[Weaver]

me and one of my coworkers decided to, in about a month, ride the entire lenght of the iron horse / john wayne trail. starts in seattle, ends in idaho somewhere, we're just gonna get to idaho and stop there, not sure how much farther it goes then that. anyways, we're planning on stretching it out over the course of about 4 days. pretty much ride as much as we can in a day or untill we find a nice stopping point, i.e. strange town with a tavern, get smashed and tromp off into the woods and pass out. repeat for 4 days.

so far, i've gotten a rack and a pair of panniers (sp?) for the bike. i've also got this super compact 3 man tent that totes away into about a 3" by 18" tube, pretty nifty. still havn't worked out a sleeping bag, i'd like to get one as light and small as possible, while still keeping myself warm (open to suggestions). my goal is to not have to ride with anything on my back. i'll bring a back pack, but that'll be strapped to the top of my rack.

i'll bring all the usual bike tools. prolly about 4 innertubes to be safe, along with some patch kits. maybe a spare chain. lotsa liquids. some space food and powerbarISH kinda stuff to save space, we plan on eating out every chance we get. the usual changes of clothing. just got a pretty slick colnago rain jacket, cause i hear it will rain every so often in the pacnw. i'll bring some lighters for fire. a camera, identification, first aid kit, buddy will have a cell phone.

anything i'm forgetting? to be honest this is larger then any ride i've ever done, i've never ridden more then about 60 miles in a day. we're in no hurry though if our estimate is to much, we'll just shorten the daily miles, that wouldn't be a big deal at all. just kind of doing it to say that we did, and to avoid the misses for about a week or so. open to advice, suggestions, warnings

and oh yeah i want a seat that wont kill me too. my sdg comp seat hurts me after a couple of hours of riding, that's just not gonna cut it.

 

[fish man]

matches. lots, hidden in random places in your panniers

 

[Mine'sAPint]

Hey, sounds fun! Don't forget the TP

I'm not sure how many nice towns you're going to find along the route, it's pretty sparse east of the mountains. There's a webpage somewhere from someone who did the same thing, I'll see if I can find it again.

 

[JRA]

Iron Horse/

me and one of my coworkers decided to, in about a month, ride the entire lenght of the iron horse / john wayne trail. starts in seattle, ends in idaho somewhere.

I've ridden that from Ellensburg to Rattlesnake Lake. Trail doesn't actually start in Seattle. Have you got your route all figured out and gotten the necessary permissions for the Milwaukee Grade route once you get across the Columbia? Figured out the route to get across the Columbia? The end in Idaho is a small small community from what I remember of the description.

You'll want slimed tubes for sure! Be prepared for stretches of sand the further east from Ellensburg you get. Also be prepared for loooooooooong stretches of no water and no towns.

Its been several years since I did my Kennewick to Bremerton cross-state ride but I'd be willing to give some pointers if you want. Drop me an email or PM and I'll start digging out my guidebooks.

 

[Sideways]

I've done a fair bit of loaded touring...mostly leading tours in pensylvania, new hampshire, and vermont.

You want a down bag, but you'll have to keep it dry. Marmot does the best down for the money. If you can't trust yourself to keep it dry, get a synthetic bag.
Pick a bag rated 20*-30* cooler than it will actually get. Othewise, bring thermals and a warm hat.
Don't overdo clothes...maybe socks, but three pair is more than enough.
If you are going to be in public, just one set of "in public" clothes is all thats needed. Any more and you are being silly.
Lots of snacky foods. "Wa Guru Chews" are my personal favorite, as well as beef jerky.
Electrolytes....be they banana's or powder, you want them.
A sleeping pad. Full length is worth the size and weight.

Set up camp before going into town to get smashed. Otherwise, you may wake up wet and in your clothes.

