Adventurers Wanted

bryanchurch06 · Feb 16, 2023

I'm going with tent, we will hit mosquito sometime and I hate to sleep fighting bugs.

bryanchurch06 · Feb 16, 2023

I am a fan of the original top gear show in Britain, and if I'm honest I kinda see this trip in that way, other than leaving a member when they break down that is. Funny on the TV not so much in real life, I hope we can have that kinda experience in the best of ways. Without being canceled of course, goes without saying. I don't mind it being hard at times, and funny at times, also beautiful with just a moment of terror hopefully not with a grizzly or moose or Buffalo but a pissed off chipmunk or 2 will do fine. Actually if you never read Mark twain roughing it try to do so to put yourself in the correct frame of mind, A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson I think is the author will do as well. 3 1/2 months and counting.

imacbo · Feb 16, 2023

I loved A Walk in The Woods lol! I also fell in love with Top Gear. The first episode I ever watched was them trying to kill the Toyota Hilux pickup! That one was a classic. I assume we will have fun, get on each other nerves, laugh and maybe cry together before its all over LOL. It will be a trip we will all remember for and love for different reasons.

bryanchurch06 · Feb 16, 2023

Just got my kenda k262 275x17 today the 300x17 will be here tomorrow, got 2 new tubes, a patch kit and some gorilla sealant tape to play with for a tubeless attempt. Slowly getting my gear as it becomes available

imacbo · Feb 16, 2023

Im 1/2 tempted to try tubeless but Im just not sold on the "home kits" yet. I did it on my bikepacking bike and it worked fine but for some reason I just worry about doing it on my Trail 125. Also if I do it now the tires would still need replaced at the start of the trail.

bryanchurch06 · Feb 16, 2023

imacbo said:
Im 1/2 tempted to try tubeless but Im just not sold on the "home kits" yet. I did it on my bikepacking bike and it worked fine but for some reason I just worry about doing it on my Trail 125. Also if I do it now the tires would still need replaced at the start of the trail.

When the weather breaks here I'm going to try on my stock tires. Worst that can happen is I have to put tubes back

SneakyDingo · Feb 17, 2023

I installed the Shinko 244's yesterday evening, leaving the OEM tire on the front. The first thing I noticed is that unsurprisingly, the grip is way better in the small off road sections I rode. The other thing is that there's a tiny bit of wandering when riding in a straight line on a roadway. I thought maybe the bead hadn't seated properly but it seems fine.

imacbo said:
What is the bug pressure going to be like? Will a bivy and tarp work for camping or will a full tent be needed?

I'll be going with a freestanding tent this time, but IIRC they do sell a mesh bug net that would work well for your tarp. I have one... somewhere... and have used it with great success because we have lots of mosquitos and apparently Australians are like A5 Wagyu to our local mozzies. The biggest downside is it's like... 12 oz, which brings a good number of tarp tent setups into the same weight range as an actual tent.

imacbo · Feb 17, 2023

I currently have a Borah Gear Cuben Bivy. Its about 4.5oz and has netting for your head and to help with condensation. Here is a link to their site if you are not familiar with them.
Borah Gear

bryanchurch06 · Feb 17, 2023

imacbo said:
I currently have a Borah Gear Cuben Bivy. Its about 4.5oz and has netting for your head and to help with condensation. Here is a link to their site if you are not familiar with them.
Borah Gear

I get a little clostrophobic in a bivy sometimes, cannot stand a tight mummy bag either

SneakyDingo · Feb 17, 2023

I mistreat my gear a little too much to have Cuben fiber but it's nice stuff. Seems to stretch slightly when wet. I've been using this for years and before that used this (which while available was one of my favorite ease-of-entry bikepacking gear pieces of equipment). When the gear is cheap and readily available, you won't mind if it gets hit by a car. Just got one of these which is heavier but more user friendly; tarptent bikepacking is a little rough when you're on a flat plain with ground too hard to peg down on and I ran into that a few times. Not unsolvable, just a little rough.

imacbo · Feb 17, 2023

I've used a lot of different set ups for backpacking, bikepacking and general camping. My current Ultralight set up is the Zpacks Pocket Tarp with doors and a DCF floor. I also have the Borah bivy I trade out with the DCF floor.

I think for this trip I'll likely bring my Lanshan 1 tent since netting might be needed for bugs and that will give me a little more room than the bivy. I might still take the bivy and tarp since they are so small and lightweight. The tarp would allow us to cover our bikes if needed as long as there are trees or a way to park them besides each other.

I was thinking about mounting my 1.1gal Rotopax for spare fuel. That would basically double the fuel range. However now Im thinking that maybe just a 30oz MSR bottle might be enough. According to what Im seeing online we should average about 1 mile per oz of fuel. If that holds true then the 30oz MSR bottle would give a 30 mile back up.

