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Mikko's sleep strategy is to struggle two nights with short not that great sleep and then a hotel for the third night. And then repeat.
I mostly sleep outdoors with a regular rhythm. I had a half sleepingbag and down jacket but no bivy. I had rain trousers and waterproof shoecovers which many probably didn't. A long sleeve merino baselayer instead of armwarmers, as I've had before. Rather personal choices indeed.
Samuli-
I prefer to sleep every night, even if it is only short. I went back to 'mostly hotels' for TCR after having bad saddle issues again in Transpyrenees. The combo of two pairs of saddle tweak, knicks, hotels w/ showers/aircon worked to keep me comparatively pain free in that area for longer. I only had my summer bivvy so was restricted a bit with where and when I could bivvy whereas for TransPyr I had my Alpine bivvy, half bag and down jacket if I needed it.
Once again I decided not to take any longs and probably got away with it except for when I bailed into hotel in St Moritz because it was down to 2-3C and I didn't want to ride into sunrise to meet my goal of getting to Italy. I do carry waterproof shorts but I'm thinking a pair of waterproof longs might be a better addition - which waterproof trousers do you use? Are they good for cycling in?
I've used LS merino base layers for TABR where it's below zero in the mountains but I don't really like them because they're bulky and a faff to get on and off. Prefer short sleeves with full zips if possible. I did wear a very thin undershirt for the whole race, same as TransP, but really could've done with taking it off. It was mostly to stop sunburn because my jersey is so thin.
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So you only bivvy when it's dry? Or you use a tarp? Surely just the down bits isn't enough
hippy
yoshy
He carries things like a camera stand and I'd die if I used his sleep setup.
After some basics, it's totally personal what to carry and the only way to find out what works is to pack a bike and test some stuff. Reading enough kit lists beforehand can save you some money on wasted kit purchases but it's hard to know what you can get away with/without until you try. Conditions and terrain also dictate clothing and sleeping selections. My setup has changed every race.