Having whittled my bikepacking kit down to manageable weight for the Highland Trail 550 (which I then missed due to a broken pelvis and collarbone high-siding off a road bike in late April) I decided to take a similar approach to biking the Colorado Trail. Yes, it wasn’t a race – quite the opposite in fact. But if light makes for speed, it also makes for fun if you’re doing a route with 72,000 feet of climbing, much of it hike a bike. No one wants their experience of the world class singletrack descents marred by dread of the next climb.
For accommodation, I decided to keep the bivvy. Partly because, compared to a tent, I love the immediacy of the surroundings; partly so that I could keep my bike out of the rain (well, the drivetrain) and within sight and reach. No one who grew up in London willingly leaves a bike out of sight for more than ten seconds. In searching the internet for potential bike/tarp setups, I was very lucky to chance upon small US outfit Slingfin and their SplitWing UL Tarp. All 224g of it. And at a far more reasonable price than such an item would normally command. In fact I was so impressed that I splashed out on the full bundle, which adds a mesh body and vestibule to turn it into a two person tent that weighs in at just under 600g. Looking forward to experimenting with that in due course. Here’s the CT setup though.
But enough preamble. Here’s the full kit list.
Bike: Orbea Oiz H10 TR XL
A beautiful alloy frame that makes you think carbon and isn’t all that much heavier. This bike really does climb like an XC bike and descend like a trail bike. And it has a massive triangle. InvisiFRAME’d for luck. Most of the stock kit is Shimano XT.
– Stock grips. Those big Ergon ones give me neuropathy.
– Innerbarends to vary the hand position and for aero gains
– Foam cable-tied to bars to facilitate the UCI-banned puppy paws aero position
– ISM PN 1.1 saddle for all-fortnight comfort, whether sitting up, with pelvis tilted forward in TT position, and everything in between. Narrow too, which keeps it out of the way on descents.
– MudHuggers. When riding in Scotland, their weight will within half an hour be offset by the weight of mud that isn’t caking your bum, back, helmet and corneas. But Colorado is a lot drier so I dispensed with the rear one.
– Hand built wheels. DT Swiss XM481 tough, lightweight alloy rims (30mm internal width) and DT Swiss 240 rear hub, which has a claim to the most elegant freewheel sound in cycling.
– Maxxis Aspen 2.4 rear. Thanks bicyclerollingresistance for the tip-off. This rolls like a dream and even copes with a bit of Scottish mud thanks to widely spaced lugs. It also cedes traction with a progressive composure that feels nothing short of phlegmatic. With Panzer Evo insert due to my sadly intermittent finesse at floating over water bars.
– Maxxis Forekaster 2.35 front. The ultimate Scottish XC tyre? Rolls well but with widely spaced lugs to deal with the interminable mud. Grips loose dry stuff pretty well too.
– Both tyres the tough EXO/TR compound, set up tubeless with Muc Off sealant
– Wolftooth 28T oval chainring. I have a love-hate-love relationship with this. I love 28T because it staves off the hike a bike. I resent the way it makes my otherwise beautiful pedal stroke uneven on road sections. But this is more than offset by its tractional advantage on techy climbs, especially as I ride flats (Nukeproof).
– Shimano XT 10-51 cassette
– Virtually new, waxed SRAM Eagle X01 chain
– Stages left crank power meter, to stay in the golden zone 2. (Relevant for HT550 rather than this holiday.)
Seat pack: Revelate Shrew, plus Wolftooth Valais mounted directly under saddle, allowing use of all bar 3 or 4cm of dropper travel. This bag is tough, light and rock solid on bumpy descents.
Contents:
– Outdoor Research Helium Bivvy. Not quite the lightest, but it’s very well vented thanks to hoop (stored in frame bag), is made of comparatively breathable material and has a superb midge net – not needed whatsoever in Colorado, where there’s just the odd friendly mosquito.
– Cumulus XLite 200 down hoodless sleeping bag, weighing in at 350g. Amazing value for money from this Polish company. In a dry bag.
– Small bike lock mounted above the Shrew, fixed through saddle rails.
Top tube bag: Restrap Race
I love this bag’s length and height but it could do with being a bit wider. Evidently designed for the knock-kneed cyclist.
– The most-used repair kit items (see below for list)
Frame bag: Alpkit Stingray (custom made) with an upper and lower compartment and zips on the drive side so that they’re facing up when you set the bike down. (Alpkit’s default is the non drive side, I guess because most of us dismount to the left of the bike.) Really pleased with the weight and fit of this and the toughness of the zips.
– Slingfin SplitWing UL Tarp, and lines to stand bike upright. Super light, solid design, pitches well on the bike and more than sufficiently spacious. Can also take a bit of wind, if pitched judiciously. And in Colorado, you’re almost always in the trees anyway.
– Thermarest NeoAir Uberlite. There are lighter sleeping pads but this is the lightest one I can get a good sleep on. And (thinking of HT550) when you’re paring your sleep back to a minimum, you’d better make it count!
– Same goes for the Exped AirPillow UL M. So well designed and weighs next to nothing. I’ve rigged up a bit of string that securely attaches it to the Thermarest.
– Remainder of repair kit
– Tru-Tension Tungsten All Weather drip on wax lube and small rag
– Big dry bag to use as bear bag, plus slick Z Packs line for hanging it
– First aid kit (see below for contents)
– GPS beacon (McMurdo FastFind. Buy once; no further charges. Emergency use only. There is no good reason not to carry one of these lightweight devices in highland areas where mobile signal is usually dismal.)
