A few of my buddies regularly tow their kids simply with a 4 foot bungee cord with the hooks on the ends.  They loop one end around their seatpost using the hook to connect the bungee to itself and the same thing around their kids headtube.  I've only seen them do it on long steady climbs here in western NC and seems to work really well.

Pics come in fine for me.  They are PNG's though -- what browser are you using Felonious?

I'm still at the mercy of the quickly antiquating IE 6.0.

Oh I'd love to be able to see your pictures.  Am I the only one who see's just the white box red X?  Because of my screwy computer, it might be possible I'm  the only one.

I've had some great trips (though not biking) in Mexico and always thought it would be a great place to bikepack.  I'd like to spend more time down that way.

MC,  

Thanks for all the details.  

I like the gearing.

How do you store and access fuel in your handlebar?  That's a new idea on me.

And does anyone else about pass out by the time they get their Big Agnes sleeping pads blown up or is that just me?

~Shaun

As soon as I saw this,

I thought of this.

Another case of nature inspiring technology?


I love this one.  It's almost an optical illusion and the contrast is great.  It'll be my background for a while.



On the fishing rig, that 7-piece in a light tube sounds good.  My 4 piece in it's standard rod tube is too long and hefty.  Though that tenkara thing looks even nicer!  Hum, can I justify another ~$200 fishing rig?  The wife would say    I'd say 

Another really nice story MikeC.  Believe it or not, I was reading some of the "Rules" discussion and some of the oft' heard questions posted here and elsewhere the other day and, seriously now, said to myself..."I haven't seen any MikeC reports in a while.  One would be nice about now."  Amazing.

What kind of fishing rig you carrying on multi dayers?  I have a penchant for a little cold water fishing myself but haven't put together a rig I'm satisfied with for multi day trips.  I've hauled my standard 4 piece 7.5' 4wgt fly rod, reel and a small box of flies but the rod and tube is still heavier and longer than I'd prefer to carry.  I found a telescopic rod that I put a tiny spinning real on that hit the size and weight quota better but the cheap rod is too delicate.  Now I'm fooling around with a hand line...that's somewhat fun actually and really brings it down to simple things.  But I'd like to enjoy the simple thing of eating a fish more often than that has produced to date   What's working for you?

Holy sweet mother!!!  Adding that to the bucket list will fill my bucket right up! 

I love the vision and can't wait to hear some stories of finishers.

DM,  Thanks for the info.  Do you have an idea of when the first freeze usually happens down there?

On the gear hauling, I'd suggest looking over the Personal Setups page here.  All the ideas you'll need to get a good start.

I forgot something.  Loops are really nice, but when they're not available I've found that renting a car to run shuttle isn't too bad.  Enterprise has been known to deliver a car to me at the trails end within 30 minutes...a good option sometimes. 

What would be the best month to do that Wateree to the coast section to avoid being carried away by mosquitos or eaten my a snake?  I'm not familiar with the seasons down there. 

I'm not a fast mover, but not neccesarily slow either.  I just like to get out there and take in the sights.  And after some of my latest hike-a-bike fests that have been my exploratory trips up here in the mtns, I'm ready for something flatter.  Oh, and my wife isn't up for shuttling me, she's more interested in waking me up from my slumber so we can hit the trail at the crack of dawn     

I just looked a minute into the http://www.sctrails.net/TRAILS/ALLTRAILS/Palmetto%20Trail/PALMETTO%20TRAIL.html"] Palmetto Trail [/url] and suddenly I see a swamp trip in my future!  That 150ish mile leg from Wateree to Awendaw at the coast looks like it'd be a very unique long weekend experience for someone who is used to riding up here in the mountains.  I only have about a 3 hour drive to Wateree and finishing with a night of seafood near Charleston might be really slick.  Looks like it might be on the relaxing side of bikepacking as far as elevation change and tread surface goes (could be wrong), but I'm up for that.  Hum...water moccasins, alligators, and lots of bugs...I'm thinking post Thanksgiving.   

Any thoughts or experience? 

I can't be of any help but I'd be interested in a 2-4 day route in SC for this Fall/Winter.  I haven't done much research on routes in SC but I just got the new Trails Illustrated map for Pisgah and it has a tiny bit of the Up State on it with a bit of the Palmetto and it didn't show that bikes were not allowed.  It piqued my interest.  Coming down the mountain from Asheville for a long weekend might be nice this Fall. 

If you come up with anything, please keep us posted.

Here's my variation on something like a cookie dough, more like oatmeal cookie dough.  It's awesome! 

