what to bring;

I received similar advice from two close friends,
both of these friends are experienced adventurers, and both said;
"Pack what you need, then unpack and leave half behind".
Words of wisdom, words to live by.
Thanks Barry and Christopher. <- he's updating his blog again! But what to leave behind? Question; Rain fly vs: bug proof tent? rain fly is waaaayy lighter. The underlying Question; bugs or no bugs? There are always bugs! Tent it is! Front rack or screw the front rack. where will I stack the pizzas? Answer; On the rear rack! screw the front rack? definite maybe. Another friend, (Harry P) had good advice- "stuff on the bike will probably fall off". yeah, that was true Sunday. For the first half hour with Glenn, Brad, Skip and Matt I had to stop and go back to fetch gear that slid off even the most firmly and carefully perched and lashed locations. I still like the panniers, water proof and expandable. Although they fell off too! But after using a large 48" strap wrapped around the entire bag and rack it stayed put. My main focus is to carry enough water, food, rain jacket, two sets of riding clothes, three gallons of chamois butter, 100 percocet, comfortable sleeping gear, and a partridge in a pear tree. no problem. Glenn was on fire on Sunday. Custom made Carousel bags by Jeff Boatman performed rather flawlessly. I dubbed his setup "easy rider". Looked like we were both lost in the woods looking for the laundry mat :).

I was just checking out Jeff's blog. That bruth'a has got one fine set-up for our adventure. Not quite racked out yet, he's just getting use to the ride charictaristics of the 29'er before he weighs his new ride down with 20 pounds of gear. Twenty days and counting!

I also hear that there is a new sofa king in the hills of Sunday River. Wow, love it! Don't remember how the heck to ride one but wow man! Nice color too. That chain device is wicked. This new build makes me want to go and run over something...