Try WTB's saddles. They seem to do well over long periods of time.

me and one of my coworkers decided to, in about a month, ride the entire lenght of the iron horse / john wayne trail. starts in seattle, ends in idaho somewhere, we're just gonna get to idaho and stop there, not sure how much farther it goes then that. anyways, we're planning on stretching it out over the course of about 4 days. pretty much ride as much as we can in a day or untill we find a nice stopping point, i.e. strange town with a tavern, get smashed and tromp off into the woods and pass out. repeat for 4 days.

so far, i've gotten a rack and a pair of panniers (sp?) for the bike. i've also got this super compact 3 man tent that totes away into about a 3" by 18" tube, pretty nifty. still havn't worked out a sleeping bag, i'd like to get one as light and small as possible, while still keeping myself warm (open to suggestions). my goal is to not have to ride with anything on my back. i'll bring a back pack, but that'll be strapped to the top of my rack.

i'll bring all the usual bike tools. prolly about 4 innertubes to be safe, along with some patch kits. maybe a spare chain. lotsa liquids. some space food and powerbarISH kinda stuff to save space, we plan on eating out every chance we get. the usual changes of clothing. just got a pretty slick colnago rain jacket, cause i hear it will rain every so often in the pacnw. i'll bring some lighters for fire. a camera, identification, first aid kit, buddy will have a cell phone.

anything i'm forgetting? to be honest this is larger then any ride i've ever done, i've never ridden more then about 60 miles in a day. we're in no hurry though if our estimate is to much, we'll just shorten the daily miles, that wouldn't be a big deal at all. just kind of doing it to say that we did, and to avoid the misses for about a week or so. open to advice, suggestions, warnings

and oh yeah i want a seat that wont kill me too. my sdg comp seat hurts me after a couple of hours of riding, that's just not gonna cut it.

 

[hu-man]

New saddle - get it now, from a shop that allows exchanges, and try it out/break it in before your ride.

 

[lucifer]

I could never get comfortable on my sdg comp either. So I went back to flites. My max flite is pretty darn nice.

 

[PinsNeedles]

A few more things...

Water filter
Wool jersey/socks/beanie
Bug spray/Sunscreen
Duct tape
Nylon rope
Lucky Charm...

Happy Trails.

 

[endure26]

Ask 15 people about saddles and you'll get close to 15 answers. A lot of tourers go Brooks. My butt couldn't take it.

Would suggest you do a serious map recon of the towns you'll pass through and what food etc. is available. Also keep in mind that most stores in small, out of the way towns close early. Ditto concerns on water availability. Nothing worse than running out and having to drink your own blood or urine.

I'll second the comment on Slime. I used to live in Idaho. One off trail incident with goatheads led to 26 holes in the front tube and 28 in the rear (I must have hit a patch) - then I discovered Slime.

Are you riding SS? Since you'll be carrying extra weight consider dropping gearing quite a bit. Make sure you go out and do some riding with your actual "load". Packed bike, especially on trails, handles differently.

Don't forget the camera, batteries, and film.

Cool ride --- enjoy!

 

[fish man]

from a couple years of canoe touring, for h2o purifier i recommend some little droplets called Pristine, if you can get some. definitely bring an extra chain, BTW

 

[Weaver]

you know my coworker said something jokingly about bringing a pistol, i laughed. but then i thought hmm. there any wild animals i gotta worry about on this route? i dunno i'm not much of a camper, i'm no wuss but i'm just a virgin to camping in the pacnw (grew up in CA). i'm not talking about bringing rifles and crap, but just wondering what kinda wildlife i can expect, from a scared little boy perspective.

 

[ShivaSteve]

more essentials

Someone already mentioned duct tape, add a couple of spare spokes in each size you might possibly need (an advantage of fixed/SS touring, you probably only need two sets) and maybe nipples too. Some pain reliever. Sunscreen. Chamois cream if your saddle issues are going to persist. Copper wire (seriously.)

 

[grumpstumper]

Don't think about what to bring.
Think about what you can leave behind.

 

[CraigH]

When you're done, can you post up a ride report?

I'm considering riding this trail this summer with my wife, brother & his wife. We've done quite a bit of similar riding here in BC, the Kettle Valley Railway (KVR).

Anyway, I have a offroad bike touring packing list up here:
http://www.geocities.com/Pipeline/9562/packlist.htm
I need to update it, but I can't access that Geocities account any more.

As for saddles, I like WTB.

If you have any questions, post 'em up!

 

[CraigH]

Weaver, did you do the John Wayne trail after all? Any updates?

Riding it next week

 

[Weaver]

nope, our ride is planned for beginning of august. can't wait to hear your report though

 

[CraigH]

Will post up something when we get back after July 4th. Probably have pics too.