READ THIS D-TRAIN

For all of you who do not know, D-Train has a spooky sense of direction, it is down right scary how he can find his way...With that said he has a rep of showing up some what ill prepared for situations. It is very likely that he would show up for the Transrockies with a bike, one water bottle, one set of cloths and no gloves. Sooo D please read this gear list this guy seems to be in the know.

A while ago I did a bike wrap-up after the 2006 TR. Well, here is my clothing and equipment wrap-up. I made a few changes from my 2005 clothing, and I'll make a few more for 2007.

Jersey Short Sleeve- Sugoi Semi-Custom and Primal Wear – A fresh jersey each day is such a joy. Nice clean dry clothing makes life pretty sweet, even if you are going to be cold and wet after your first 5 minutes of riding. I also had my Primal Wear “Curious George” jersey for day 3. And George did help me climb like a monkey. Unfortunately it seems that Sugoi has discontinued its semi-custom programme.

Jersey Long Sleeve – Sugoi Technifine Plus – What was I thinking? These jerseys are great when it is cold, but for a race in the Rockies a mid-weight long sleeve jersey is just too inherently inflexible. I only wore this jersey on day 6 in the cold and rain, but I ended up getting way too hot. I would have been much better off with a short sleeve jersey and armwarmers. I am not taking a long sleeve jersey nest year.

Undershirts – Pricepoint, MEC and Sierra Designs– Last year I bought two of the Pricepoint sleeveless wicking undershirts in size medium, but they were HUGE. (The perils of mail-order.) For this year I bought a couple of the same undershirts in small. The MEC undershirt was a nice lightweight short-sleeve. The two Sierra Designs undershirts both had half zips and made it easy to adapt to changing conditions. (The Sierra designs undershirts are not designed for cycling and might be a bit too short in the body for someone taller than 5’9”/175cm.)

Shorts - Sugoi Neo Pro, Sugoi Ultrafino and Sugoi Rocky Mountain Team - Even more than a fresh jersey, fresh short every day are not just a joy, they are an absolute necessity. While the Neo Pro is Sugoi's entry level short, they are a great value and fit me really well. The other Sugoi shorts are upgrades over the Neo Pro and have more a deluxe chamois and better construction. And for a long race like this, comfort and fit are key. For 2006 I decided to try a slightly lighter saddle (Selle Italia Flite) I made the mistake of not using chamois cream as a preventive measure on days 1 and 2 and I ended up with a sore bum. On day 3 I changed back to the original TransAm saddle and dosed myself with Chamois Butter and Dr. Marty’s Magic Butt Cream. The problems that I had were due to my own mistake rather than any problem with the Sugoi shorts.

Socks – Sock Guy and De Feet - I used both synthetic and wool (Wollie Boolie and Wool-E-Ator) socks. The wool socks were great in both wet and dry conditions. Again, a fresh pair each day makes life much more bearable. On really wet and miserable days, taking a spare pair of socks is pretty tempting.

Waterproof/Breathable Socks – Sugoi – These were great on day 6 out of Nipika. They keep your feet dry in miserable weather.

Over Booties – MEC – I brought these along but didn’t use them. Due to the design they are not suitable for hike-a-bike, but will keep your feet warm and very dry.

Shoes - Diadora Geko - I have odd little feet. Short and rather wide. (Any wider and they'd be round.) The Diadora shoes fit me really well, but they don't all seem to be made on the same last. In 2004 and 2005 I used Diadora Jalepenos and Chilis. But I managed to snap off a toe stud in my Chilis and there were almost worn out. And the Jalepenos while great for one day races are not the best for 7 days of racing where your feet are likely to get wet and stay wet. So, I had two pairs of Gekos. I’d highly recommend having two pairs of shoes. To prevent blisters I used adhesive moleskin on both heels every day. The result, no blisters and happy feet. I also brought along a couple of newspapers to stuff into wet shoes and try to draw out the moisture. This meant that I was able to put on almost dry shoes even on the days after the obligatory river crossings. With newspaper you might almost not need two pairs of shoes. But if you manage to destroy a shoe, having a spare pair is pretty cheap insurance.

