Here is my packing list for the Silk Road Mountain Race (along with videos!)
Front roll: almost all of my sleep system lives here (everything put my bivvy stakes and poles). I stuff it all in a Revelate Designs Ranger bag. It’s contents include:
A Rab multi-season bivvy
An SOS emergency bivvy
A Cumulus 20 degree bag
A thermo-rest sleeping pad
A sea to summit inflatable pillow
Cockpit: Because I run a 2x11 and I have a dropper post, my handlebars are crowded with levers and keeping housing and brake/shifter lines free of friction has historically been a struggle for me when my bike is fully loaded. I’m excited about my new Bar Yak expedition with arm rests on the handlebars because it opens everything up while also allowing me many different body positions. I’m also sporting:
A kLite Ultra adventure lighting system, which has usb hubs separate from the light, meaning you can tuck them into a bag and protect them a little better than other models.
An Oneja Negra front pack, which also secures my front roll onto my bars. Up here, I store Pact toilet paper and decomposer tablets, my spork, sunscreen, and a Biolite 20,000 mhz battery pack.
A 1050 Garmin Solar gps sits on the top of my stem.
Top tube: I’m not the biggest fan of those soft feed bags that hang off of handlebars and so I’ve been looking for a replacement. My foot-long Jpak is everything I’ve wanted. I fill it with:
An Anker pickup battery (14,000 mhz)
Cough drops
Vaseline
Eye drops
My rear light
Snacks
Various charging cables
Seat bag: for this I use a Wanderlust seat pack, and it’s where the bulk of my clothes and meals live. This time I’m bringing:
Two Machines for Freedom chamois
One pair of REI rain pants
An LL Bean men’s puffy
One pair of wool socks for sleeping
My bivvy poll and stakes
An extra sports bra
Leg warmers
A full face ski mask with hood
Dynafit mitten/gloves
Men’s smart wool long underwear
An assortment of ramen
Center triangle: this bag is a Revelate Designs Ranger bag. Bulky and important things for my day are packed here. They include:
My medical kit - vitamins, emergency antibiotics, HER chamois cream, lidocaine, backup water filter tablets, tweezers, medical tape, my toothbrush, toothpaste tablets
My repair kit - tire levers, a dynoplug kit, two extra tubes, patches, a curved needle and sutures for repairing a tire, extra valve cores, a valve core remover, a bike pump, a spoke tightener, lube, a chain tool, extra chain links, extra cables, two multi tools, zip ties, voile straps
A Jetboil stove, fuel, and lighters
A Trowel
A Life straw
Electrolytes
Food
Bike!: I'll be riding the 2023 Silk Road Mountain Race on a 2020 Chumba Stella Titanium steed. The bike features:
A new pair of Maxxis Crossmark II 29X2.25 EXO TR tires
A 2x11 drivetrain
A 36x26T chainring
Custom Astral rims
Son Dynamo and DT Swiss hubs
Thomson titanium handlebars
Cane Creek Cane Ergo grips
XT Hydraulic 4 piston brakes
Two water bottle cages I fixed to the fork using trimmed voile straps
Backpack: I ride with an 8L Black diamond pack/vest combo. Things I need quickly usually go here. This includes:
A 2 liter platypus water hydro pack
A 1 liter plastic refill hydro bottle
A Montbell rain jacket
A Cascade Designs sun shirt
Snacks
A whistle
A Garmin InReach
My phone
A knife
An extra lighter
A Black Diamond headlamp
Goodr night glasses
Ombraz daytime sunglasses