Sunday, August 12, 2007

Packing for the Gut Check

Do I really know what to pack? Not really, so I'm packing everything. Much like Snakebite's list, if anybody has great ideas for a ride/race like this, PLEASE feel free to comment.

In the spirit of not wanting to try anything drastically new, but wanting to survive this endeavor, has anybody tried Sports Slick or anything of that nature? If so, please feel free to share your experiences with it.

Without further ado, the list:
• Bike (do ya think?)
• Extra Wheel Set
• Tubes (x 4)
• Floor Pump
• Frame Pump
• Extra 700 x 23 tire
• 2 Extra 700 x 25 tires (take green one from garage as a safety)
• Lube
• Patch Kit
• Both cube lights
• Taillight
• Batteries for lights
• Spoke Wrench (for blade and normal spokes)
• 4 Water Bottles
• Garmin and charger (to record the trip for history!)
• Cell Phone and charger (here’s hoping there IS cell phone coverage most of the way)
• 2 Helmets
• Tire Bars
• 2 Sets Sunglasses – Dark and Amber (and various lenses)
• Hex Set
• Head sweat wraps
• 2-3 pairs of gloves
• 2 (or more) pairs of shoes
• 4-5 Jersey tops
• 4-5 pairs of biking shorts
• 4-5 pairs of socks
• Compression shorts
• Rain Jackets
• Arm/Leg Warmers (hey, you never know)
• All the Gu and Cliff Bars I got
• Nuun tablets for water
• Variety of drinks (Amp?)
• Food!!! -- Laura is in charge of my nutritional needs
• Camp Chairs
• Massage Table (don’t you wish you had one of these—along with somebody to give you a massage?)
• Massage Oil
• Tiger Balm
• Sunscreen
• Ibuoprofen
• Baby wipes
• Bucket and rags to clean up at various stops
• Sports Slick?

3 comments:

Bruce's Bike Blog said...

Dear Kevin,

I want to wish you well on the Gut Ride across SD. I went to school in Verm, graduated from there about ten years ago--so I enjoyed looking over your blog and seeing the places where I used to ride. I biked everywhere in Verm and hardly every used the car. There were a few roadies I used to know in Verm but mainly I would just go out and ride by myself. Wind was always a killer. I recall there was a dentist that lived in Verm and had an office in Yankton and he rode to work and back everyday. Do you know of this man? I wonder if he is still around.

I have looked over your gear for the Gut think it looks good--I've been doing long distance ultra riding and randonneuring for a few years now and all I would say is maybe cut your stuff by about a third. You'll be on the bike and pedaling like crazy and not wanting to stop. Stopping a lot slows you down and quickly adds up time. Will your crew hand-off food and water bottles? I'll look over the Gut and the rules, etc.

Will you have a tailwind the whole way? I sure hope so, and I hope you don't mind if I come back to your site and check out your ride time.

Cheers!

Bruce

bikingbrady said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
bikingbrady said...

Bruce,

Not at all, come back as often as you like! Thanks for the well wishes. I may cut some things down, but when you have a big empty van, might as well take gear!

The beginning wind sounds brutal (ESE 22 mph) so here is hoping that the weather men are crazy in the head!

Kevin