I've done about 80 miles of the Sheltowee before my ride partner called it quits. Even if I was crazy enough to continue solo (more dangerous than the terrain sounds, but that's another story), my wife would of killed me.

http://www.sheltoweetrace.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=307

I've been planning on re-doing this trip this year. I have all the logistics squared away. I just need my frame to be replaced and someone crazy/fit enough to go with me. My route would be from Morehead proper (cutting out the weedy, overgrown Northern Terminus) to Whitley City. You can't legally go to the Southern Terminus. You will have to ride around the Red River Gorge, but that is pretty easy to do. Lots of info on the link I posted above. Let me know if you need any help. If I go on my trip, it will probably have to be pushed into early October at this point.

I generally agree. Most of the push to 10 speed is to get everyone on a double crankset which allows better shifting in the front. Supposedly, shifting of a triple crankset has been the Achilles heel of road and mountain bikes. Now, with the double and a larger cassette you can keep the same gearing range as a triple for the most part.

From a bikepacking standpoint, the big advantage (if there is one) is that a 9 speed triple crank will work with a 10 speed mountain cassette (SRAM XX). Specialized is already spec'ing bikes out of the factory that way. I know there is the 9 speed Shimano 36t cassette available, but it's a boat anchor. Now, you have the potential of a 22 or 20x36 low gear and all you could ever want in the big ring for extended road sections and have a bike that is regular XC ready. If the durability concerns are no more than current, I will probably shift that way in the future.

My suggestion would be to wait till June. Spring in KY can be very, very wet. Let me know if you need help with some planning.

Chuck, did you ever finish your research on this route?

I did quite a bit of research on this trail.

If you care to read a fairly long thread on the matter, start here:

http://www.sheltoweetrace.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=307&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0

In short, we completed three days starting from the Northern Terminus north of Morehead, KY.



During that time, we had six flat tires, three rainstorms, one broken rear wheel spoke, loose main pivot bolt backed out (behind the crankarm no less) and a trip to the bikeshop to fix the last two items. That really didn't stop us, but my riding partner called it quits. My wife might of served papers on me if I would have gone on alone.

This much I can tell you about the trail:

Northern Terminus to Morehead is the severely overgrown with briars both in the trailbed and onto the trailbed.



We ended up buying Slime tubes at Wally World for my ride partner (5 of 6 flats for him).

South of Morehead, you can head down to Hwy 60 and start on what becomes Big Limestone Trail at the swinging Triplett Bridge. That trail starts out a bit overgrown and improves greatly the further south you go.



Lots of cool trail with unique rock formations, an old Iron Furnace, fresh animal tracks, etc. to be seen:









The section from Cave Run to Frenchburg was really neat. One or two hike-a-bike sections, but you were rewarded with great views thereafter.

My future plans are to re-do this trip next year starting from Morehead and ride south. I have a GPS track, knowledge of where I need to exit the trail to remain legal and a good exit plan near Whitley City. The Southern Terminus is, unfortunately, not bike legal.

I will post about when. Equipment-wise, I couldn't be happier with my gear minus the broken spoke and pivot bolt issue. I've had my wheels rebuilt with Stan's Flows and will be running tubeless next time.

Thanks for the discussion.

I've gone back and forth with my research on GPS devices between the Garmin Vista HCx and the new DeLorme Earthmate PN-40 device.

Here's a nice review of the latter:
http://gpstracklog.com/2009/02/delorme-earthmate-pn-40-review.html

Background: I'm a total handheld GPS newb which concerns me with the thought of using the DeLorme’s Topo USA 7.0. However, I will be able to spend $29.95 and get access to:

•1:24,000 scale USGS topo maps
•B/W aerial imagery
•Color aerial imagery
•SAT 10 imagery

Since I will be riding is Eastern hardwood, I don't know if the aerial or SAT imagery will be helpful, but I do know the USGS quad information will be very valuable. Garmin has yet to be able to do this outside of a few national parks. I did find a page that has the ability to convert USGS quads to Garmin maps:

http://moagu.com/

However, I wouldn't know if this solution is more or less complex than going with the DeLorme unit since I don't have either unit  in hand to be able to figure it out.

