bicycle Times)

• ENO Silnylon Tarp
• Wool tights
• Extra socks, extra wool underpants
• Wool t-shirt
• OR Helium rain jacket
• Space for food

Defiant Handlebar Sling

• Thermarest Neoair
• Big Agnes Horsethief SL 35 degree bag

Electronic Burden

• Garmin Etrex 20
• Little usb battery
• Exposure Revo dynamo light
• Sinewave USB charger
• Iphone 5s, Lifeproof case

Osprey Talon 11

• Four-liter bladder
• Steripen
• Revenge of the Rattlesack bandana to pre-filter gross cattle tank water
• Fuji x100s, extra batteries

Some warm clothes might get sent home once I get to Tucson and check the forecast. But then again, maybe not. The desert can do funky stuff.

—

For stuff like that really long dirt road route that I’m not talking about anymore, having everything on the bike is fine. But on rocky singletrack, there’s no way I can ride my bike with a full load of food and water- it’s pushing 60 pounds after a resupply.

At that weight, once the bike starts to get away from me in chunky stuff, I can’t recover it. And it’s way too heavy to bunny hop or pull up on a ledge. Sometimes it falls over when I’m trying to hike with it, and knocks my skinny ass into the dirt. Sucks all around.

Just getting the water bladder, camera, and some food (less than 15 pounds) out of my framebag and onto my back makes a huge difference. And I needed a pack to carry across the Grand Canyon anyway. So, as much as I hate having a sweaty back, it’s better than the alternative- which is walking every time I see a big rock.

Since I’m expecting my average speed to be pretty low in the desert gnar, I’m not relying on my dynamo to charge anything, because the power output is really minimal at that speed. It’ll still do a good job of running lights, but disposable batteries in the GPS are the only way to go for this route. I’ll still have a cache battery hooked up to the Etrex during the day, but if I get any juice out of it, it’ll just be a bonus.

I’m taking a good camera, because I wished that I would have had one on that long dirt road race that I’ve beat deader than a rotten sausage. I want to have some photos to send along with a story after I get back, because I’d like to think I’m better at writing about racing than I am at racing (although that’s not saying too much).

Rigid and single speedy because that’s what I like.

—

I might do a little bit of instagramming whenever I stop to eat hamburgers (pictures that I’ve taken earlier, not pictures of hamburgers) because that’s how the cool kids do: montana_r_miller

Dot stalking is on Trackleaders. I don’t think the race tracker goes up until April 2nd or so (but the tracker for a legitimately hard event is currently rolling- just look at those guys slugging it out at 1.4 miles an hour).

I’m looking forward to this sucker. I sure do love riding rocks.