Bicycle Touring Pro » Sleeping http://bicycletouringpro.com/blog Plan, prepare for, and promote your bicycle touring adventures. Wed, 08 Sep 2010 10:58:10 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 Katy Trail Packing List http://bicycletouringpro.com/blog/katy-trail-packing-list/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=katy-trail-packing-list http://bicycletouringpro.com/blog/katy-trail-packing-list/#comments Wed, 12 May 2010 12:57:07 +0000 Darren Alff http://bicycletouringpro.com/blog/?p=6300

You don’t have to travel around the world or live on the road for months on end to call yourself a bicycle traveler. Conducting short trips by bike in your local area (or even in your home country) is a great way to get out and experience the joys of bicycle travel.

Yesterday I flew from my home in Park City, Utah (USA) to Kansas City, Missouri. Now that I’m in the great state of Missouri, the plan over the next 10 days is for my friend Josh and I to ride our bikes across the state on the famous Katy Trail.

I’ll be sure to share photos, video and stories from the trip in a future article, but for now, here is the packing list for my 11-day trip to Missouri.

Hopefully this article will help you in preparing your packing lists for shorter trips by bike.

Bike Gear

Electronics

Camping & Cooking Gear

Clothing & Toiletries

  • Eddie Bauer 3-in-1 Rain Jacket
  • 2 Pairs of Jeans
  • Baseball cap
  • 2 Pairs of shorts
  • Sweat pants
  • 3 T-shirts
  • Fox Racing jersey
  • Fox Racing shorts 2 Pairs of black anklet socks
  • 2 Pairs of long socks
  • Underwear
  • Nike tennis shoes
  • Toiletry Kit
  • Road ID wrist

Paperwork

  • Wallet
  • Business cards
  • 2 reading books
  • Journal
  • 3 Pens

You should note that 1) I only brought a rear rack and two panniers with me because I don’t plan to use front panniers on this particular trip. I won’t need them because I am carrying less clothes and gear than I would typically carry on a longer trip by bike. 2) I am also carrying a whole lot more camera gear than your typical bicycle traveler might carry.  I have all this camera gear because I plan to bring you back a ton of great photos from my travels… and I’ll be working while I’m out on the road. So, this gear is necessary for me to continue running this website.

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]]> http://bicycletouringpro.com/blog/katy-trail-packing-list/feed/ 5 Pacific Outdoor Equipment – Peak Oyl Elite Sleeping Pad http://bicycletouringpro.com/blog/pacific-outdoor-equipment-peak-oyl-elite-sleeping-pad/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=pacific-outdoor-equipment-peak-oyl-elite-sleeping-pad http://bicycletouringpro.com/blog/pacific-outdoor-equipment-peak-oyl-elite-sleeping-pad/#comments Mon, 01 Feb 2010 08:07:30 +0000 Darren Alff http://bicycletouringpro.com/blog/?p=4206

According to Pacific Outdoor Equipment (a small outdoor company located in Bozeman, Montana that specializes in innovative gear built from welded fabrics for human powered sports), the correct sleeping mat is chosen after considering “the right insulation for the seasons, the right length for you, the right gender, and of course the right amount of weight savings or cush.” Without considering these attributes, you are putting yourself at the mercy of the weaker link. Therefore, sleeping pad selection is of utmost importance if you wish to get a good night’s sleep while out on your travels.

In this article I set out to review the Peak Oyl Elite sleeping pad from Pacific Outdoor Equipment and to give you my assessment of this specific pad after having slept on it for a solid 40+ nights.

MODELS: First and foremost, you should know that I was sent the 2009 edition of this sleeping pad to review, which at the time was called the Peak Oyl Aero Mtn. In 2010, the name of the pad was changed to the Peak Oyl Elite. It is the same pad, but with a slightly different color and a slightly different name. Everything else, however, remains almost exactly the same.

