SUL Biking Overnighter

[Christopher Plesko]

Well I’m going on a biking overnighter on the Colorado Trail. I’m using the REI Flash UL Pack and it will be my first SUL trip I suppose. It will be a nice foundation to see what works and what doesn’t. Hopefully most of it works so that I can go 5-7 days out of a ~1500cubic inch pack.

Base weight looks like it will be 4.7 lbs. FSO weight will be around 8.4lbs. Total pack weight at start with 2.4L water and other consumables is 11.8lbs. I’ll try to post a gear list when I get back. Definitely room for improvement in terms of weight but mostly room for improvement in terms of taking a longer trip (5-7 days) at the same weight and being warmer. The REI Flash pack is just about full although I could squeeze another day or 2 of food if I had to.

Most non-SUL item? My Asics tights. 8.4oz of sleepware since I don’t have small enough sleeping bag to fit in the REI pack.

[larry savage]

I’ve strapped my bag under my handlebar or onto one of those seatpost/racks…keeps a little bit of the weight of your back.

[John S.]

Post a gear list after you get back..yeah. What 1500 cubic inch pack will you use on your longer trip?

[Johnny Gish]

any report from your trip? How did you pack all your gear on your bike?

[Christopher Plesko]

Forgot to update this, thanks for the reminder! Here was the gear list. Copied from excel and weights are in ounces. If the formatting got screwed up let me know, I think I got it right.

Rode from 5pm until a couple hours after dark. Made camp and dinner and hit the sack. My partner was having trouble descending in the dark since he rides a fixed gear off road (I was just on a singlespeed) so we stopped earlier than I planned but it was still fine.

Got down to the high 40s at night and in the early morning hours and rain rain rain! I was a bit chilly with no sleeping bag but comfortable enough to sleep for 4 hours and then about an hour at a time after that until morning. Once riding I had more than enough clothes and never wore the MP pullover after breakfast. We rode a most of the day and met my wife back in Morrison, CO since I had husband duty at a party that night.

All gear, water and food went into the pack except for my “bike bag”. The mini pump go stashed in my REI pack too. Overall awesome first SUL trip for someone who has had only a little camping experience. Have since modified and refined my gearlist and will continue to do so.

Pack and Sleeping Gear

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REI Flash UL – 9.16
Montbell UL Bivy w/stuff sack – 6.57
Cut Down Blue Pad – 2.29
Patagonia Micropuff Pullover w/ stuff sack – 11.21
Asics Tights – 8.41
Possum Wool Hat – 2.1
Smartwool Lightweight Crew Socks – 1.88
Total – 41.62

Riding Clothes Carried

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Marmot Ion Windshirt – 3.35
Arm Warmers – 2.43
Knee Warmers – 2.46
Total – 8.24

Misc

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Princeton Tec EOS – 3.66
2 Sets extra AAAs (6 total) – 2.54
Clear Sunglass Lenses – 0.53
Purell – 0.78
Chamois butter – 0.76
Sunscreen packets – 0.44
First Aid – 1.02
Emergency Fire – 0.69
Paper towels – 0.5
Kitchen garbage bag – 0.8
Plastic bag with notebook, directions and pen – 2.42
Total – 14.14

Kitchen

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Platpus 2.4L with hoser – 2.8
Snowpeak 450 – 2.36
Mesh bag – 0.25
DQ Spoon – 0.12
Mini Bic – 0.41
Ti Windscreen, paperclip and foil lid – 0.44
Ti Wing Stove – 0.46
Platypus 2.4L (Treating) – 1.28
Total – 8.12

Worn

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Helmet – 10.23
Jersery – 6
Smartwool ultralight crew – 1.4
Shorts – 10(?) didn’t weigh
Cycling cap – 1.47
Watch – 1.12
Sunglasses – 1.28
Gloves – 2.67
Shoes w/ Time cleats – 24.57
Total – 58.74

Consumables

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2 Esbit – 1
10 MP1 – 0.22
2.5 L Water – 88
4 Poptarts – 8
1 Ramen – 4
1 Cliff Blocks – 2
4 Clif Nectar Bars – 8
2 Tea bags – 0.2
Honey Tube – 1.93
Total – 113.35

Bike Saddle Bag – Not weighed as I count it as “bike weight”

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Multi Tool and Case
2 Tubes
1 Tire lever w/duct tape
1 big/1 small tire boot
6 patches
6 extra chain links/1 Powerlink
1 CO2 and Inflator
1 Mini Pump

Clothing Worn – 3.67 lbs
Base Weight – 4.51 lbs
Full Skin Out Base Weight – 8.18
Starting Pack w/Consumables – 11.59

Fire away with questions, comments, suggestions…

[Johnny Gish]

your gear list is great especially since you have little camping experience. too bad you didnt get to wear the micropuff. I use that same kitchen setup. would you consider putting your pack on a rear rack instead of wearing it? did you have any issues with it?

[Christopher Plesko]

Thanks!

I have little experience but a helpful partner who is not SUL but an experienced camper so I had somewhat of a safety net to push my boundaries. He has already dumped his panniers after this trip since the weight of his rack and panniers alone was more than my base weight! Between his experience and a lot of reading here I am doing pretty good. I have learned a lot this past summer and fall and acquired a few more pieces of gear since this trip. I will be doing some winter bike camping for the first time soon. The high mountains are getting enough snow now and I’m getting a warm enough gear list dialed in.

I did wear the micropuff to bed and in the morning while making tea and eating poptarts. It was nice but too warm to wear while riding. It would have to be below zero or sleeting before I could wear the MP P/O while riding. On the contrary the tights were NOT warm enough for the weight. I would have gladly traded them for a pair of montbell or cocoon pants but alas I do not own either. With that trade I would have been toasty warm all night long plus has pants to wear around camp.

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