One of the greatest things about riding in charity rides like the AIDS LifeCycle and the Waves to Wine MS150 is the amazing volunteers who make the ride possible. The rider's only responsibility is getting themselves from point A to point B on their bike. All of your luggage is trucked by volunteers and fresh food is placed in front of you every fifteen miles. It makes for an amazing weekend (or week, for the AIDS LifeCycle) ride. There's not a care in the world.
On this trip, however, I'm not going to have the luxury of a full roadie crew supporting me. I'm in charge of transporting all of my own food, drink, clothes, and camping supplies. As I'm anticipating this cross country ride is going to take between ten to fifteen weeks that amounts to a lot to carry on a bike.
So, to maximize what I can carry, I'll be utilizing both front and rear racks and will have a total of five bags filled with goodies. I'll have two bags attached on the rear of the bike and and two strapped to the front. I'll also have one back placed above the rear bags for additional possessions that don't fit elsewhere.
When I was hunting for bags and rack solutions for touring cyclists I was absolutely overwhelmed with options. The bags and racks I chose are not the only options, but I feel like they'll suit my needs during this tour.
First, the bags I'll be riding with:
Front Panniers: Arkel GT18 (in red)
Why the Arkel GT18?
I wanted at least one set of bags to have a variety of external pockets and pouches. This will let me sort out a bunch of smaller necessities that I'd like to have handy access to. The downsides to the Arkel bag is that it's not water proof. While I plan to be riding in summer, I still value being able to place my sleeping bag and clothes in a bag where they won't get drenched in a downpour.
What's going in it?
These bags will likely store my food, liquids, a sealed med kit, and cooking supplies. The specifics aren't ironed out, though.
Rear Panniers: Ortleib Bike Packer Plus (in black)
Why the Bike Packer Plus?
I'm keen on carrying at least one set of weather proof bags. These don't have as many pockets as the Arkel but I'm fine with that - the things going in here I'm alright searching for.
What's going in it?
Clothes, sleeping bag, tent, additional food, bike tools.
Extra Bag (on top of the rear bags): Ortleib Rack Pack (in black)
I may not end up using this on the tour, but it was discounted when I purchased it and it seems like it might be useful for some odds and ends. It's a weatherproof bag that lays over the rear bags. I'm thinking of storing extra water and my camera equipment in this bag.
Bags don't do much good without sturdy racks to mount them on, and I chose the following two racks:
Rear Rack: Tubus Cargo
Why the Tubus Cargo?
I picked this rack for it's great reputation in the cycling community and for it's tried and true design. It may not be the cheapest rack on the market but it's got a fantastic warranty and it's pretty unlikely I'll ever need to buy another rack again in my life. It's got a mounting point for a rear light, which I'll be utilizing. It mounts to a rack eyelet on the rear dropout and to the mounts on the chainstay for extra rigid mounting.
Front Rack: Tubus Ergo
Why the Tubus Ergo?
Another sturdy and "tried and true" design from Tubus, this rack is mounted to the fork of the bike. It helps you mount the bags low to the ground, which supposedly improves your center of balance.
There are a number of conflicting views on whether mounting your bags low actually achieves this, but I'm not going to stress about that too much. I plan to be staring at the scenery that passes me by, not wondering whether or not my center of gravity is affected. I've got other bikes to worry about that with :)
So, there you have it! These are the racks and the bags I plan to store all my gear in. Carefully picked for reliability and internet approval, I'm hoping they'll suit me well. I'll be taking additional photographs once they show up and I unpack them.
