Bay Area by Bike: The Gear

If you missed the preamble or the trip report about my ramble through the alleged spiritual birthplace of mountain biking, go give those a gander before you read too far here.

The summary is that the six-day trip circumnavigating the San Francisco Bay by gravel bike was a success. It was even more successful than I - the lone participant - expected. I credit this to a few things; planning, some measure of experience in similar activities, more planning, and good gear choices.

On the off-chance you're thinking about a similar adventure, or just looking for inspiration, let's dive into the gear I took.

Bike

While the Kona Ouroboros would have been excellent for much of this trip, I didn't have it yet, and as such all riding duties fell to my custom titanium Landyatchz. I keep a complete bike build thread going here in the forum. The only real change from the SRAM Transmission-equipped build in the thread are the chunky 50c Maxxis Ravager tires. These proved an excellent choice, with ample grip on the descents, enough volume for comfort in the chunky rough bits, and fast enough on tarmac that the road bits were fun too.

I had a grand total of zero mechanical issues; no flat tires, and I don't think I would change anything about the bike or spec. choices if you asked me to take the trip tomorrow. Over the full trip, I swapped out one fully fresh AXS battery after just shy of 8,200 shifts.

Navigation and Safety

Fortunately for me, I wasn’t out forging into the unknown and I had abundant resources to use for planning. I planned, planned some more, and then did a bit more planning after some friendly locals reached out to share beta in the wake of my first piece. For all this planning I used a mix of resources; starting with bikepacking.com’s excellent route guides, I mixed in a healthy dose of RideWithGPS, some Trailforks, Strava, and other internet sleuthing to build my full route, routes for each day, and some alternates.

These routes got loaded onto the Hammerhead Karoo2 I reviewed last year, sticking out front on a K-Edge mount that also holds a Lezyne 1000XL. This unit would be my primary guidance throughout the trip. Unsure how good cell coverage would be, I also downloaded everything I could think of to my phone; Google Maps, Trailforks, RideWithGPS, and Gaia Maps. Having the route, distance to next turn, and map visible on your handlebars is invaluable when you’re in an area you don’t know well. The Karoo2’s ability to navigate to POI’s and update the route on the fly was incredibly useful, especially in urban areas. For some unknown reason the battery died near the end of day one; this didn’t occur again and I finished each of the subsequent - and sometimes much longer - days with no issues.

I also carried a Garmin InReach Mini, sent my daily plans to my partner, and provided her with a check-in plan. I carried a reasonable but not extreme amount of first aid kit, geared toward trauma and bleeding (the most likely injuries), as well as sunscreen and Technu for any poison oak, which I successfully avoided using by playing "green things are lava" the whole trip.

If you’re solo, make sure someone knows where you are, and when you’re supposed to check in next. It could save your life.

Clothing

It was easy to pick out some chamois, socks, and camp clothes for the week. It was much harder to drill down into what else to bring for layering. Spring weather meant I’d probably see a wide variety of temperatures with cold nights, warm afternoons, and there was a strong possibility I’d see some rain. My system was primarily built with Rapha Explore pieces.I had great experiences with some of their Trail kit, and the chamois were some of my favorites.

For most of the trip, when I wasn’t sleeping, (and occasionally when I was) the Explore Pullover was probably on. The mix of midweight merino and windblocker chest panel meant it was warm enough for most mornings and I rarely overheated in it. This has become a favorite at home now too.

If it got warmer, I’d remove the pants and could go all the way down to a merino t-shirt, but most days I lived in the Pullover. I'd swap to t-shirt and Rapha Explore Down Jacket around camp, with some merino long underwear, ski socks, and ancient set of Adidas slides.

When it got wet, I had a Rapha Lightweight GoreTex Jacket that kept me warm and dry in the torrential downpour of day six, and the wind and mist of day four. While my pants got wet both days, I probably wouldn't trade for something bulkier, less versatile, and fully waterproof unless I was going somewhere with significantly less favorable weather.

Food & Camp

The intention here was never to head out into the real boonies - I was within striking distance of hot food most days, but I did cook a few meals; coffee in the morning is an absolute necessity for me. My trusty JetBoil Sol Ti has been with me for 15 years and forms the basis of my packable camp cooking. It has traveled the world, and I hope it never dies. The only real downside to this one-pot nesting system in my experience is a reliance on isobutane canisters which are hard to recycle, impossible to fly with, and if you’re traveling to exotic places (ie. not the Bay Area) they can be hard to buy. For water, I decided my trusty MSR TrailShot was a little small and picked up a Platypus Quickdraw 1l filter at MEC as well.