Battery life appears to be shorter with the DeLorme unit which may be a deal killer.

Lastly, it looks like I will be able to use topofusion to modify an existing gpx file for my route. I will have to cut out certain sections and add additional road mileeage in. Is this correct, or do I need another program?

Thanks!

I like my Stan's Arch rims as well.

I've also run many years on Bontrager Mustang Assym rims. Not sure what the new model name is, but I cracked one on an awkward landing off a jump. Replaced it and have been going strong for several years. The other 3 Bonty's I own have not had one issue. I'm not a flyweight either.

I love both the trip reports and some of the equipment how-to's. I think people doing more of both of those would be great. Perhaps, some of the more seasoned people could do more extensive equipment reviews ala backpackinglight.com. I know that is a pay site, but it's nice to have a detailed review with commentary afterward: reminds me of a peer-reviewed journal.

Lastly, I've been frequenting a hammock forum and several people post videos both educational and for entertainment. Don't know if that is a possibility for this site, but it's pretty cool.

As to who to advertise to, it does seem many people either accidentally find this site or discover a post on mtbr.com for it. ScottM, I actually found this site after happening on MikeC's thread on the vacation forum about your and his bike trip. I don't know how many pages or individual posts there are, but I would have had trouble finding the place otherwise.

I've had good luck with several items over several seasons of accumulated mileage:

Chris King Headsets (still have my first one bought 12+ years ago) and hubs (yes, break-in takes a while)

Thomson anything: just don't strongarm one of the faceplate bolts like I did or you will crack the faceplate.

Wipperman chains. They work great. I have had three and the blingy SS one I bought actually has been the best. Grime seems more "afraid" of it than all the other chains I have tried. Their version of the quick link works good. You can have those Shimano pins. I will pass on that and the sticky pins I have tried to press back in.

Brooks saddles

Salsa skewers (steel skewers are available and are often listed as singlespeed skewers)

ODI lock on grips although I have tried and love the Ergon grips. I can't comment on the durability of the latter.

Fox rear shock

Phil Wood bottom bracket

And, believe it or not, a RockShox Reba 29er fork. Never thought I would put Rockshox and duability in the same sentence in a positive way, but my fork has never wimpered.

Surly anything: I've cracked a rear chainstay brace on a LenzSport Leviathan. I've had a EBB set screw mount break free and cracked an EBB shell on two different Niner One-9s. I had a Giant NRS that ghost-shifted if you climbed an ant mound. However, my old Surly Karate Monkey is like the Energizer bunny. It always works, never breaks, nevers slips or complains. I have a steel Surly chainring that has also withstood me clumsily riding a fixie off-road without issue.

A couple of comments about products mentioned previously:

Moots Ti Seatposts are blingy and comfy as they come. I love mine. However, somewhere along the way the aluminum knurled inserts that actually tightened against by the seapost rail clamp will wear down. They have since changed the design which I bet works much better, but wow it is expensive!

I run a XTR front derailleur shifted by a SRAM grip shifter which gets me all usable gears without front derailleur cage rub. The XTR front derailleur supposedly shifts better than SRAM, but I have never personally tried a SRAM front derailleur to test the hypothesis. In contrast, I prefer a trigger shifter (SRAM X9) for the rear derailleur (SRAM X0). Always happy; especially since I installed the new Gore sealed cables.

As to running anything less than XT in the component spectrum, I have no new knowledge. Frankly having hated everything less than XT (outside of the pipe spindle LX crank I once owned) I am hesitant to try. Interesting that the opinion is changing.

At least two of us are bikepacking and mapping the Sheltowee (eastern KY) including routing around bike-illegal sections the first week of September.

Here is some info from a thread i started on here:

http://www.bikepacking.net/forum/index.php/topic,90.0.html

Here's another site and my thread about this trail:

http://www.sheltoweetrace.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=307

I know nothing of the trail you speak of, but did get the chance to ride some most excellent trails in the Sawtooth area just outside of Stanley, ID.

