Mountain Bike Tours
Required Gear: What to Bring

For your head and neck:

1) A small skull cap or a thin winter hat that can be worn under your helmet

2) A cover that fits to stretch over your helmet. A shower cap works great for this purpose.

3) A neck warmer. These are light and have a high warmth to weight ratio.

For your torso:

1) Arm warmers

2) Light weight cold weather riding gloves. Cross-country ski gloves work.

3) A long sleeved long underwear layer

4) A riding vest insulated or wind proof

5) A “real” rain jacket with hood and pants.

NOTE: This is simply the most important item of all.

By “real” rain gear we mean Alaskan rubberized fishing boat type rain gear. The jacket and pant are for keeping you dry and warm and are not for riding in for any length of time.  The hood fits over your bike helmet for warmth and also keeps you dry.

Gore-Tex clothing unless it is nearly brand new does not do the job. Wind breakers will work for about five minutes until they leave you soaked to the bone.  The test for real rain gear is if you can stand in the shower and still stay dry. If you have a rain jacket that is partially rubberized or made of Gore- Tex, I’d bring it along as well for back-up and for light rain storms. The trip can not leave until all of us have this necessary gear.

Dutch Harbor and Helly-Hanson makes the best lightweight rubber gear.

For your legs:

1) Leg warmers

2) Riding tights

3) Wool ski socks that fit in your shoes. Your feet will get cold first. Cotton socks do not work in cold/wet conditions.

I recommend socks that you can pull up over your ankles so that skin is not left exposed between your leg warmers and socks.

Additional Equipment:

1) You may be thinking, “How I am going to be able to carryall this gear in my backpack”? If you have a regular sized riding pack, in all probability it will not fit. You will need to purchase a large riding pack such as Camelback’s Trans-Alps or Ultimate Design’s largest riding pack.  Ultimate Design’s packs ride the best on your back with heavier loads.  I recommend packing all this gear into your pack along with room for lunch, an extra tube, tools, etc before the trip …

2) Riding Shoes: These should be comfortable for walking so a good foot-bed is an excellent idea. I recommend installing your toe studs if you can find them. If you have installed new cleats recently, make sure those darn screws are tight. Lock-tight works well.

3) Bikes: Have them dialed in. This is not the time to install a new disc brake system or the time to try and nurse an old skipping drive train through one more ride. We can fix just about anything, but it is nice to have our equipment in good working for this type of tour.

4) Disc Brake Pads: Either have nearly new disc brake pads or bring along spare pads.  Three riders on our 2006 trip went through their brake pads in five wet days and were without pads for the final day.

5) Fenders:  Bring fenders for your bike.  The types that attach easily are best and make a big difference riding in wet conditions.  More often then not it is not the rain storms that get us wet and cold, but riding on the still wet and muddy trails after the rain has ended.  Fenders help prevent hypothermia.
The best front fender type is the shroud-type that attaches to the bottom of the down tube.  Shroud-type fenders break less easily and do a good job of keeping your water bottles free of mud.  Rear fenders pretty much all work the same, the wider the better.

6) Water Bottle Cages:  Install the maximum number of water bottle cages your bike will accept.  Water is heavy and your pack will be heavy enough already.  Put the water on your bike frame to prevent sore backs.

In conclusion:

The challenges that nature presents are part of the allure of Expedition Cycling.