This may be a little off topic for this list but it's been pretty
quiet and I figure at least a few of you might be curious. Stay
tuned too for a link for some pretty nice scenery photos.

I've never pulled a BOB. I have owned a two wheel trailer at one
time for shopping but never toured with it. A friend owns a BOB that
needed some work and I offered to get it in shape if he'd let me try
it out. So, Friday I headed out for a two night bike camping trip
with the BOB in tow, I left at 11:00 AM Friday and was home by 2:00
PM Sunday. I loaded it with my usual (light) camping gear with the
addition of a couple of items, a pair of Crocs (light weight sandals)
and my old Sierra Designs Clip Flashlight tent. We've had a wet
spring here in southern Colorado and the mosquitos are hungry and
numerous so I chose to take the neglected tent. I don't think I've
used it since I started ultra lighting about 4 years ago. On this
ride I'd not have access to any services till I was 40 miles from
home so I carried food for 3 days. The weight of my gear and food
was 17 lbs. without water, not counting the trailer or the bag. I
was thinking to myself... ah, this extra weight is no big deal.

The route started out on the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route
(GDMBR). From my home in Del Norte, I headed north up to Canero
Pass (10,100'), over Cochetopa Pass (10, 500'). Then I left the
Divide route and crossed Los Pinos Pass (10,600') to Slumgullian Pass
(11,500') and hitting pavement, then south over Spring Creek Pass
(10,900') and down into the the Rio Grande river near the head
waters, into Creede, South Fork and then back home. 196 miles, and
over half of that was on dirt forest service roads. It should go
with out saying I did a bit of climbing. The road surface was quite
good for the most part. I rode my trusty Ibis Hakalugi cross /
adventure bike. I feel an MTB is overkill for rides like this and a
cross bike, or even a touring bike with fat (ish) tires is more than
adequate. I am probably the minority though.

So, the trailer... I wish now I'd chosen a shorter ride, or at least
a ride with less climbing to try it out. The thing is a boat
anchor! It's supposed to weigh 12 lbs. I don't know if that
includes the (4 lbs.) bag or not; didn't weigh it. But, it is truly
amazing how slow and hard it is to get this sucker up a hill! The
bike handled fine with it, I could even ride no hands after I got the
feel for it. It's sort of cool that you can jack knife the bike and
it will stay up on it's own. The trailer can be inverted to make a
little camp table. I heard of a guy who strings his tarp up between
bike and trailer when in the jack knifed position for a shelter. It
makes a quick improptu weekend trip easy because you don't need to
mount a rack if it's not already on your bike and that big bag is
easy to just throw the camping gear into. On down hills it flies,
better aerodynamics than panniers, and on the flats you hardly notice
it's there. That's the good stuff. I'll never pull one again, I
think. I typically love climbing, this thing made me dread it. Now
I see why most of the Divide riders only do 40 miles a day. Still, I
am somewhat amazed how much difference it made. I assume, mostly,
it's the weight. Also, on rough surfaces, I was hitting each bump
three times as opposed to two. The little 16" wheel had to affect
that as well. I spent a good portion of the trip thinking of the to
best way (for me) to mount light weight bags on the bike which, BTW,
is pretty much what this list is about. I still think ultra light is
the only way to go (for me). The challenge is in putting together a
light and practical way to haul gear, balancing convenience, comfort
and cost. I think the ideal set up will be different for each rider
and his particular riding and location. I've tried several
different ways and will keep trying new ways to haul my gear.

This is the first time I've been bike camping this year. I
remembered why I love doing this. I spent a grand total of $2.78 in
Creede for a bad cup of coffee and a very marginal muffin. I burned
no fossil fuel. I went around 60 dirt miles without seeing another
car or person. I saw and experienced much more than I would have in
the same amount of time backpacking, and, I would have had to drive
to get there.

Photos here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/garandpatti/sets/
72157600404773119/

Gary Blakley