TransAm Bike Race Setup and Gear

This will be geeky

This is the rig, loaded and mostly ready to go

2014 Raleigh Tamland One
Shimano 105 5700 brifters, front dérailleur, crankset (after the stock set imploded)
Shimano 9sp XT rear dérailleur with a SRAM 12-36 1070 cassette
Wipperman 11SX chain
Velocity Aileron rim, Sapim Race DB spokes, DT350 rear hub, Shimano XT dynohub front
TRP Spyre brake fitted with Shimano pads and XTR rotors 160mm
Salsa Cowbell bars, Profile T2+ DL aerobars, two layers of Deda tape
Brooks C17 saddle on Lynskey Ti seatpost
Crazy expensive combo of Jagwire Elite Sealed Shift, Sport XL Brake and Elite Ultra Slick Polished cables
Trio of Camelbak bottles in Tacx cages, with the one above the bars mounted on a King Cage TopCap

That about covers the mechanical bits; for electronics, I'm keeping it pretty simple

Garmin Etrex Touch 35 as my main nav
Garmin Etrex 30x as backup
B&M IQ-X headlight
Cygolite Expilon 400 backup headlight
B&M Secula Plus taillight
Cateye Blinkies and a Planet Bike Superflash as added rear lighting.

No dyno powered USB charger to power the GPS or charge phones. I'll just use batteries and wall chargers.

The Kit

This is what I'll be wearing everyday. Yes, I'll look like a Castelli ad, but it works, and I got all of it on sale.

Velossimo San Remo Speedsuit. I was pretty shocked how comfy this is.
Castelli Core Mesh 3 sleeveless baselayer
Castelli UPF 50+ arm and knee skins (cuts down on sunblock needs, and honestly I don't do a good job reapplying throughout the day, so this is better)
A couple headwear options (don't wanna burn my noggin)
Specialized Grail gloves (love the new pad shape in these, and the colour will help my hand signals stand out during the day)
Specialized Recon shoes (so much love, I bought a second backup pair)
Giro Synthe helmet (the non MIPS version to save a few grams from causing neck issues)

Bedrock Bags Entrada pocket:
first aid kit
spare eyeglasses and lens cloth
tp
gloves and papertowels in ziplock to deal with any messy repairs.
allergy meds, toes warmers, hand lotion, a couple Woolite packets
plastic bags for sock liners is shit gets bad
the black bundle is a reflective vest

ignore the upsidedown-ness of the pic

Bedrock Tapeats:
Electronics: phone, chargers, backup gps, backup headlight, powerbank, wallet

also upsidedown

ATMhandmade Snack Sack
Mini lock, knife, (just add food)

The Rogue Panda Alamo bag at the stem is more food, while their Rincon at the seatpost carries my repair kit.

Wipperman links, FiberFix Spoke repair, patches, boots, spare cleats, multitool, tyre levers, zip ties

The remaining layers of clothing, yup more Castelli,and as much fluoro yellow as I could manage, packed into my Bolder Bikepacking seatbag

Flanders Wind Short Sleeve Baselayer
Smartwool liner gloves
Smartwool Liner socks
Castelli Wool socks
Castelli Pimaloft/Silk socks
Castelli Nanoflex+ Leg and Armwarmers
Castelli Perfetto vest
Castelli Superleggera vest
Castelli Riparo rain jacket
Endura Helium rain knickers
Castelli Velocissimo Long sleeve thermal jersey
Castelli Nano shoe covers
LG helmet cover
Buff UV buff
Specialized Deflect overgloves
Pactimo Changing Kilt
Spare tyre (vacuum sealed, to minimize packing volume and keep it from snagging the clothes)

The bag is so voluminous that when pulling out everything for the pic, I actually missed the drybag of socks in the bottom!

On top of the Bolder Seatpack is a Revelate Spocket, with my SPOT tracker, sunscreen, lipchap, and chainlube.

