Great trip report, looks like a wild adventure. Keep it coming!

Just took my bike on the plane to England and back. Packed in a cardboard box (double box, tons of padding), no problems, thought the box looked a little banged up and sad at the end, the bike was fine. Was glad I'd brought the airline bike luggage policy printout as both times checking in they tried to stick me with double the price.

As far as price goes, internationally, flying with your bike will likely always be cheaper. Domestically in the US, shipping could be a better deal.

You can get a steel freehub body for the dtswiss hubs. Heavier, but no gouging.
With tooless freehub/cassette removal, you can easily get to the drive side spokes. Love my 340 hub.

I put these on my and my wife's bikes. Working great! The filing process was actually pretty easy. Super granny is so nice with a loaded bike!

I'm headed to ride a coast to coast trip in Scotland in June. Riding (pushing) from Inverie to Kinloch Hourn, then on to Corrieyairak pass, then up Glen Feshie, over Mt Keen to Montrose. This site has been super helpful in planning the route:
bikehike.co.uk

Here's a cool looking bikepacking loop:
http://www.cairngormsloop.net/map.html

Awesome! Looking forward to reading the rest of it. I'm curious to know more about your method for packing up the bikes.

Ok, nevermind. Bike route toaster seems to be what I was looking for! thanks. Now if only we could get USGS topo maps on there like topofusion...

I've used Topofusion a little bit- very nice, but doesn't work on my mac unless I use boot camp or parallels. I'm planning a trip in Scotland and have found bikehike.co.uk to be AWESOME. Is there anything like this for North America? Great web interface means I can use it anywhere, on any computer.

At one point backpackinglight.com had it by the roll to buy in their store. Maybe check around in the forums over there.

From the GJ area you could come back over Grand Mesa- some singletrack but mostly road. Then get to Crested Butte via Kebler Pass or Schofield Pass, then connect back to CT at Monarch Pass. Or, Grand Mesa -> Carbondale -> Cottonwood Pass/Red Table -> Eagle/Vail area -> CT. Not sure how it would all work but I bet you could work something out. I've always been curious to find a good Carbondale to Moab route over the Grand Mesa...

I have nothing add, but this is a useful comparison tool:

http://www.tenpoundbackpack.com/gear-lists/lightweight-bivy-bags/

http://www.tenpoundbackpack.com/gear-lists/lightweight-tarp-tents/

I have a classic (not turbo) 27.2 Gravity Dropper seatpost and have tried a few different variations before finding success with an Epic/Revelate Viscacha bag and a 4" with 1" down dropper post. The Epic bag has two velcro seat post attachments, but I only use one of them. With the bag attached, I can only use the 1" down position, but that's all I need. The 4" post is necessary for clearance for the velcro tab (tried a 3", and it wasn't enough to let me go down to the 1"). I also tried my friend's CDW seat bag- didn't work as well as it's a single seatpost attachment strap and there is a seam on the bag that catches when dropping the seat. Oh, and you need to remove the rubber boot, which I don't think is all that necessary for the occasional trip.

I haven't used this setup a ton, but it seems to work. Sometimes I have to pull the seat up to get it back up, but usually not. I like the dropper post as I like to run the seat as high as possible for my knees when pedaling, but like to have a lower seat for descents because it's so much more enjoyable (and that's the point right?). For a long trip, where I'd get more concerned with weight and I might ride more conservatively, I might consider ditching it, but I'm not sure.

The Silva Rangers are nice. If it has an inclinometer that can be useful for ski touring to determine slope angle too. Definitely nice to have a mirror.

bump. still looking if anyone has a Revelate/Epic or CDW seatpack and/or a gas tank. thanks

Maybe you could figure out a route using some of the trips Doom has done:
http://therepublicofdoom.blogspot.com/
Need a packraft though.

I don't know about the TU, but to get to Moab from Durango, take the route that the San Juan Hut System takes (they also have one that goes Telluride to Moab)

I got a pair of these shoes a couple months ago at the PI outlet store in Silverthorne. Love them- very comfortable to walk/hike in, and very supportive for biking. Might have to get another pair before they disappear! I have a pair of 44 X-Alp Enduros (no carbon), that are too big for me and not nearly as supportive. Might be selling those if anyone's interested (sorry to piggyback on your post, just wanted to chime in about how sweet the X-Alp Pros are).

Looking for a seat/saddle pack, something along the lines of Revelate's Viscacha. Also a gas tank and if anyone has a frame bag that would fit a Santa Cruz Superlight....
thanks

I've ridden over Schofield Pass to the 401- some loose and techy parts, but for the most part ridable. Start early to avoid jeep traffic. The first half of the these photos show it: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ntsnow/sets/72157621394078436/. Once you get to 401, it's of course awesome. If you want more singletrack on your way to Marble, ride Tall Pines from Thompson Creek to Redstone. Even more would be to hit the Lorax trail, but you'd have to ask at an LBS for directions for that, as it's pretty cryptic.

If you want to go through Aspen, consider riding from Carbondale: Prince Creek -> Hay Park -> Snowmass -> Gov't Trail. I'd do Taylor Pass over Pearl (more singletrack). You could ride up Little Annie or Midnight Mine Rd and then ride all along Richmond Ridge behind Aspen Mtn instead of going up the pavement to Ashcroft and then up Express Cr.

This post by mikesee starts out with the connector from the Reudi to Aspen http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=410393. Page 3 shows Richmond Hill and Taylor.