Alpkit Lodo bag, front mounted to bar
– Electronics, i.e. Exposure Joystick x2, two battery packs, charging leads, USA 3-USB charging plug. All in a dry bag.
2 x Alpkit Stem Cells, size L. Both front mounted to allow riding out of the saddle.
– Camera (Sony RX100 Mk 7 in case, plus ziplock bag in case of rain)
– Toaks titanium pot, containing medium size gas cannister, in soft carry bag with wee folding plastic stabilising stand for cannister (awesome little thing) 2 lighters and non-stick-friendly scourer pad
– Small alc hand gel
– Body Glide stick
– Small bottle of P20 sun cream, and sun cream lip stick
– Wash kit
– Travel towel
– Swimming trunks
– Rab Cirrus gilet. Cirrus isn’t quite as warm or compactible as down but it still works when wet. And lack of sleeves means lighter, more compact and quicker donning/doffing.
– Toilet paper and Deuce of Spades mini trowel, plus ziplock bags to pack out used TP
– Titanium spork
– Lightweight cup containing thin Rab MeCo beanie (good to wear in bed) and Gore Windstopper over-socks as an emergency layer for feet
– Tiny wee Vango stove
– Spare bag for water filter
– MSR 3L dromedary bag
– Quick access first aid: paracetamol, ibuprofen, variety of Compeed
– Picaridin insect repellant. Unlike DEET, doesn’t melt plastic and only smells semi horrendous
– Instant coffee mixed with full cream powdered milk. Light is right, sadly.
Garmin Fenix 6X Pro watch strapped to handlebar. Superb mapping, fairly large screen, records for 24 hours without recharging.
Rear light that I got off Amazon. It’s bright, flashy, reliable and lasts ages between charges.
Travel bungee washing line wrapped around Stem Cells for on the move clothes drying. Very effective in Colorado. YMMV in Scotland.
Race vest: Nathan Pinnacle 12L
I got this because outdoorgearlab and a dude on YouTube told me to, and that was a smart move. 1.6L insulated reservoir that’s easy to remove, fill and reinsert.
– Sleeves (Castelli Nano Flex)
– Rapha Brevet Gilet. Ridiculously pink and even more ridiculously light.
– Photochromic sunglasses
– Leg warmers that handily zip on so they’re dead easy to take on and off
– Gore C5 Shakedry 1985 VIZ cycling jacket. Eye wateringly expensive but very breathable and ridiculously light and compact. And, if you radically size down, pretty darn aero.
– GripGrab Cloudburst Waterproof gloves
– In a dry bag: super light wind jacket, Mountain Equipment Switch Vest, spare cycling shorts, spare jersey, spare socks, spare headband
– Dehydrated meals
– Phone
Inov8 RaceLite waist pack
Very good design, including bungee cord which became the rubbish bag’s location. Comfortable and very light
– Food
– Small tub of rehydration powder
– Sawyer Squeeze water filter
Clothing
– Fox MIPS MTB helmet (with visor for sun/rain, side-ish mounted helmet mount for Joystick and Take-a-Look mirror)
– Headband
– Aeropex bone conduction Bluetooth headphones, so you can still hear what’s going on around you. Surprisingly good sound quality, and appear to be sweat- and rainproof.
– Lightweight full finger GripGrab gloves
– Le Col cycling jersey (obtained on special offer, obvs)
– Endura cycling shorts which cover knees and therefore avoid just-above-knee sunburn. Shorts preferable to bibs for efficient toileting and mid ride Body Glide moments
– Merino socks
– La Sportiva Mutants. The Italian-made ultimate Scottish boggy hillrunning shoe is very light, super breathable and amazing at hike a bike. And it’s designed to squelch the burn and bog water out.
Repair kit:
– Lezyne Carbon Road Drive Lite Pump with both duct tape and thicker Gorilla tape wrapped round it
– Tubeless repair (3 sizes of plugs, vulcanising solution, plug inserter, hole reamer, tiny knife to trim plugs)
– Topeak Hexus X multitool including 8mm hex, chain tool, decent tyre levers, spoke key
– Mini Gerber multitool including decent pliers (good for suturing tyre walls/kit/people) wee knife, bottle opener
– Missing links
– A few chain links
– 2x super light/compact Tubolito inner tubes
– Tuboloto repair kit for said tubes x2
– Variety of cable ties
– CO2 cartridge and adapter, as backup in case pump fails (because it once did, in the most inconvenient of locations…)
– 50ml tubeless solution plus bit of rubber hose to connect bottle to valve
– Spare valve core
– Tiny tyre pressure gauge
– Small Superglue
– 2 tough curved needles and strong thread for sidewall/kit repairs
– 2 Park Tool tyre boots
– Spare derailleur hanger
First aid:
– Paracetamol and ibuprofen
– Chlorphenamine (antihistamine)
– Buccastem (antiemetic)
– Gauze for cleaning wounds
– Plasters and dressings to cover common eventualities
– Compeed
– Safety pins
– Tweezers
– Tick tweezers
– Steristrips
– Sterile sutures, both thick and thin gauge
– Mini scissors
– Self adhesive bandage. Amazing thing that’ll bodge many a human and mechanical injury
On phone:
– AlpineQuest for mapping, as ever
– Kindle version of Colorado Trail Databook
– Photographed pages of Colorado Trail Guidebook
– Data sheet from OneInSeven
Tricadam 
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