Gloves - MEC XC Gloves, Pricepoint and Race Face – Like my feet, my hands are short and wide. I have found that some of the MEC gloves fit me really well. I wore a pair of fingerless gloves on day 1 in the heat, but I got small blisters on my thumbs. I used full-finger for days 2-7. For next year I will only use full finger gloves. I also brought over-gloves and over-mitts, but I was not crazy about the fit and performance. I’m still trying to find the best solution to riding in cold and wet weather. The Race Face waterproof gloves were good, but were a bit too warm. I also brought along some latex and vinyl medical gloves. Mainly for trailside repairs, but in really foul weather they would keep my hands warm.

Headband - Halo and Ground Effect - These really help to keep sweat out of your eyes, and that is really important if you are wearing sunscreen. Nothing worse than the rather caustic combination of sweat and sunscreen in your eyes. It really stings. I found that the Halo headbands worked better. I think it is probably because of the yellow "gutter" that routes sweat to your temples. (And actually works really well.)

Earwarmers – Sugoi – Fortunately it didn’t get cold enough to need the earwarmers this year, but being prepared is always a good idea.

Toque – Pricepoint – Again, fortunately it didn’t get cold enough, but being prepared is always a good idea.

Helmet - Bell Slant - My head is big but narrow and I have a tough time finding a helmet that is long enough. The dial adjuster on the Bell Slant makes it easy to change the fit and to "dial in" the desired tension once you put the helmet on. Before the race, I thoroughly cleaned the whole helmet and washed the pads. After seven days, you would never know it. The whole thing was pretty gross. For next year I’m going with the Bell Sweep XC. A better fit and better ventilation.

Armwarmers - MEC - I had two pairs of MEC arm warmers and I was very happy with them. They stayed up, kept the arms warm and folded up quite small in the pack.

Legwarmers - Sugoi and MEC – I used Sugoi legwarmers and MEC knee warmers. The knee warmers were much easier to get off without removing your shoes. I had two pairs of Sugoi legwarmers with zips and one pair without zips. The Sugoi legwarmers without zips were harder to remove and were thus much more of a "commitment". Next year I will only bring the two zip pairs.

Vest - MEC Streamline - The MEC vest has a polyester front and a mesh back with two pockets. Small and compact, but a great lightweight addition to the wardrobe. The only change would be the addition of a front chest pocket.

Jacket – Sugoi Venture, Sugoi Defiant and Sugoi Radius – Sugoi makes great garments. These jackets covered the whole range of potential weather. The Venture is 200 grams and a great windbreaker. The Defiant is 400 gram waterproof/breathable. A bit hot when you are working hard, but what jacket isn’t? The Radius is a 300 gram soft-shell and I only wore it around camp.

Hydration Pack - Deuter Race Air 1 with 3-litre Source bladder and Outdoor Products with 2-litre Platypus Bladder- This Deuter pack was great, and also drove me nuts. The mesh back is a great feature and really kept me cool on the hot days. (The mesh back also prevented the heat from my back making the bladder contents too hot.) However, the wide waistband got in the way of my jersey pockets. For next year I am going to stick with the Outdoor Products pack. It is 400 grams lighter than the Deuter pack and is also narrower, making it easier to get into my jersey pockets.

Gels - Cliff Shots and Clif Bloks - I have tried all sorts of gels and there are only a few that I can stand after a few days. (I find the Tropical Fruit flavour from Power really tough to take.) In addition, the "litter leash" on the Clif package is such a great idea. (There was way too much litter along the trails.) The Clif Bloks were not available in Canada when the TR started, so I ordered some from REI in the States. MEC now carries them. They are a great alternative to shots and serve the same purpose.

Treats - Sharkies and Slim Jims - I know, a very odd combo. The Sharkies were a very nice pick-me-up and the Slim Jims were just great variety in the diet. Very greasy and salty. (Perfect for those long days

Bars - Assorted - I brought a variety of bars with me; Clif (Lemon Poppyseed and Chocolate Mint) Luna (Lemon Zest). The variety was an attempt to try to alleviate the gastronomic boredom that overtook us last year. Having Clif bars at the feed stations was a great improvement over past years.

Hydration - Gatorade (Orange and Lemon/Lime) - The TR is not the place to experiment with nutrition. I tasted the supplied hydration beverage and really did not like it. (And if you do not like it, you probably will not drink enough of it.) I resorted to taking some Gatorade powder with me each day to use to refill the hydration pack as needed. I’ll just stick with Lemon/Lime for next year.

Recovery Drink - Endurox - I made sure that I had a recovery drink as soon as I finished each day. I try to be diligent with my post-race nutrition and I think it helps.

-Booms