Much of the south has had record snow, however we just got a cold rain and highs in the 30’s. So I decided to try out some of the advice Guitar Ted shared in his TI rookie post. I have a lot to learn between now and April. Thanks to Joe Stiller and BarYak for a great cockpit setup. 102 miles with soft sand and a cold rain all day.
Can you discuss your cockpit set up in more detail? I see your handle bars look like Cowbells and you have two feed sacks set up in front of the bars. what is the GPS and light attached to? and the clipboard is attached how? And are there aero bars on there too? More specific pics please. I like how you have it set up. Looks very functional.
http://www.baryak.com/new-products/
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\nI have cow chipper bars with the BarYak complete plus the pro cue holder. I also have the Profile flip up arm rest. I attached a picture. Not sure if I will use them much because they rattle on the gravel and it make me a little nuts. I am running a Garmin 520. It has been good but has a terrible battery life. Two feed bags attached between the front of the bars and the BarYak crossbar. I set the feed bags up this way for the first time on this ride and really liked it. I have a small frame and with them setup on the backside of the bars I hit them with my knees when I stand. This drove me crazy during the DK this year so I knew I needed to change them if I am going to use them for TI. Left feed bag has my food and the right has my external battery pack, phone, and anything else I might need. My light is a night rider 950. I am carrying 2 32 oz bottles and 1 20oz . 102 miles 50/50 dirt and pavement with no stops.
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\nLessons learned on this ride (1st ride navigating with cue sheets)
\n- sometimes ride with gps is dyslexic. There were a few turn it would tell me to go right when the only way you could go was left
\n- my light has a rubber mount. When the aluminum bar got wet the light would not stay in place. I am going to put a small strip of sand paper on the mount to help hold the light
\n- double check your cue sheets. I left home without the last sheet.
\n- tried a new pair of showers pass socks that were great.
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Thanks for the details. I see that they are not giving away those Baryak bars! I went to their web site and for some reason their photo's don't load up on my computer.
Brown Dog tell me a little bit about the Showers Pass socks. I love to death my Showers Pass Rain Jacket and had heard of their gloves and now socks out on the market but never knew anybody that had used them yet.
Hey BrownDog, add a few loops of elastic shock cord to your arm rest supports. It'll help stop the rattling and relieve the tiny springs from holding up your armrests over rough terrain. The shock cord is also handy for holding clothing items while you adjust for temperature changes.
