Bikepack Catalina!

Discussion in 'Trailhead' started by BonsaiNut, Jan 11, 2016.


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  1. Runs with Scissors

    Runs with Scissors iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    West Anaheim
    Name:
    Mark Whitaker
    Current Bike:
    Giant XTC with pedals
    A weight weenie's wet dream...a titanium spork!!! That's classic!! :thumbsup::p
     
    Danimal, tortoise, mike and 1 other person like this.
  2. mike

    mike iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    Western US
    Name:
    Mike O
    Current Bike:
    HT, FS
    I'd bet dollars to donuts that you can rig up your HT with minimal fuss and expense. We used rear racks and small backpacks on HTs...there is no chunk or twisty to even consider. Cheap insulated clamps suffice for lower frame eyelets; upper connection: Axiom Trekk seat collar or post-mounted collar, both have eyelets. Cheap stuff sack and straps for a handlebar and/or rack-top setup. With minor ingenuity a stuff sack can also be a seat bag. Or a pannier. Cheap Fastex accessory straps...1001 uses! Everyone has cobbled a ragamuffin setup at some point, even Divide riders...starting with a HT, with no tech terrain, it's simple and easy :) If you have a reasonably small and compressible sleeping bag (down), that's half the battle. I'd hate to see you miss this...I'm here to help :cool:
     
    abuck55, Faust29 and ridinrox like this.
  3. BonsaiNut

    BonsaiNut iMTB Rockstah

    Location:
    Troutman, NC
    Name:
    Greg P
    Current Bike:
    Santa Cruz Hightower CC XX1
    Actually.... I own these... TITANIUM CHOPSTICKS! Sporks are so 1980's...

    71VyKlBeOqL._SL1500_.jpg
     
  4. Danmtchl

    Danmtchl iMTB Rockstah

    Location:
    Bakersfield
    Name:
    Dan
    Current Bike:
    2020 Trek Fuel EX 9.7
    We used to sail out to Catalina all the time when I was a kid also. I really miss doing that. We had a 40 foot O'day.
     
    BonsaiNut, ridinrox and tortoise like this.
  5. BonsaiNut

    BonsaiNut iMTB Rockstah

    Location:
    Troutman, NC
    Name:
    Greg P
    Current Bike:
    Santa Cruz Hightower CC XX1
    For those interested... this is where I bought my bike rack. Note that this is a pretty heavy setup for a three-day trip; I could easily go on a one-week tour with this setup, carrying everything but water:

    Old Man Mountain

    For Catalina I think a frame pack and judicious use of compression straps to tie gear on your bike would work fine. Depends on your level of comfort. We have plenty of time and I would recommend you pack on a "test" set of gear and go for a ride on a fire road somewhere to see how to feels.

    I also have a slight issue in that I have a two-man tent (because I was thinking at one point my son would want to bike with me). So my tent is little big. It all depends on your comfort level and how much weight you want to carry. Tent, sleeping bag and sleeping mat are going to be your big space items. In my photo I show my rack with panniers. I could just as easily bike with the rack alone, frame pack, and pack on the bars. Just depends on how much gear I am carrying and how I want to balance it on the frame...
     
    mike likes this.
  6. riiz

    riiz Member

    Location:
    Redlands, CA
    Name:
    Eric
    Current Bike:
    Santa Cruz Heckler/Killmaleon
    Looking at the Catalina Island Website, we do need purchase a Conservancy membership and bike pass too?
     
    Cyclotourist likes this.
  7. Cyclotourist

    Cyclotourist iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    Redlands
    Name:
    David
    Current Bike:
    Don't fence me in!
    Assembling my gear... muah-ha-ha...!
    24529020565_5e2206f80b.jpg
     
    mike, riiz, saki and 1 other person like this.
  8. BonsaiNut

    BonsaiNut iMTB Rockstah

    Location:
    Troutman, NC
    Name:
    Greg P
    Current Bike:
    Santa Cruz Hightower CC XX1
    Bike, racks, tent, sleeping bag... and now air mattress :) 3.5 inches of dreamy cushion :)

    camp1.jpg

    camp2.jpg
     
    Mikie, mike, riiz and 3 others like this.
  9. saki

    saki Newbie with Hope!