SIZES: The Peak Oyl Elite is a 4-season sleeping pad that comes in 5 different sizes: 3 for men (long, regular and 2/3) and 2 for women (regular and petite). The pad reviewed in this article is a men’s regular. Unfolded, the pad measures 20 inches wide (51cm), 72 inches long (13cm) and 1.5 inches tall (2.5cm) with berms that are 2 inches thick and are positioned at the left and right edge of the pad to prevent you from rolling off while you sleep.

SHAPE: The pad is designed with a traditional dummy shape built to match that of sleeping bags of the same size and shape. This helps to reduce pack weight and is ideal for use with mummy shaped bivy sacks.

HOW IT’S MADE: Interestingly enough, the Peak Oyl Elite is built using a 40% BIO-based palm foam. The palm (taken from the resins of a palm tree) is not a food replacement crop, which helps to reduce environmental impact and helps to slowly wean us off the petroleum that is so prevalent in many other sleeping mats and outdoor products.

Not knowing much about how sleeping pads are made, the company was quick to inform me that “On all of the Peak Oyl sleeping pads, we use a recycled P.E.T. fabric, and the similar to a polyester and made from recycled plastic bottles.  It is a green step in the right direction, not only because it reduces waste, but because the fabric itself performs better than similar 50 denier nylons and polyesters.  The diamond ripstop, has always been incorporated into our pads and has proven to have the best tear and abrasion resistance than any other fabric on a high performance pad.  Beyond the ripstop, the recycled PET also have similar characteristics to spiders silk, and has a tremendously high tensile strength.  It has improved UV resistance over nylons that are usually used on pads because of their higher tear strength than polyesters.”

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: On first inspection, the Peak Oyl Elite sleeping pad is small, compact and relatively lightweight (All of which are good things to see in a quality sleeping pad). Inside its stuff sack, the Peak Oyl Elite measures approximately 11 inches long (28cm), 6.25 inches wide (16cm) and 6.25 inches tall. Considerably heavier than its sister mat, the Peal Oyl Lite, this compact air mattresses weights in at 785 grams (27oz). However, it should be noted that the Elite is heavier than its sister pad (the Peak Oyl Lite) because it has added material used in its construction so as to transform the design from a 3-season pad to a 4-season pad.

QUALITY: After removing the pad from its stuff sack, I can instantly tell that it is a quality pad. The material is lightweight, but thick. “I don’t think I can easily tear or puncture this,” I recall thinking to myself. After 40 nights of use, the pad looks as though it were brand new. The valve at the top of the pad works as it should and no air has leaked out while I’ve been sleeping.

EASY INFLATION: The pad is self-inflating and works just as it should. A couple extra puffs in the valve gets the pad to your desired inflation level.

BIG & TALL? Even though I measure over 6 feet tall, I fit on the pad perfectly. The bermed side rails help to keep me inside the mat while I move about and the sticky S-curve grip trail that runs down the center of the pad helps to keep my sleeping bag from sliding off the pad in the middle of the night.

WARMTH: According to the company, the Peak Oyl Elite pad is also built with “strategically placed strips of Aerogel material in the torso,” which supposedly adds an additional 10-15% more insulation than similar, foam only, sleeping pads. After using the pad for myself, I have been unable to detect any notable benefits of this added Aerogel, but in more extreme weather conditions, this added feature might really come in handy. (I tested this mat in temperatures as low as -4 degrees Fahrenheit and was able to stay warm despite the cool conditions.)

EXTRAS: Each pad comes with a stuff sack, strap and repair kit.

OVERALL IMPRESSION: Overall, the Pacific Outdoor Equipment Peak Oyl Elite sleeping pad is one fantastic product. In fact, it is quite possibly the best sleeping mat I have ever used… and I would highly recommend it.

DRAWBACKS: My only criticism for this specific pad is that I have a hard time getting it back into its stuff sack in the morning. While this is obviously not nearly as important as the warmth and cushion the pad is meant to provide, being unable to easily get the pad back into its stuff sack is one feature that I find to be incredibly important. It may be the pad’s self-inflating nature or the shape of the pad itself that makes folding it back up so difficult. Whatever the case, I’ve found that even with warm hands and a rested body, it can be difficult to get the pad back inside its stuff sack. Under different conditions (i.e. camping in the cold, snow or rain) I could see folding the pad back up to quite a nuisance.

