Bikepacking Update

As promised I have done some research and now have figured out a few things about my upcoming bike packing trip. First of all I have finally decided on where the trip will be. While I was at Wilderness Voyagers one of the employees mentioned the Southern Traverse as being a good 1.5 to 2 day trail in neighboring Augusta county. It has 25-30 miles of single track and then about 15-20 miles of country roads to get back to my vehicle. This seems to be about the ideal distance for my first attempt at bike packing.

I have done some research about alcohol stoves and have made one myself as well as buying a Trangia stove. The other day I took the Trangia out to the woods behind our house in sub-freezing weather to test it by making coffee as well as bacon and eggs; it passed with flying colors. The only weakness of the Trangia is that it takes around 10-12 minutes to boil two cups of water. This can be remedied by carrying the Pepsi can stove I made which has been able to boil the same amount of water in 5 minutes.

I havent been able to get in any decent riding since last Saturday and don't anticipate riding till this weekend. I hope I will be able to but only if the leaden skies and depressing drizzle give it a rest.

I still have yet to decide how to carry all of my gear. The bike bags from Epic Designs have been making me drool all over the keyboard every time I look at them but they can be a little pricey. Maybe I will just have to set aside some of the small fortune I spend on coffee each year until I can afford them.

Until next time,