    Name:
    bill sakatani
    Revelate makes great gear you won't be disappointed
     
  10. Cyclotourist

    Cyclotourist iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    Redlands
    Name:
    David
    Current Bike:
    Don't fence me in!
    I have a Tangle and Viscacha, this completes the triumvirate!!! :)
     
  11. saki

    saki Newbie with Hope!

    Name:
    bill sakatani
    Feed Bags are nice to have but it sounds if you are ready
     
    Cyclotourist likes this.
  12. Cyclotourist

    Cyclotourist iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    Redlands
    Name:
    David
    Current Bike:
    Don't fence me in!
    Got that covered as well!!! Considering all the gear I have, I should be doing this every weekend!!!
    21915452922_54bc430b7f.jpg
     
  13. saki

    saki Newbie with Hope!

    Name:
    bill sakatani
    Love It Enjoy
     
    Cyclotourist likes this.
  14. BonsaiNut

    BonsaiNut iMTB Rockstah

    Location:
    Troutman, NC
    Name:
    Greg P
    Current Bike:
    Santa Cruz Hightower CC XX1
    Once I get geared, I am going to head out and do some Whiting Ranch loops, as well as Blackstar and/or Harding to see how much this stuff slows me down. I might even do an overnighter to Blue Jay... just because I can :)
     
    Faust29, saki, mike and 1 other person like this.
  15. mike

    mike iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    Western US
    Name:
    Mike O
    Current Bike:
    HT, FS
    As every cyclotourist knows, the kit is more or less the same for one bivy as it is for dozens...so, may as well do GDMBR. :sneaky:
     
    Faust29 and Cyclotourist like this.
  16. Cyclotourist

    Cyclotourist iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    Redlands
    Name:
    David
    Current Bike:
    Don't fence me in!
    Just about ready to sign up!!!! Antelope Wells, here I come!!!
     
    Faust29 and mike like this.
  17. CarlS

    CarlS Member

    Location:
    Temecula, CA
    Name:
    Carl
    Current Bike:
    Walmart $50 special
    I have been thinking of doing an overnighter at Blue Jay as well. let me know if you want hit it up on a weekend sometime. I could probably get some other guys to go also if we want to make it a party.
     
    Faust29 and BonsaiNut like this.
  18. saki

    saki Newbie with Hope!

    Name:
    bill sakatani
    You need shake down rides to see what works before the dream trek have Fun
     
  19. BonsaiNut

    BonsaiNut iMTB Rockstah

    Location:
    Troutman, NC
    Name:
    Greg P
    Current Bike:
    Santa Cruz Hightower CC XX1
    Mmmmmm... brings back the memories... Supplies for the next zombie apocalypse, or bike-packing trip :)

    mre.jpg
     
    Mikie and saki like this.
  20. saki

    saki Newbie with Hope!

    Name:
    bill sakatani
    Are MRE 's good to eat ?. I eat Mountain House . Just add hot water. Pretty good. Red wine or rum helps too.
     
    Mikie and CarlS like this.
  21. BonsaiNut

    BonsaiNut iMTB Rockstah

    Location:
    Troutman, NC
    Name:
    Greg P
    Current Bike:
    Santa Cruz Hightower CC XX1
    I find them quite good, depending on type. They are heavy though (at least compared to fully dehydrated, though not as heavy as the old canned "C"-rations). If you want to save weight, you can take them out of the box and discard things that you don't need / are redundant (like the seasonings, etc), and you can repack into a ziplock bag to make them smaller and easy to pack.

    Two big advantages - you know each meal is 1250 calories, so they are high-caloric meals for your trip, and they come with a chemical heater so with a canteen of water you get a hot meal. That can be a big deal when it is cold and pouring down rain and you are prepping food in your tent.
     
    Mikie, mike, riiz and 3 others like this.
  22. BonsaiNut

    BonsaiNut iMTB Rockstah

    Location:
    Troutman, NC
    Name:
    Greg P
    Current Bike:
    Santa Cruz Hightower CC XX1
    MRE's are also shelf-stable for 6 or more years... as long as you keep them cool (like in a closet inside your house). They are great earthquake food kits. Best of all, one of the best places to buy them is MRE Depot. Normally shipping is half the cost of buying them (because the cases are so heavy) but MRE Depot is located in San Clemente and you can do "will call" orders and pick up from their warehouse :) They aren't cheap, but you get what you pay for :) MRE Depot normally runs sales on and off through the year, so I wait until they do 15% or 20% off before I order...
     
    riiz, saki, Faust29 and 1 other person like this.
  23. kioti

    kioti iMTB Rockstah

    Name:
    Jim Jennings
    Current Bike:
    ibis ripley
    Rent a sailboat and do day trips? You'll have a galley and a dry place to sleep. (Just don't bring Robert Redford.)
     