My home for TABR

Sleeping gear stored in the main body of the Bedrock Entrada:
SeatoSummit Ultralight pad, and Coolmax fitted sheet and Aeros pillow
Enlightened Equipment Prodigy APEX 50F quilt
TiGoat Kestrel Bivy
Emergency mylar blanket

Events

I thought I'd put together a list of events I'd really like to do. All in one spot with dates, mileages and locations and any fees.


I'm already signed up for:
11-26-11 Gravel Grovel, 62m, Nashville, IN $35

Thinking about:
2/25 Southern Cross, 50+m, Delonega, GA $80
3/10 Sub-9 Death March,  50+m, Nashville, IN $??
3/24 Barry-Roubaix, 65m, Middleville, MI $50?
3/31 The Lowell 50, 50m, Lowell, MI $32.50
4/14 Ragnarok 105, 111m, Red Wing, MN $Free
4/28-29 B.A.L.L.S, 165m, Barnevel, WI $30
5/12, Almanzo 100, 100m, Spring Valley, Mn, $Free
5/27 HAC NCC Gravel Metric, 62m, DeKalb, IL, $10
6/2 Dirty Kanza, 200m, Emporia, KS, $???
6/9? West Side Dirty Benjamin, 100m, Carver County, MN, $Free.
6/16? TransWisconsin, 420m, ?WI, $???
6/23 Hilly Billy Roubaix, 70m, Morgantown,WV, $???
6/28-29 Trans Iowa V8, 340m, Grinnell, IA, $Free
9/22 Ronde-Van Stony, 40m, Shelby Township, MI, $50+5
9/23? Gentlemen's Ride, 100? MN? $Free
9/25? Three Peaks USA, 47m, Beach Mountain, NC, $60
10/9 Iron Cross, 62m, Michaux State Forest, PA, $???
10/06 Heck of the North, 100m, Duluth, MN, $Free.
10/27 Dirt Bag, 86m, Clearwater, MN $Free


19 events/races.

So what's in there? The entire Almanzo Gravel Road Series (AGRS), the entire American UltraCross Championship Series, and various others. It's more a wish list than a start list. I'd like to do at least one event each in WI, MN, MI. The 300+m events are highly unlikely. B.A.L.L.S is unlikely as it's Bourbon Sampler/Derby Mini/Dark Lord weekend (and probably several other events I'd love to make). Dirt Bag is Bourbon Chase weekend, I believe, so also unlikely.

If I can ride even 4 of those events I'll be happy.

Oops, forgot some:
8/18? , D2R2 Deerfield Dirt Road Randonnee. 100k,115k, 180k Shelburne Falls, MA, $80ish
4/14-15 Tour of the Battenkill, 64m, Cambridge, NY, $???

Choices

I've always had problems with choices. Trying to figure out which of many options is the best use of my time or money or whatever. I can't have or do it all, nor do I want to. I'd like to not screw up and have to spend more of my time/money/whatever correcting the choice I've made.

Now is a time of many choices, which need to be finalized. It is race entry time. In the next month or so I need to go through a list of events for next year and decide which I'd like to do, can afford to do, and do without killing myself. I then need to figure out when entry for those events is, how to enter, etc.

Even after I go through all that, then comes this reality: I've never competed in these events, and many give preference to veterans. I could very likely get wait-listed and not get to enter my preferred choices. That means I should possibly try to enter more than I can possibly begin to afford to enter/complete/travel to.

There's one event I'd love to do one day, but I don't feel like I'm ready to tackle it yet, however every year the odds of getting a spot at the start get worse. Should I even think about trying to enter, when I know I'll chicken out? What about events on conflicting/consecutive weekends? Knowing I won't likely get into every event (or most for that matter), should I really load the deck that way?

Many of the paid events I have a better shot of getting into, but once paid, I'd hate to have to drop out due to lack of funding for the trip.

Any sage advice? Or does anyone know of any events they are thinking about doing, so perhaps travel expenses can be split?