SUMMARY: In the end, the Peak Oyl Elite is a serious sleeping pad for serious outdoor adventurers. If you want a mat that does what it is designed to do (keep you warm and comfortable no matter what time of year you hit the road) and you want a sleeping pad that will last you a very long time, then this is one sleeping pad I am proud to recommend.

My Rating: 9.5 out of 10

Buy Now

For more information on this and other Pacific Outdoor Equipment products, please visit www.pacoutdoor.com

Review Status: This product was sent to Bicycle Touring Pro for review purposes and was obtained at no cost.

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]]> http://bicycletouringpro.com/blog/pacific-outdoor-equipment-peak-oyl-elite-sleeping-pad/feed/ 1 181 Free Articles About Bicycle Touring, World Travel And Lifestyle Design http://bicycletouringpro.com/blog/every-article-from-bicycle-touring-pro-in-2009-2/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=every-article-from-bicycle-touring-pro-in-2009-2 http://bicycletouringpro.com/blog/every-article-from-bicycle-touring-pro-in-2009-2/#comments Fri, 01 Jan 2010 09:22:03 +0000 Darren Alff http://bicycletouringpro.com/blog/?p=4127 2009 was one hell of a year!

At this time last year I was emerging from my apartment in downtown Luzern, Switzerland and celebrating the first of what would become 254 days of bike travel in 16 different European countries.

Since that time, I have covered thousands of miles on my bicycle (and on foot); written nearly two-hundred different articles on the topics of world travel, bicycle touring and lifestyle design; and I’ve been able to support myself while traveling about (despite the so-called “recession”).

By my standards, 2009 has been one fantastic year… and I plan on making 2010 even better!

Before we get too far into the New Year, I thought I would take some time to share with you the 181 articles that were published this year FOR FREE on BicycleTouringPro.com. I’ve bolded the articles I believe you should check out first… so scroll on down and see if there is anything that strikes your fancy.

I hope you enjoy what you find… and please stay tuned, as there’s a lot more in store for Bicycle Touring Pro in the New Year!

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

Featured home page photo by: jurvetson

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]]> http://bicycletouringpro.com/blog/every-article-from-bicycle-touring-pro-in-2009-2/feed/ 6 Useless Gear: Coming Home With What You Really Need http://bicycletouringpro.com/blog/useless-gear-coming-home-with-what-you-really-need/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=useless-gear-coming-home-with-what-you-really-need http://bicycletouringpro.com/blog/useless-gear-coming-home-with-what-you-really-need/#comments Wed, 04 Nov 2009 10:30:56 +0000 Darren Alff http://bicycletouringpro.com/blog/?p=3484 How you start a trip and how you finish are two completely different things.

At the beginning of a long distance bike tour, you have the urge to pack as much on your bike as you possibly can. But as time goes by and the miles/kilometers become more difficult, you quickly realize that some items you are using on almost a daily basis and others are only weighing you down.

The photo below shows every single item I carried with me to the finish of my recent 9-month bike tour through Europe (excluding my bicycle and tent). If you followed me from the beginning of that tour, you will have seen all the items I had with me at the start and read about how I mailed most of my snow gear home after Spring finally reared its head in early April (while I was in Austria).

