Alpine Ride Gear List…

My Knolly Endorphin up high where the air is thin…

Here is a list of what I brought with me on my Angel’s Staircase ride for those folks interested in such things. The goal was to keep my gear light and compact, but still be able to address most likely situations while staying comfortable.

Bike

• Knolly Endorphin [28T x 46T low gear]
• Continental Trail King 2.4″ tires setup tubeless with extra sealant and inflated a few psi harder than typical to prevent flats
• Fabric water bottle on bike
• Garmin Etrex 20 on bars [route loaded]
• Porcelain Rocket frame bag
  • spare tube
  • zip ties x 3
  • tubeless plugs
  • multi-tool with chain breaker
  • spare quick link
  • tire levers x 2
  • small pump

MEC Fanny…

MEC 8L Fanny Pack

• 1L Platypus soft bottle x 2
• InReach SOS beacon
• Windbreaker
• M&Ms
• Pristine water tablets
• Patch kit for spare tube
• Phone on fanny belt [used as camera and GPS for Trailforks]
• Small first aid kit
• Spare derailleur hanger
• Kevlar emergency spoke
• small roll of duct tape

The start of some ridge riding…

Worn

• iXS Trail RS helmet
• sunglasses
• Race Face synthetic short sleeve jersey
• Race Face long inseam bike shorts
  • energy bar in each front pocket
• 5.10 Freerider shoes
• short socks
• POC gloves
• 616 elbow pads
• Race Face Indy knee pads

Riding towards Cooney Lake on dry dusty trails…

What I would do different next time on this route?

I’d carry the frame mounted water bottle and one more 710ml bottle in a fanny pack. There was plenty of water on the route to refill so no need to climb with 2.6L of water. With 2L of water and the other gear in the fanny pack it felt a bit cumbersome. Once I was down to 1L and gear I no longer even noticed I was wearing the fanny pack. I drank water from the fanny pack first and then used the frame mounted bottle so that for the epic descent I had very minimal weight on my body. This worked well.

I would also carry a 2-3 sheets of shop towel to use to clean my chain mid-ride and as emergency toilet paper.

The small mini-pump I carried on this trip has turned out to be inflating tires poorly so I have replaced it with a small Topeak Mountain Morph.

If I did an alpine ride where I felt elbow/knee armour was not needed I would pack arm/leg warmers instead to add some additional warmth potential to my clothing.