Adventurers Wanted

[bryanchurch06]

Did you eat at Ridge wood BBQ? Surely you did.

I don't remember if we did, to be honest other than bojangles or the hot dog place we really don't eat out that much, after years of traveling and eating in mediocre restaurants we started cooking at home, plus I found with a little effort I could grill a better steak at home, saved a ton of money as well.

 

[SLO]

Bucket list,I have only been once in 25 years.It hasn't changed by those who make it to the off the beaten path,only because they know about it.I have said 20 times I was going,only an hour away,and before you know it,the day is gone. Only happens when you are nearby for other reason.

 

[imacbo]

Arkansas here. I am interested in this trip. I am a backpacker and motocamper / bikepacker. My kit is dialed in and pretty close to ultralight. I have plenty of PTO from work, Please PM me or keep me in the loop. I would LOVE to take a trip like this with some like minded folks.

 

[bryanchurch06]

Arkansas here. I am interested in this trip. I am a backpacker and motocamper / bikepacker. My kit is dialed in and pretty close to ultralight. I have plenty of PTO from work, Please PM me or keep me in the loop. I would LOVE to take a trip like this with some like minded folks.

You would be welcome, right now we are looking at early June. I will send my phone number out when we get closer, thanks Bryan Church

 

[imacbo]

Have you guys started working on your packing list yet? Have you ever used the site Lighterpack.com? I use it for planning my backpacking trips. Here is a quick list I put together tonight. I lot of the items dont have weight because either I dont have them yet or I havent weighed them yet.
CDT Trip List

 

[bryanchurch06]

Have you guys started working on your packing list yet? Have you ever used the site Lighterpack.com? I use it for planning my backpacking trips. Here is a quick list I put together tonight. I lot of the items dont have weight because either I dont have them yet or I havent weighed them yet.
CDT Trip List

Very nice gear, I will be posting mine when I can get to it in my storage unit and unpack it. It looks like we are carrying similar tools as well so between the 3 of us we should be good. I use a co2 inflation unit and a backup pump. I haven't decided on tires yet or if I'm going to try tubeless system. I am planning a few overnight trips to the blackhills in April to shake out my gear.

 

[imacbo]

I would like to try tubeless but I’m just not sold on it yet. I did it on my Surly mtb but the wheels were made or it.
I still need more shakedown runs with my bike since it is new. The gear I’ve had a lot of backpacking experience with.
As for tires I’m think 244’s but will need to run out my factory tires some first.

 

[bryanchurch06]

I would like to try tubeless but I’m just not sold on it yet. I did it on my Surly mtb but the wheels were made or it.
I still need more shakedown runs with my bike since it is new. The gear I’ve had a lot of backpacking experience with.
As for tires I’m think 244’s but will need to run out my factory tires some first.

Same here, mine has 100 miles on it due to weather here in sd, hopefully we are in a thaw.

 

[bryanchurch06]

Same here, mine has 100 miles on it due to weather here in sd, hopefully we are in a thaw.

Sneaky dingo has the most experience on his trail so I am relying heavily on his recommendations for bike mods.

 

[imacbo]

I would also like to hear recommendations for clothing. When I go backpacking I hardly take any spare clothing but I dont know what weather we would encounter on this ride.

 

[SLO]

I would like to try tubeless but I’m just not sold on it yet. I did it on my Surly mtb but the wheels were made or it.
I still need more shakedown runs with my bike since it is new. The gear I’ve had a lot of backpacking experience with.
As for tires I’m think 244’s but will need to run out my factory tires some first.

3/0 244s are great. Put dot on tire opposite the valve stem. Mine rubbed in back at first on first set, but they wore off what little needed to be removed from fender well soon enough. Raised front fender by drilling two holes. Stock tires are good on roads,but suck in comparison on both on and off road. Much more prone to get a flat as well. 2442 say 4 ply when ordering ,but have six plys.

 

[bryanchurch06]

I would also like to hear recommendations for clothing. When I go backpacking I hardly take any spare clothing but I dont know what weather we would encounter on this ride.

Due to the elevation gains, we could encounter just about anything, will definitely be cold at night. Very good rain gear at the least with the ability to layer for warmth. I plan on 2 pair of pants, shirts, socks, underwear, rain gear and mid weight thermal layer for cold, both winter and summer gloves. We should be able to use laundry in town or hotels if we need to. I am asking others for advice as well so this may change a bit. Very happy to have your input to. Are you in western Arkansas? And have you decided on travel to the start point yet?

 

[bryanchurch06]

3/0 244s are great. Put dot on tire opposite the valve stem. Mine rubbed in back at first on first set, but they wore off what little needed to be removed from fender well soon enough. Raised front fender by drilling two holes. Stock tires are good on roads,but suck in comparison on both on and off road. Much more prone to get a flat as well. 2442 say 4 ply when ordering ,but have six plys.

Thanks for the info, I am planning on riding stock tires to the starting point and then changing to knobbys somewhere in NM, what mileage are you getting from the 244s? Is 3000 possible in your opinion?

 

[imacbo]

I live in NW Arkansas and as of right now plan on riding to El Paso? (That is the current starting point?) El Paso is about 900 miles if you stay off of interstates but it will cause me to have to ride though several bigger towns.
I’m thinking start with factory tires and see if there is a place to swap out to 244s near the beginning of the trail. I’m thinking 2.5” on front and maybe 2.5 or 3 on the rear. I don’t want to bog down the motor with tires heavier than what is needed. I will leave with the factory 14t on the front but bring a new 13t with me if needed for the mountain passes and steep climbs.

