Trans Iowa V9 Gear and Nutrition

View inside seat bag

Last week I went over my bike setup for Trans Iowa.  You can see that post here.  Now, I'll go over the specifics of my gear and nutrition.

Clothing:
As of today, the forecast is for temps ranging from the upper 40's to the lower 70's with light winds the first day and moderate winds the second day.  It looks like the race and roads will be dry, with the exception of the B roads which will probably be a crap shoot due to last week's heavy rains.  Based on this forecast, I would wear the following:

• Bibbed shorts
• Summer jersey
• Summer bike socks
• MTB shoes with flexible sole (for walking comfort)
• Light full fingered gloves
• Sunglasses with daytime lenses
• Helmet
• Cycling cap

I would also pack away the following clothing in my seat poack for when it cooled off at night (mid to upper 40's).

• Knee warmers
• Light wool socks
• Wind vest
• Long sleeve base layer
• Skull cap

I'll bring along some alternate clothing in case the forecast changes or it starts looking like there will be some rain.  These will likely get left behind though, since I want to keep my pack weight light.

• Bibbed knickers (a little on the warm side for sunny and 70's)
• Leg warmers
• Neoprene shoe covers lined with cut up wool socks
• Rain jacket
• Full wind jacket
• Mid-weight winter gloves

Repai kit

Tools/repairs:

Most of my tools and field repair items will be kept in a stuff sack located in my seat bag unless otherwise noted.  My list for this weekend:

• Multi-tool with chain breaker
• Two tire levers (one kept in a more accessible bag for cleaning B road mud off of my shoes)
• Spoke wrenches (my wheels use non-standard spokes)
• Razor blade (wrapped with duct tape and kept in an old patch kit box to prevent premature slicage)
• Two spare tubes
• Patch kit
• Two quick links
• Spare handlebar bottle mount clamp (light, so might as well bring it)
• Zip ties 
• Derailleur cable
• Safety pins
• Velcro strap (wrapped around chainstay)

I was hoping to have some replacement spokes by now, but unfortunately they haven't come through yet.  Bummer.

Gas tank, partially loaded.  Zip locks will be ditched for accessibility.

Nutrition:

My plan this year is to start out with enough food to make it through at least half the race before needing to resupply (current list has me good for around 24 hours at 250 cal/hr).  At some point I'm going to start craving other things, which is one of the reasons I'm not carrying enough for the entire race (the other two are weight and storage).  I will have five water bottles with me, two of which get plain water, two get my sports drink mix, and one carries my trail mix.  One of the water-only bottles will be kept in my seat pack and all the others will be in my frame or handlebar mounted bottle cages.  This should be enough water/fluids to get me 100 miles under the current forecast conditions, but I can always throw in another water bottle if I find myself drinking more than what I had originally planned on.  As for my nutrition break down, it will look something like this:

• 1/2 water bottle of home made trail mix consisting of peanuts, sunflower seeds, M&Ms, chocolate covered raisins and a handful of gummy bears to perk it up a bit.  Approximately 1200 calories.
• Home made granola bars.  Approximately 1000 calories.
• Mini Snickers bars.  About 500 calories.
• Gummy orange slices.  About 500 calories.
• Clif Shot Bloks.  Four packs, two of which will be saved for night since those have caffiene.  800 calories.
• 3oz Firehouse mild beef jerky (my favorite).  300 calories.
• Ham and cheese subway sub.  Two 6" subs at 400 calories each.
• 8 bottles worth Skratch Labs Secret Drink Mix.  About 1000 calories.

I may end up only going with one sub, but for the small amount of extra weight it's probably worth it to carry the second.  When I need real food then I'll want to have it available.  If the craving hits when I'm three hours from the nearest convenience store...  Well, that'll kinda suck.  As far as resupplies, I'll just leave it up to what I'm craving when I need to restock and skip food restocks altogether early on.  I'll still need to get water at regular intervals though.

Night pack

Miscellaneous:

Apart from what I've listed above, here's the odds and ends of what I'll be taking.  Some will be kept in a dry bag located in my seat bag (my "night pack") and others that need to be more accessible will be kept in my Spocket.  

• Night pack
• 2AA batteries (for GPS)
• 2 spare light batteries
• Spare cell phone battery
• Headphones (night use only)
• Toilet paper
• Spocket
• 3 packets of Chamois Cream
• Tire lever (for cleaning off shoes after B road hike-a-bikes)
• Ibuprofen
• Antacids
• Pepto Bismol
• Teflon chain lube
• Other
• Phone
• ID
• Money

So that's the rundown of what I'll be bringing to Trans Iowa this year.  Everything is pretty much waiting to go at this point so that I'm doing a minimal of last minute stressing and gear swapping. At this point I'll leave you with a few final notes.

• A frozen burrito tossed into a pack to thaw out helped make a miserable ride less miserable down the road last year.
• My head light will be resting on a handlebar mount when not in use.  It's light, but you still feel the weight.  This allows me to store it or install it on the fly.
• In order to keep my gear minimized, my phone will double as my MP3 player at night.  Hence, the spare battery.  
• A ziplock bag, a strip of duct tape and a couple zip ties make for a great cue sheet holder.
• Pack your gear with accessibility at the forefront of your mind.  Time stopped is time wasted.

Good luck to everyone else who will be rolling out at 4am Saturday morning.  It's going to be a long ride, and you're going to suffer, but you can hate life all you want as long as you keep moving while you're doing it.