    Mikie, Faust29 and ridinrox like this.
  24. kioti

    kioti iMTB Rockstah

    Name:
    Jim Jennings
    Current Bike:
    ibis ripley
    On a more serious note, Parson's Landing looks amazing and worth visiting! Rox, maybe you can borrow a BOB trailer so you don't have to buy racks and packs. And I've got some camping gear you, or anyone else, can use if you need it. But you'll have to let me know soon because it's in the Goodwill pile.

    Another alternative is to go super-light, depending on the forecast. I've used a bivy sack, short ensolite pad and space blanket for guerilla-style touring and it worked OK, except the space blanket doesn't breathe and it sounds like a you're wrapped in an aluminum trash bag when you roll over, which essentially you are.

    I like the trailer idea because you can disconnect it when you want and your bike is back to normal. Plus, no weight on your back to affect your breathing or over your front tire to affect your balance or steering.
     
    Mikie, Faust29, Cyclotourist and 2 others like this.
  25. ridinrox

    ridinrox Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Fullerton
    Name:
    Roxanne
    Current Bike:
    '16 Giant Trance Advance
    Before I commit maybe I should ask since a good majority of you guys are married: Are the wives gonna have a problem w me on this trip??

    There have been some of my friends that don't always let their wives know I'm riding w them or even dare meet them.

    I don't want to put anyone at an uncomfortable situation. It kinda sucks being the only female rider on this forum (except for the couple that post every once in awhile).

    Let me know guys ...
     
    DangerDirtyD, Mikie and Cyclotourist like this.
  26. Cyclotourist

    Cyclotourist iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    Redlands
    Name:
    David
    Current Bike:
    Don't fence me in!
    @ridinrox Interesting perspective... the stuff you have to deal with :(
    I'm hoping to go on this (dates, final cost, etc. depending) but the presences of an XX chromosome carrier is probably the least of my worries.

    he-man-woman-haters-club-609x372.jpg
     
    Mikie likes this.
  27. ridinrox

    ridinrox Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Fullerton
    Name:
    Roxanne
    Current Bike:
    '16 Giant Trance Advance
    Thanks for your concern; I'm trying to be respectful of wives and their feelings on top of respecting my mtbing brothas position. :thumbsup:
     
    Mikie, mike and Cyclotourist like this.
  28. BonsaiNut

    BonsaiNut iMTB Rockstah

    Location:
    Troutman, NC
    Name:
    Greg P
    Current Bike:
    Santa Cruz Hightower CC XX1
    Checked with my wife and she said you weren't allowed to wear make-up :)
     
    Mikie, mike, CarlS and 4 others like this.
  29. BonsaiNut

    BonsaiNut iMTB Rockstah

    Location:
    Troutman, NC
    Name:
    Greg P
    Current Bike:
    Santa Cruz Hightower CC XX1
    So here's what I'm going to do... in general there have been people who have expressed interest on this thread. I'm going to send you all private messages to get an email contact from you, and then I'll put together a distribution list for us to share more specifics. Since we don't have final dates or costs or anything, this isn't about making a final commitment, it's about figuring out who is serious :)

    List so far of people who have expressed interest:

    Cyclotourist
    beyondthelens
    danmtchl
    riiz
    CarlS
    ridinrox

    These folks get right of first refusal... if you want to be put on the waiting list, you can add your name to this thread.
     
    mike, CarlS, ridinrox and 2 others like this.
  30. ridinrox

    ridinrox Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Fullerton
    Name:
    Roxanne
    Current Bike:
    '16 Giant Trance Advance
    That was really funny...thank you!!
     
    Mikie likes this.
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As a former Amazon Associate I continue to get screwed trying to stay qualified as an Amazon Affiliate. So I quit!


Want to donate to imtbtrails?