Packing for a 600k: Eeny meeny miney moe...

Bright and early tomorrow morning I'll set off from downtown Seattle with a big ol' group of nerdonneurs. We're doing a 600k route that will take us along the Western and Southern flanks of Mt. Ranier to Packwood, WA., then West through Centralia to Elma (not 20 miles from the birth place of Kurt Cobain donchyaknow), and finally North to the Kitsap peninsula where we'll ramble around in the allegedly haunted Tahuya Hills a bit before making our way back to the ferry on Bainbridge Island.

I'll be riding with the Charly Miller team on this ride, and our plan is to ride on through to the end with no sleep stops. If all goes according to plan (which it never does on a ride this long) we should finish in somewhere around 25 to 26 hours.

This course has a lot of ups and downs, so I'm trying to pack as light as possible. It's always a challenge to balance a performance-minded minimalist approach with the more sensible desires for comfort and safety, but as I do more of these rides and get more experience I'm finding that I'm able to get by comfortably and safely with less stuff. Hopefully I'll stop short of heading off for cross-country tours wearing nothing but a loin cloth with a buck knife in my teeth.

So, here's what I'll be taking with me on this ride:

On Me
Bike shorts
Polypro base shirt
Polypro bike jersey
Arm warmers
Leg warmers
Socks
Bike shoes
Wind vest
Sunglasses
Bike cap
Helmet with map light

In the Handlebar Bag
Tool kit (multi-tool, tire irons, chain tool, patch kit)
2 Spare tubes
Zip ties
Space blanket
Spare tail light
Wallet
Sunscreen
Lip stuff
Cell phone
Camera
Fistful of Ibuprofen and Enduralytes
Reflective ankle straps
Reflective vest
Pen
Reading glasses
About 1400 calories worth of Sustained Energy powder (food-like stuff)
4 packages Shot Bloks (even more food-like)
12 Fig Newtons (practically food)

On the Bike
2 Water bottles
Pump
Lights, front and back

In My Drop Bag (drop bags will be waiting for us in Elma)
Wool Jersey
Wool bike shorts
Long sleeve wool base layer
Raincoat
Bike gloves
Socks
3 Spare tubes
Misc bike tools
Spare headlight
Sustained Energy powder
Shot Bloks
Fig Newtons

If the forecast is right and I have no mechanical problems, then I shouldn't need anything but the food from the drop bag. We shall see...

Loaded up with all of this stuff (including full water bottles), my bike weighs about 32lbs (22 lbs bike, 4 lbs water and 6 lbs food and gear). That's slightly more than the typical 15 lbs that a pro cyclist's bike weighs, but not bad for a fully loaded rando rig.

Nothing left to do now but try to get a decent night's sleep and then go for a ride.