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cycling at night was not a problem at all.
Except when you ended up on some goat track at 5kph and had no light. I liked my backup light then. :)
I liked my bivvy - it gave me more comfy nap options in the latter stages.
Fuck Three and their lack of useful phone network.
I need to look into ConnectIQ - someone programmed their Garmin to show TOB % or something similar. I'm not sure I can be arsed but if it's in your face having moving time might encourage you to ride more.
I agree with the consistent sleep thing.
"Presta valve converter" ?
"Foil blanket" - take a light bivvy instead. Warmer, more useful.
I would lose the down jacket too but TABR is colder at altitude so might end up taking it again to the US.
Get yourself one of those 27g Petzl head torches.
Lots of people with Tubeless had issues. I ran normal tubes and did not have issues. Conclusion: Tubeless ain't all that.
All the decent bikes shops were in Switzerland, conveniently closed for their National Day. I saw one in France but that was before my arse had been turned to minced beef.
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hippy
@eone @kjlem I'm not sure entirely, lots of ibuprofen from day 1 and gallons of voltarol. Also I think experience in these things counts for a lot.
Inspired by Frank I thought I'd do some things that went well and not so well:
Good:
-Dynamo is the way forward I had no worries at all about charging my things. I also had a Supernova front light which meant cycling at night was not a problem at all.
-Frame bag over a saddle bag - I could get everything out whilst cycling pretty much with not much difficulty repacking.
-Carried more water - went from 1.5 liters to 2.7 liters which was adequate for this year however it wasn't a particularly hot year
-No sleeping equipment - saved weight and there are enough hotels on the route
-Mobile phone data - last year I had to use wi-fi so it meant I spent a lot of time in restaurants/cafes
Things I’d do differently If I did it again:
-Consistent daily sleep - this year I did 4 all nighters and on the second day you end up cycling pretty slowly and you keep stopping. I figured out on average I slept for 4 hours so it would probably be best to get into a rhythm and try to sleep at a similar time everyday.
-Take a Presta valve converter
-Have a pump that can actually bring your tyres to pressure
-Foil blanket - there were a couple of times this year I was shaking uncontrollably after a cold descent
-Get rid of the down jacket - I only actually used it once and given mine wasn't water resistant I was reluctant to use it when it was raining
-Proper waterproof coat not just a windstopper.
-Small helment light - I had to try and hold my iPhone in my mouth when doing fiddly things at night
-Discs - this years climbing/descending destroyed my brakepads
-Electronic shifting
-Tubeless
-More caffeine pills - I only had enough for the first few days and I assumed I’d be able to buy them on the way so had to drink red bull which is foul.
-Proper route planning i.e. knowing how long each climb will take, what kind of hotels are in the next town etc.
-Waterproof electronics and have shorter cables
-Have an idea of where some decent bike shops are along the route.