You can put in a lot of things, but I mix together:
Primarily instant rolled oats, peanut butter, honey, and a little bit of each of these or something similiar.  Molassas, sunflower seeds, coconut flakes, slivered almonds, M&M's, dried fruit bits, salt.  I mix it together into a big lump about the consistancy of stiff cookie dough.  Stuff a ziplock full of it and naugh on it all the time.  I'm leaning toward something like this replacing breakfast, lunch, and snacks.  It's best to make it a day or more in advance of a trip and let it sit so the oats get a bit softer, but not neccesary.   

I was eating alot of salami and cheese on crackers or tortillas for lunches but after my last trip I think I need something higher in the carbs and lower in the fat for lunch.  I'll save the fat for dinner. 

It's a bummer that it won't work with front wheels.  I've got bolt on rear wheel on my singlespeed, so that device is a non-starter.

It won't?  I didn't see that.  I like the idea but don't know how it'll all hold together after miles of bumping down the trail and getting mud and water all over/in it.  If I get my hands on it and it seems like it'll hold up, I might just give it a try.

Sew each side from the middle out in both directions.  

That seems (no pun intended) to be a simple tip but it may be just what I need to get around the difficulties I had trying to sew in the corners.  My wife still needs a bag.  Maybe I'll give it another go.  

Anyone know where to source 6 inch weather resistant zippers?

Thanks Mike.  I've read a lot of good reviews of the CB 17. 

Baling wire- you know- the thing before zip ties.

Nice!   BTW, I have something for you next time I see you. 

I've been lugging around a friggin' boat anchor and it's time to chuck it over board!

It seems after every trip, I come home and scrutinize my gear as I unpack it.  Happily, each time I've refined the gear more and more and I'm getting quite happy with most everything I'm carrying.  But there are a few more suspicious items.  This time my eyes are set on my tool kit.  I've been carrying around the do it all-and-more Topeak Alien 2 for a few years now.  I thought I was clever about a year ago when I took off the unneeded box wrenches and put a little spacer in there saving some weight.  But after this trip it has come to my realization that that thing still weights over half a pound!  Sure, if need be I can take apart a Buick out there or I could likely kill a large wild animal with a good throw of it, but do I really need to    I do think I need the chain tool, the phillips for derallier adjustments, a couple allens for everything else, torx for rotors I suppose, but not much else (any thought on that?).  I've even thought about the possibility of changing bolt sizes on the bike to make fewer allen sizes (that may not be feasable).

Has anyone found what they think to be the ultimate lightweight tool kit short of paying $100+ for a titanium/carbon wonder tool?  If not, I'll probably just buy the Crank Brothers Multi 17 at 0.37lbs and see if I can do some improvements to it.

I'm a bit of a DIYer with some sewing machine experience and a decent machine.  I've had decent luck making a hammock, a backpack and a few other small bags so I thought I'd try to make my own frame pack.  Let me tell you, that was a whole nother beast.  Getting the tight corners to fit correctly of basically a box with the somewhat thick fabric (Cordura 600 I think it was) was a pita, basically I couldn't do it.  It's all sitting in a pile in the closet.  I ended up buying a Jandd and wished I had from the start.  It works okay for my frame but if I get REAL serious I'll likely buy an Epic.  I have a CDW saddle bag and handlebar bag and that construction job is amazing, and even more amazing after I tried my own.  I'm sure Eric's work is the same.  Of course, YMMV.   

There's a long stretch of the Appalachians that could at least theoretically be connected:
Monongahele N.F. in WV
George Washington & Jefferson N.F. in VA
Cherokee N.F. in TN
Pisgah & Nantahala N.F. in NC
Chattahoochee N.F. in GA

Theoretically, yes.  Practically it seems a long way off.

Anyone else out there taken a look into this?

Yes.  I've been mapping a lot and exploring some.  A few others have too.  We'll probably get some mention of the GET, but I've found it's not as developed (especially for bikes) as some people assume. 

It might be nice if you start a new thread about a long east coast route development and see if we can get some more input.  I've done it a couple times here and elsewhere and have picked up a little info every time.  JHL, on here has been a big help.  I'll add what I've found so far. 

~Shaun
in the Pisgah National Forest

Nice.  Glad to hear you're heading out!

I'm excited about it.  I've done a couple segments of a NC/VA route I'm thinking about...not terribly promising yet btw...and this is the first segment I'll have the GPS on.  This segment has the most unknowns so far.  The rambling commences tomorrow in the a.m. and ends by Monday p.m.  Only looking at about 100 miles, but in no hurry.

hijack over