I carried warm and dry camp clothes, a pair of slides for foot comfort, and a heap of baby wipes to clean up each day in addition to standard stuff like a toothbrush and q-tips.

Sleeping

A lot of the gear I brought on this trip I already owned; some of it is a decade and a half or more old. A suitable tent or bivy however, was something I didn’t have. I don’t often find myself shopping in general outdoors type shops, I tend towards focused retailers, but for camp gear its hard to ignore living a few blocks from MEC (for US readers, it’s similar in some ways to REI). I walked away with a Nemo Dragonfly OSMO 2-person bikepacking tent. Lightweight and freestanding, with shorter poles than a ‘standard’ backpacking tent, and an included rolltop bag with straps designed for bikepacking, it was a welcome introduction to “modern” tents with a host of nicely thought out small touches, and heaps of room.

I rounded that out with a Nemo sleeping bag liner, ultralight Nemo pillow, and a borrowed 0C sleeping bag, as mine is rated for much lower temps, and comes with the commensurate weight and size penalty. I knew going in the 0C bag was likely to be a bit cold at times, and I was right, but I was saved by my layering system, sleeping in a puffy coat and merino two nights.

Carrying All This Stuff

All told, I had somewhere around 63 liters of storage capacity on my bike and the modestly sized S/F Expandable Hip Pack on my person. I wanted to avoid a backpack, but the hip pack gave me the ability to carry “absolutely unloseable” items like passport and wallet on my person at all times, as well as expand into a backpack for supply runs or if I just temporarily needed extra space… like for a giant food truck camarones burrito and Jarritos on my way to the beach to eat lunch.

I thought a lot about where to pack various items on my bike and it paid off. Items that I might need or want throughout the day lived primarily in the frame bag, and everything else generally got stuck in a Tailfin bag. I came away very impressed with the Tailfin setup - it performed flawlessly throughout the trip, save for one issue that was both easily solvable and my fault.

Overall, clothes went on one side in a pannier (divied up using some small and very lightweight bags inside. One for clean riding gear, one for dirty riding gear, and one for camp clothes) that I hoped to leave closed all day every day, camp/food/safety items went in the other side, and everything for sleeping went in the top AeroPack. Anything else I might use during the day went in the frame pack, accessible while riding or at any pit stop. I had almost exactly enough room with this setup, but added a couple of borrowed Wildwood Cycles cargo cages at the last minute for my fork. In my mind, there was no discernable downside to having them on there empty, and they came in handy a couple of times for drinks and the like. I’d run something similar again, and change almost nothing about how I packed.

Back home, thanks to the modularity of the system and how easy it is to install, I’m actually riding my electric Kona cargo bike less, and my Landyatchz more, which is a win in my books.

Conclusions

There's a real balance trying to bring everything you need, probably a few things you want, and nothing unnecessary. I brought very few things I didn't use; and most of these were safety related and I'd pack them again. I didn't use my InReach Mini, first-aid supplies, or water filter but I wouldn't leave them at home next time.

I'd consider changing my water storage. While the capacity of the Apidura bladder is convenient - as is storing heavy things like water as low and centered as possible - its difficult to track your consumption without being able to see the reservoir and it is a bit fussy to fill up. I'm not sure I will change this for the next trip, but I'd consider a half-frame bag and more water bottles.

One of the only items I wouldn’t bring next time is my Sony RX100VI ultra-compact. In hindsight, bringing two cameras was silly but I wanted the quality and accessibility of my a6400 and the reach of the zoom on the RX100IV. With the a6400 a Fidlock buckle away from taking a photo when it wasn't raining, I never reached for the smaller camera.

Keeping devices for navigation and communication charged is critical. I packed a 40,000 mAh battery bank, which I'd plug in when possible to a fast charger with multiple outlets, meaning I could simultaneously charge the battery bank, phone, and one more item whenever I could score an outlet at a coffee shop or other stop. Unfortunately, for some reason, my headlamp wouldn't charge through anything I'd brought; check to ensure compatibility before you leave.

I'm not sure what real conclusions to draw here for anyone looking at getting out there, other than making sure you know your gear, are aware of your personal capabilities, and to think through a lot of scenarios as you plan. Perhaps, the real conclusion is; you should just get out there and do it. Expect it to go wrong, plan for it to go wrong, and then if it all goes successfully it's even more satisfying.