What are you guys doing for spare / extra fuel? How far apart are the fuel stops on the CDT?

SneakyDingo · Feb 17, 2023

imacbo said:
I was thinking about mounting my 1.1gal Rotopax for spare fuel. That would basically double the fuel range. However now Im thinking that maybe just a 30oz MSR bottle might be enough. According to what Im seeing online we should average about 1 mile per oz of fuel. If that holds true then the 30oz MSR bottle would give a 30 mile back up.

What are you guys doing for spare / extra fuel? How far apart are the fuel stops on the CDT?

~~1 oz per mi sounds about right to me for something like this.~~ EDIT: 1 oz per mi sounds a little on the high side for range now that I think about it. That would mean our humble 1.4 gal tanks would get 128 mpg and 180 mi range. I've never seen that kind of range before. I expect about 1.5 oz per mile (85 mpg) is what I'd likely say is a good guarantee (I've never seen lower than that), so based on that a 30 oz bottle would get you 20 miles. You can see my historical mpg in my signature, there's a link to a dashboard.

2 gal Rotopax is what I'll be bringing. Haven't figured out the exact mounting system yet, but it's likely it'll be the regular mount and laid flat on the rear rack, with the duffel on top. Not the most convenient setup for refueling but it's what I already own and it should do the trick. Apparently you should have 270 mi or better, but I'd be more comfortable with a 10% safety margin which puts that at 300 mi, or 2.4 gallons'ish. This is based off the sections having gas stations at the end of each section, so it could be shorter if rerouting to a nearby gas station is an option (270 is based on staying on route).

SneakyDingo · Feb 17, 2023

Took a closer look at the sections to give a better answer. There's a few sections where either on route or going slightly off route, no need for fuel reserves. There's a 170 mi section in WY with no fuel alternatives if you use the easy route, 230 mi on the longer route. The 267 mi section (Silver City to Grants) has two fuel stations off route that are a 21 mi detour, so apart from that one long section, the 30 oz MSR bottle would probably work.

imacbo · Feb 17, 2023

Thanks for the info! I’m just trying to think of ways to save weight off of the bike. I’m thinking for the mountains lighter will be better. 2-30oz MSR bottles might be the way to go just for extra caution with limited weight. However the way that Johnny Pow has the 1gal mounted is pretty sweet. That was my plan for mounting.

dmonkey · Feb 17, 2023

Just some thoughts from my own experiences: If you're using a fuel bottle, bring a funnel or something to use as a funnel. It's pretty hard to fill the CT125's fuel tank from a bottle without one. Also expect any fuel canister to spray a little when opened, especially once brought up to higher elevation, so always open slowly and away from anything you don't want gasoline sprayed on (face, food, engine, exhaust, campfire).

SneakyDingo · Feb 17, 2023

My very first time opening the canister was at the top of Mt. Rainier's parking lot, after filling at sea level

dmonkey · Feb 17, 2023

> Actual video of @SneakyDingo at Mt. Rainier:

After climbing 12,738 Ft, fuel starting to boil #adventure #motorcycle #motorbike #ktm #dirtbike

www.youtube.com

bryanchurch06 · Feb 17, 2023

I received my other tire today, so the only thing I'm waiting on is a small container or tire lube, so here is my tire kit with a few chain tools included, I only have 2 spoons but I plan on using cable tys once I break the bead. Which I will be bringing a large quantity of btw. I'm thinking of mounting the pump on the lid? But I'm worried about damaging it if I lay the bike down as this will be mounted on the front rack, so the pump may go elsewhere. What am I missing?

imacbo · Feb 17, 2023

Here is my copy of the Johnny Pow mount.

SneakyDingo · Feb 17, 2023

bryanchurch06 said:
I received my other tire today, so the only thing I'm waiting on is a small container or tire lube, so here is my tire kit with a few chain tools included, I only have 2 spoons but I plan on using cable tys once I break the bead. Which I will be bringing a large quantity of btw. I'm thinking of mounting the pump on the lid? But I'm worried about damaging it if I lay the bike down as this will be mounted on the front rack, so the pump may go elsewhere. What am I missing?

Underside of the front rack? Back of the front rack? Inside the struts? I'd probably need a photo of the front rack. They don't like being sprayed with water so in the luggage also is ok.

If you go with a screw on CO2 container, you can make that much smaller. More expensive per canister but it's not something you intend to use a lot.
Valve stem guide for guiding the valve through the rim hole. I regretted not having one of those. I talked to you about that before.
I know I wished I had a third tire lever but I got by with 2.

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