Christophe Noel
Expedition Leader
In just a few short days I depart for my long overdue trip to Iceland. I'll be on the bike for 11 days, and then another 10 days with my wife in a Suzuki Jimny. The bike leg is going to be the bomb, but it comes with a serious amount of logistics to overcome. I thought some of you might be interested in the gear and planning for this kind of trip.
The Route
The route is not overly ambitious from a mileage standpoint, but will include a multitude of sandy beach, sandy road, and a good chunk of singletrack. My route is planned such that I have a multitude of off-shoot routes I can take to extend mileage. Given Iceland's potential for 35+ mph winds and nasty weather, I trimmed my mileage back considerably to account for up to three days of low mileage. I'll be primarily riding around the Katla volcano into the Fjallabak National Park then back to the coast on singletrack.
The Bike
This is perhaps the best part of this trip. I'll be on the Salsa Bucksaw!!!!
The Gear
This has been a fun challenge, to assemble the ideal kit. The one limitation to the bucksaw is the small storage space in the main triangle due to the suspension components. So, a bit more weight will end up on my back. The other factor is weather and general climate. With an average temp of 50ºF with the likelihood of pissing rain and high winds, I needed at least one storage system that would be infallibly waterproof, and that was best achieved with a waterproof pack by Sea to Summit.
The handlebar bag, frame bag, and seat bag were made by our own ExPo member, Andrew, of Bedrock Bags.
Clothing: The critical consideration again fell to weatherproofness. My stalwart setup is to go with one bombproof outer, mid, and base layer system, with one set of base layers saved strictly for sleeping.
- Arcteryx GTX jacket
- Gore Cycling GTX pants
- Gore Cycling Windstopper shorts
- Gore Cycling Windstopper Knee warmers
- Gore Cycling mid-wieght long sleeve jersey
- Sugoi bib shorts under everything (just one pair of shorts is a gamble, but...)
- Windstopper Gloves, Buff, wool base hat
- extra wool socks
- extra wool gloves, primarily to sleep in if necessary
- Pearlizumi TransAlp shoes
- First Ascent Down Shirt (This is another gamble. I may not need it. But, if I do and it's on a shelf at home I'll be pissed.)
Camp Gear: With the portent of poor weather, I'm going with a full tent. I'm also taking a full size pad and good down bag. If I'm going to be holed up in a storm, I want to be comfy.
- MSR Hubba NX tent (under three pounds and fits on my bars WITH a few meals in the bag as well)
- Seat to Summit sleeping bag 30º
- Thermarest NeoAir Xlite regular length sleeping pad
- MSR Reactor 1L stove (the best performing stove in serious winds, even if it is a few grams more that other systems.)
- MSR insulated cup
(no water filter. Relying on Iceland's claimed "cleanest water in the world" as my reason to not take a filter.)
Tools and Spares: I'm admittedly relying on a lot of good fortune.
- Spare tube (27.5x2.4)
- Muchas patches and five tire boots
- spare chain links and power link
- duct tape
- bike tool with shock pump (Blackburn)
- super glue
- zip ties
- Extra straps incase a bag fails, although I really don't see that happening.
Food: This has been my nemesis. Because I have almost 9 days before I can resupply (barely), I have to carry an enormous amount of food. The plan is to sustain myself on freeze dried meals as best I can with calories augmented by an almost disgusting amount of ProBars and Epic Bars as well as my custom trail mix and even...cookie dough (sans eggs). When I depart from Vik, my launching point, I will have every possible corner of my bags filled with food.
Other Items: This being a trip of a lifetime, I will be documenting it heavily.
- Canon EOS 5D MkII with 24-105L lens (Soooo heavy. But, I'll make good use of it.)
- Sirui carbon fiber tripod. Less than a pound
- Drift HD Ghost point of view camera (also good for time lapse) Great for uber-selfies as well with the timed remote
- Extra batteries, compact flash cards, mini tripod for the Ghost camera
- Navigation provided by a Garmin eTrex GPS unit
- Communications and Tracking provided by a Delorme inReach Explorer
- my iPhone will simply be with me as it always is.
- Anker 13000mAH battery pack to recharge the inReach and/or the Ghost camera if needed
- Tiny first aid kit. Almost not worth taking
Hygene and comfort:
- Small kit with soap, pack-towel, toothbrush, toothpaste
- My "backside kit" with baby wipes, chamois cream, etc
- 3L Playtipus Hydration reservoir and one 1L Platypus Hydration bottle for extra fluids
Stay tuned for more!
