Far Out Wanderings: Pre Divide Update... Craziness

Well, I have been riding and planning and not posting much. Have spent many an hour agonizing over gear choices and trying to get the stupid Garmin to work. I have also been attending the Josh Kato school of bicycle mechanics. I am working on making sure I am self sufficient for the upcoming ride. I am fairly certain that Josh will be DAYS ahead of me, despite my mother trying to encourage me by referencing the tortoise and the hare. Anyway even if I caught him he is not allowed to help me. I really think that is a great idea. We have toured together a lot, but I like to be able to do it all myself. One thing I have learned from working in healthcare for 20 years is that you never know what may happen so you are better off being able to be alone.

I like riding and being alone. I am so excited for this ride. Just get up, see gorgeous scenery, eat tons of junk food, do something crazy hard all by your self. Then go to bed and do it all again in the morning.

I will just post here some photos of my recent rides and gear etc. I really like looking at pics better than reading anyway (at least when it comes to blogs).

I will also post my gear list I tried to make this very detailed.

So here is the GEAR LIST (subject to change as I try to get rid of excess stuff):

BIKE

Name: LaFawnduh, cause all good bikes need a name and when something bad happens you can curse at it.
Frame: 2013 Salsa Fargo Titanium
Fork: Salsa Fargo V2 steel fork (cause steel is real) Actually I am clumsy and would break carbon.
Drivetrain: Shimano XTR M980 triple crankarms, 24 tooth Blackspire inner ring, XT 32 T middle, XTR 42 T outer ring, XTR M980 front derailleur, XT 9 speed rear derailleur, XTR 12-34 9 speed cassette, Sram PC 991 cross-step chain. 9 is more durable than 10.
Pedals: Speedplay Frog Ti
Shifter: Sram Attack Betty Gripshift
Brakes: Pauls Love Levers (Valentine's Day present from Josh), Avid BB7 Calipers, Avid HS-1 rotors
Cables: Custom cut and precisely routed Jagwire Pro
Headset: Chris King (it's good to be king)
Stem: Salsa Pro Moto Ti
Handlebar: Jones Loop H-Bar - wrapped in Salsa Bar tape with Ergon grips
Aero Bar: Syntace C3 with extra risers
Seatpost: Eriksen Sweetpost (another Valentines day gift from Josh)
Seat: Terry Liberator X Gel
Seat Collar: Salsa Lip-lock
Wheels: (Custom built by Josh) DT 350 Hubs, Sapim CX-Ray spokes, DT alloy nipples, WTB Frequency i19 Rims 32h
Tires: Kenda Small Block 8 DTC John Tomac Signature
Tubes: (yes some people still use tubes) Schwalbe SV 19A
Flat Prophylactics: Mr. Tuffy Ultralight liners, Flat Attack Sealant (about 50ml per tube and yes we've weighed it all out and it is lighter than a tubeless setup with sealant and proper rim strip and burpy tires.)
CycleStuff Stay Wrap
Vintage Tektro 102A Chainsuck Device. Maybe the name depressed sales... but it works!
Water bottle cages: Portland Design Works: The Birdcage x3 1 on downtube 2 on fork with Zefal Magnum 33 oz bottles.

REAR BAG- Revelate Viscacha

Ziplock with TP, baby wipes, mesh bug hat with snazzy spring ring, hydrocortisone, (for the skeeter bites on you know where), A&D ointment + clotrimazole (to make butt paste, fellow RNs will know) also never forget the hand sanitizer
Western Mountaineering Hi Lite 35 degree bag inside ultralightweight OR drybag.
Patagonia 900 fill Down Sweater inside Sea to Summit waterproof stuffsack
Patagonia Torrentshell Raincoat, Patagonia Rainshadow Rainpants, Proline flyfishing neoprene pantleg band X2, Gorewear gortex socks.
Spare straps

Tool Kit: (inside Viscacha)

Xtra tube with slime
Dental floss
Darning needles
Xtra cleats (Frog)
Brake pads X2 (Avid aluminum/organic)
Tire Boot (Park) +Dollar bill for backup
Patch kit X 3 (Park Glueless)
Rear hub replacement DT Ratchets
Zipties
elastic hairbands
Red Zeplin inflater
CO2 Cartridges X 2
Electrical tape (enough to replace rim strips + more)
Leatherman Squirt PS4
Multi tool: Crank brothers M 17
Torx wrench (Oh why don't they still make everything with allen fittings)
Xtra Sram masterlink
Safety pins
Spare Chainring bolts
Spare Derailleur hanger
Spare Jockey wheel
Lots of Duct tape around my seatpost
Xtra batteries AAA X 8 and AA X 8 lithium, CR2032 X 2

REVELATE SPROCKET: On outside of Viscacha

Spot
Titanium Spork (folding, it is my most awesome camping item, I could not leave it; I use it to spoon Nutella directly into my mouth)

REVELATE FRAMEBAG: R side large pocket

Xtra Tube with slime
MSR Dromlite 4L with tubing and camel back bitevalve + flipcap in bag for filtering H20
Minipump Topeak Peakini Master Blaster (Version I from the '90's, baby!)
Tent pole
Passport + Xtra credit card

REVELATE FRAME BAG: L side small pocket

Cable lock: kabeltek flexweave
Xtra spokes X 5 + nipples in a different color so I know what I had to fix

REVELATE SWEETROLL Medium + JONES BAR ADAPTER

Henry Shires Contrail tarp tent in a garbage bag
Space blankets X 2 for ground cloths in ziplocks
Thermarest Neoair Xlight women's
Paracord 25 feet for hanging smellables in bear country + various repairs
Med kit in ziplock; Xtra contacts X 6, magnesium vitamin tabs (gas station food is constipating) fluconazole 150 mg X 3, Claritin 25 tabs, Benadryl 10 tabs, Flonase nasal spray Bactrim 14 tabs, ( meds for allergies, as well as yeast, and urinary tract infections), tampax X 5
Sleeping kit in a light weight OR dry sack: Casio Illuminator PQ 13 Travel clock, patagonia T-shirt, xtra sports bra, smartwool ski socks, Patagonia expedition weight fleece pants, 1 pair regular undies, lightweight running shorts, Rite in the rain mini note pad +pencil (for recording my misery)
Maps + cue cards printed on Rite in the Rain paper
Lightweight dry sack with clean bike shorts and xtra riding socks

REVELATE FRONT POCKET Large

Sawyer mini filter + 60 cc syringe flush+ Platypus 1 Liter bag with cap (I ditched the tiny useless non gusseted bag that came with the Sawyer)
Food: emergency peanut butter or Nutella and flour tortillas, instant coffee powder
Sunscreen
Katadyn purification tabs

REVELATE GASTANK