 

[SneakyDingo]

I think the official starting point is Antelope Wells, which is around a tank of fuel from there to Antelope Wells (well inside a single tank to get to Hachita). Hachita is probably the last place you could get the tires swapped, and I'd be really surprised if there wasn't at least one dirt bike shop along the way. Worst case, parking lot do it yourself I guess. I promise to offer unhelpful advice while sipping a cold beverage on the side

I’m thinking ... swap out to 244s near the beginning of the trail. I’m thinking 2.5” on front and maybe 2.5 or 3 on the rear. I don’t want to bog down the motor with tires heavier than what is needed. I will leave with the factory 14t on the front but bring a new 13t with me if needed for the mountain passes and steep climbs.

I'm swapping out to the SR244 3.0's next week so you'll get that experience report sooner rather than later. I'll run that rear until I need to ship the bike, at which point I'll use what I learned to make the next swap just before shipping. It's reasonably hilly around here and I need to lose some weight, so I might need to throw the 13T on sooner than I want to; I'll only really have a good idea of if I want to do that once I measure the OD of the tire and run it through my gearing calculator first.

• I have 2 reports that the reasonably accessible JTR269 sprocket will fit the CT125 (here, and from member r80t who I think has since left the forum). That would allow me to run the stock 14T sprocket with a 42T rear, but also be able to drop down to the 13T front sprocket as needed, while maintaining the friendly gear ratio.
• I have the 13T already just in case and a JTF273.12 does exist (but is difficult to acquire).
• My next two choices of tires are the VRM-022's, which I think will give me what I want, or 2x Kenda K262's and carry some extra weight. I have an extra 3.0 SR244 already.

I'm also slightly worried at the fact that elevation will actually play into the engine's ability to generate power on this trip; I'm at sea level and the high points according to some versions of the map are up near 12k ft, where I expect the engine to develop about half as much horsepower.

Once the trip is done I'll probably go back to the GP-5's. My CT125 spends a lot of time on the road, so those or comparable street tires are likely to be a good choice for my specific usage.

Have you guys started working on your packing list yet? Have you ever used the site Lighterpack.com? I use it for planning my backpacking trips. Here is a quick list I put together tonight. I lot of the items dont have weight because either I dont have them yet or I havent weighed them yet.
CDT Trip List

I've used Lighterpack but not in a while. When I look at the duffle and look at my gear, I get the feeling I'll fit everything in the duffle. Not great for weight distribution but quite convenient. I expect it to be cold AF for the most part. My goal was to do a preliminary pack of the "needs" next week when I have a few days off.

In my head I had the idea that I am willing to deal with the the 95% case as cheap as possible and throw money at the things that were inconvenient in the last 5%. I'm not going to be that hard on myself if I don't ride every iced up hill or road with "baby head" in the name, same as I'm pretty ok with camping when convenient and hotel the rest, especially at the highest elevations. That being said, I'm going to try and set up my gear to be camping capable.

I think most of what you have is similar to mine. Slightly different tent, pad, quilt, toolkit but all pretty comparable. Probably the major differences are I'd prefer not to carry cooking gear and I have a higher focus on carrying water. For clothing, I'm doing a full refresh there - it'll cost a bit but I'm way overdue.

It looks like we are carrying similar tools as well so between the 3 of us we should be good. I use a co2 inflation unit and a backup pump.

I'll also have CO2 inflators and a mini pump in the kit for "everything went to hell" scenarios, but it's likely we'll have a minimum of one automated pump between us. I'll likely do a few shakedowns in my backyard before the actual departure and then a few trips with the gear as best as I can manage... work schedule is rough.

 

[bryanchurch06]

I am offering 10 to 1 odds that Sneakydingo shows up with his 3d printer mounted on his bike somehow, and 2 to 1 that we wind up needing it before we're done like usual I will probably show up with way more stuff than I need and ship it home at some point.

 

[dmonkey]

I'm also slightly worried at the fact that elevation will actually play into the engine's ability to generate power on this trip; I'm at sea level and the high points according to some versions of the map are up near 12k ft, where I expect the engine to develop about half as much horsepower.

Having ridden my CT125 mostly between 5k and 10k ft elevation, it is absolutely a noticeable difference with this small motor, especially on the uphills. Haven't been down near sea level with my CT125 yet so my baseline starts at around 5k ft elevation. It's not the worst issue to have as long as you can still tractor on, could get into much more trouble with a more capable bike.

 

[imacbo]

I guess my southern living has me confused on clothing. June is normally pretty warm in Arkansas. 80-90 during the day and 70's at night. I guess I'll need to grab some different cold weather gear.

 

[bryanchurch06]

Having ridden my CT125 mostly between 5k and 10k ft elevation, it is absolutely a noticeable difference with this small motor, especially on the uphills. Haven't been down near sea level with my CT125 yet so my baseline starts at around 5k ft elevation. It's not the worst issue to have as long as you can still tractor on, could get into much more trouble with a more capable bike.

That is my thoughts as well, I've seen a lot of videos of guys crashing on the big dual sports because of overconfidence and to much speed for the conditions, we won't be hitting high speeds and we may skip some stupidly sections but in the end I expect it to be an incredible experience, partly because of the limitations of the bikes and the opportunity to ride with a great group of guys.

 

[bryanchurch06]

I guess my southern living has me confused on clothing. June is normally pretty warm in Arkansas. 80-90 during the day and 70's at night. I guess I'll need to grab some different cold weather gear.

I plan on mid to heavy weight thermals to wear under my pants, putting them on as needed. I will be cold at night no matter the daytime Temps anyway