The Route
The route is not overly ambitious from a mileage standpoint, but will include a multitude of sandy beach, sandy road, and a good chunk of singletrack. My route is planned such that I have a multitude of off-shoot routes I can take to extend mileage. Given Iceland's potential for 35+ mph winds and nasty weather, I trimmed my mileage back considerably to account for up to three days of low mileage. I'll be primarily riding around the Katla volcano into the Fjallabak National Park then back to the coast on singletrack.
The Bike
This is perhaps the best part of this trip. I'll be on the Salsa Bucksaw!!!!
The Gear
This has been a fun challenge, to assemble the ideal kit. The one limitation to the bucksaw is the small storage space in the main triangle due to the suspension components. So, a bit more weight will end up on my back. The other factor is weather and general climate. With an average temp of 50ºF with the likelihood of pissing rain and high winds, I needed at least one storage system that would be infallibly waterproof, and that was best achieved with a waterproof pack by Sea to Summit.
The handlebar bag, frame bag, and seat bag were made by our own ExPo member, Andrew, of Bedrock Bags.
Clothing: The critical consideration again fell to weatherproofness. My stalwart setup is to go with one bombproof outer, mid, and base layer system, with one set of base layers saved strictly for sleeping.
- Arcteryx GTX jacket
- Gore Cycling GTX pants
- Gore Cycling Windstopper shorts
- Gore Cycling Windstopper Knee warmers
- Gore Cycling mid-wieght long sleeve jersey
- Sugoi bib shorts under everything (just one pair of shorts is a gamble, but...)
- Windstopper Gloves, Buff, wool base hat
- extra wool socks
- extra wool gloves, primarily to sleep in if necessary
- Pearlizumi TransAlp shoes
- First Ascent Down Shirt (This is another gamble. I may not need it. But, if I do and it's on a shelf at home I'll be pissed.)
Camp Gear: With the portent of poor weather, I'm going with a full tent. I'm also taking a full size pad and good down bag. If I'm going to be holed up in a storm, I want to be comfy.
- MSR Hubba NX tent (under three pounds and fits on my bars WITH a few meals in the bag as well)
- Seat to Summit sleeping bag 30º
- Thermarest NeoAir Xlite regular length sleeping pad
- MSR Reactor 1L stove (the best performing stove in serious winds, even if it is a few grams more that other systems.)
- MSR insulated cup
(no water filter. Relying on Iceland's claimed "cleanest water in the world" as my reason to not take a filter.)
Tools and Spares: I'm admittedly relying on a lot of good fortune.
- Spare tube (27.5x2.4)
- Muchas patches and five tire boots
- spare chain links and power link
- duct tape
- bike tool with shock pump (Blackburn)
- super glue
- zip ties
- Extra straps incase a bag fails, although I really don't see that happening.
Food: This has been my nemesis. Because I have almost 9 days before I can resupply (barely), I have to carry an enormous amount of food. The plan is to sustain myself on freeze dried meals as best I can with calories augmented by an almost disgusting amount of ProBars and Epic Bars as well as my custom trail mix and even...cookie dough (sans eggs). When I depart from Vik, my launching point, I will have every possible corner of my bags filled with food.
Other Items: This being a trip of a lifetime, I will be documenting it heavily.
- Canon EOS 5D MkII with 24-105L lens (Soooo heavy. But, I'll make good use of it.)
- Sirui carbon fiber tripod. Less than a pound
- Drift HD Ghost point of view camera (also good for time lapse) Great for uber-selfies as well with the timed remote
- Extra batteries, compact flash cards, mini tripod for the Ghost camera
- Navigation provided by a Garmin eTrex GPS unit
- Communications and Tracking provided by a Delorme inReach Explorer
- my iPhone will simply be with me as it always is.
- Anker 13000mAH battery pack to recharge the inReach and/or the Ghost camera if needed
- Tiny first aid kit. Almost not worth taking
Hygene and comfort:
- Small kit with soap, pack-towel, toothbrush, toothpaste
- My "backside kit" with baby wipes, chamois cream, etc
- 3L Playtipus Hydration reservoir and one 1L Platypus Hydration bottle for extra fluids
Stay tuned for more!
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