The items shown below are noteworthy due to the fact that I carried them for an entire 9-months and therefore found them an essential part of my travels through Europe. Hopefully, by sharing this list of clothing, technology and gear with you, you will be better equipped to pack for your own bicycle touring adventure…. and most importantly, know which items to leave at home.

packingkit

The following is a list of items I used until the very end of my bike tour:

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]]> http://bicycletouringpro.com/blog/useless-gear-coming-home-with-what-you-really-need/feed/ 11 Review: Exped DownMat 7 Pump Sleeping Mat http://bicycletouringpro.com/blog/review-exped-downmat-7-pump-sleeping-mat/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=review-exped-downmat-7-pump-sleeping-mat http://bicycletouringpro.com/blog/review-exped-downmat-7-pump-sleeping-mat/#comments Sun, 15 Feb 2009 11:23:14 +0000 Darren Alff http://bicycletouringpro.com/blog/?p=1280 If you are anything like me, you enjoy a good night’s sleep after a long day of travel.  And if you are looking for a way to sleep well and feel at home while out on the road, this article is for you!

Sleeping Around

There are a number of different sleeping mats to choose from, but for the traveling cyclist, size, weight, and durability are of utmost importance.

After visiting quite a few sporting good stores in Switzerland (remember that the Swiss are known for high quality products) I decided on purchasing an Exped DownMat 7 Pump sleeping mat. The mat cost me 179 Swiss francs, or about $155 USD. (I probably could have gotten it for about $40 less in the United States)

Why Exped?

The three main reasons I decided on this particular sleeping mat are:

1) The mat compacts down to a very small size and easily fits inside my panniers (something I couldn’t do with my much larger Thermarest sleeping mat)

2) The mat is 2.8 inches (7 cm) thick, which gets me way up off the ground and keeps me warmer at night.

3) I do an incredible amount of camping in which I am required to sleep on the ground… and after years of using inferior products, I decided it was finally time to get the best sleeping mat possible.

The thing that really sold me on this particular sleeping mat is that in one particular sporting good store they actually let me test the available mats on a bed of rocks. Yes. A bed of rocks!

You put a mat down on the rocks and them climbed on top of the mat, just like you were going to go to sleep. When I tested the Thermarest mattress, you could still feel the rocks underneath your back. It felt pretty good, but you could still feel the rocks.

Then I tried the Exped mat and you couldn’t feel a thing! It felt incredible. I felt like I was floating in a pool… and I was sold!

Other Cool Features

Beside the fact that the mat compresses down to such a small size and is thick enough to knock out any jagged rocks that might be sitting underneath you, the Exped DownMat 7 has a couple other cool features worth mentioning.

1) The first is that the mat is actually lined with down. As the product says on its label, “Super light 700 fill-power goose down traps air beneath your body, decreasing the heat-robbing effect regular air mats have when lying on cold ground. Down’s superb compression factor allows the DownMat to pack comparably with other air or foam pads, and inside the tough, UV- and abrasion-resistant polyester fabric, a Nocar treatment prevents molding and clumping.” (The company also makes a mat made of synthetic material. The synthetic mat is a bit cheaper, but also a little heavier.)

2) Additionally, the mat has a built in air pump that helps during the inflation process. The benefit of pumping the air in with your hands versus blowing it in with your mouth is that blowing air in with you mouth introduces moisture to the mat and this moisture can actually make you cooler at night.

3) The mat is also extremely easy to deflate. There is a large valve opening at the end of the mat that simply siphons all the air directly out of the mat when you roll it up the next morning.

4) And finally, the mat comes with a 3-year warranty, so if there is any sort of defect in the mat, the company will replace it as no additional cost. And in case something does happen to the mat while you are out on the road, your Exped purchase comes with a patch kit – just in case!

Exped has a number of different sleeping mats to choose from. They all come in different shapes and sizes, but here are the specs for the DownMat 7.

Other Specifications

  • Size: 178×52 cm / 70×20“
  • Thickness: 7 cm / 2.8“
  • Weight: 835 g / 29 oz
  • Packsack: 140 g / 5 oz
  • Packed: 19×15 cm / 7×6“
  • Fill Weight**: 170 g / 6 oz
  • Temperature: -24°C / -11°F

So, that’s it! If you are looking for a high quality sleeping mat for your upcoming bicycle adventure, I highly suggest you look into the Exped line of inflatable sleeping mats. More info can be found at: www.exped.com

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