From the pic below, you can see why they call the range sawtooth:



Here's the rest of the album:

http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v64/chuckc71/Idaho%20trip%202007/

Everything you ever wanted to know about homemade stoves but were afraid to ask.

http://bplite.com/index.php?sid=ed14517e154bfc51b529e41c834454b2

I bought a "Cobalt" stove from Zelph on there. Very nice and light.

...the new Ergon BC3 will carry the weight on your back better with less fatigue. Those weigh more...

How much does the BC3 weigh? Can't find it on the net. Also, only find it on E-bay and Competitive Cyclist. Other sites?

Mike Brown,

You are very correct about selected parts of the Sheltowee. The whole Daniel Boone National Forest is seriously horsed up as is much of Kentucky 

That's also another reason for me to do this ride in September when it will be as dry as can be.

1. I'm using a Surly Pugsly 100mm fork.  I don't see the need right now for a 135mm front so I am going for lighter weight

I didn't know they made a Pugsley fork in 100mm.

I just copied this from the Surly site:

"Our cro-moly Pugsley fork is a tapered straight blade unit, spaced at 135mm (between the dropouts) to accommodate a rear hub, and wide enough to allow a 4" tire to fit with ease."

Actually, I did find a reference for a 100mm Pugsley fork on AEbike.com and Speedgoat. However, they indicate the fork is unavailable and backordered, respectively.

Anyone know if the 100mm Pugsley fork is still available? Might make for a cool project for my Karate Monkey.

I wish one of these drive systems was mounted in place of the bottom bracket vs. the rear hub. That way, you wouldn't have the the bike tail heavy like a volkswagen.

The only one I have seen like this was a Honda downhill mountain bike back more than a few years ago.

Questions for you:

1. What fork will you be running? 135mm wide hub?

2. Those cages, where will you be mounting them?

3. Is the frame builder actually building the cages?

Comment: I just did my first ride with the WTB Stout as a rear tire. It's huge. It's heavy. And it rocked for the leaves, frozen tundra, etc. I was riding today. I have another one I will be mounting on the front.

Who's ITT'ing the Sheltowee Trace?

Please PM or e-mail me.

chuckc1971ATinsightbbDOTcom

I am aware of a group trying to do this on the Summer Solstice. I'm hoping to plan a bike-legal, standardized route or work with the Summer Solstice folks in doing so.

Wow, that thing's super nice.  I'm messing with hammocks too.  I've thought about the bridge style but there is a big hurdle I can't get over when travelling by bike.  That is the hiking poles.  I'm not going to carry my hiking poles, and I'm not sure it's worth buying and carrying some other purpose built pole.  Have you figured that one out?

Yeah, there is that problem and if you go through all the pages, it's also pretty heavy. I am sure if you wanted to do it, you could. Notice the poles are shortened significantly. I am sure it would be easy to modify some hiking poles to the right length and carry that in the pack. Or, instead of running a frame pump along the down tube, seat tube, attach your hammock poles there.

I am still investigating hammocks. Looks very promising. I don't mind heat, cold or even rain that much. But, I hate sleeping on the ground. I just got Ed Speer's book from Amazon and I have perused many websites and forums. Learning curve is pretty steep, but I am thinking of a Warbonnet Blackbird due to all the great reviews on the Hammock Forum:

http://www.hammockforums.net/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=62

Chuck -- I'm curious about the non-wilderness areas that are closed to bikes.  There's only one WA on the route, so what about the other sections -- would carrying / pushing a bike through be OK?

I have to dig deeper, but the only other section I know of that will not allow cycling is that which lies within the Big South Fork. Supposedly, there is a state park along the way that doesn't allow biking, but I'm not sure which one.

BTW, ScottM, I found that guy who actually rode the whole thing in 2000. I hope to pick his brain as well.

Lastly, here is a very cool map that you can overlay hiking and biking trails in KY:

http://kygeonet.ky.gov/kytrails/viewer.htm

Eric,

I am sure I could carry it, but I wouldn't be able to push my bike as ScottM suggested. As far as debating mechanized vs. bicycle, you are preaching to the quire.

Back to beavertail packs, look what I found on a hammock forum:

http://www.hammockforums.net/forum/showthread.php?t=2479