First Look: Revelate Bags

At Mikey's request I thought I'd pen a few first impressions of my Revelate bags and gear list from my first trip (which, bare in mind wasn't really my first run - that's coming up in afew weeks - it was more of a pre-first run).

The bags

I bought 2 bags from Revelate Designs a Tangle frame bag and a Pika seat bag. The Tangle bag is the medium size and fits near-on perfectly within my 56cm Spot Mod frame. I wanted the straps to fit under the cables (as they'd then aid in protecting the frame from cable scratch, and not impede on braking/shifting etc), so to do this I had to modify the largest Velcro strap slightly to accommodate a cable guide. I found that loosening the cables/housing also meant I could snug the Velcro in nice and tight. The bag has 2 YKK zippered full-length compartments - a thin one on the left hand side and a thicker one on the right hand side. The divider between these 2 pockets is a bright yellow fabric which certainly helped locating the right gear on the move. My primary fear with this bag was that when loaded it would bulge too much for my liking (or for my knobby knees). To my relief it held everything comfortably and only had a very slight bulge to it. Granted, it wasn't as loaded as i'll have it on future rides, but I'm pretty sure that the extra gear it will eventually hold on bigger trips won't mean it'll grow a muffin top. The extra gear should even help to hold everything in place as at times it was a little 'rattly'. Last weekend it held my camera, my tools, first aid kit and my riding food.

The Pika is Revelate's smaller seat bag, with a stated capacity of 6-12L. It attaches to the seat rails with a thick PVC(?) strap with dual buckles, and a hefty velcro strap around the seat post. The roll-top closure (at the moment I'm unsure about the waterproofness of the material) secures with a further 2 buckles and snugs back in on itself to create a tight and secure bag against the underside of the saddle. I had all my compressible stuff in here - boardies, tshirt, Arc'teryx Atom LT hoody and thongs - plus on the first day, 1kg of cheese and 2 extra tubes. This was about the least I could carry as the roll-top straps were cinched in as much as they could be. Riding with both of these bags really illustrated their main advantages over traditional panniers - they barely changed the handling of the bike and they were so secure over rough (corrugated) roads (although there's no doubt some of this is due to the fact that you're forced to carry much less gear!).

The gear

This pre-first run helped me to mentally compile a comprehensive gear list for the real first run, a mid-autumn 2-3 day ride. It's about as minimal as I can imagine it at the moment, whilst still allowing for contingency. I've tried to get everything to work together to work as a system, eg sleeping in my Atom+bag+pad+bivy will get me through a cold night. Plus there's obviously some scope for refining it according to the trip (eg add iPhone charger & cable for Lezyne if I'll be riding past a plug; leave out the bivy bag if I'll be staying in huts). Here's how I think it'll go:

Tangle bag:
tools (pump, multitool, tube, patches+glue, 2x brake shoes, 2x tyre boots, Stein Mini Cassette tool, 2x spare bolts, 2x quicklinks, lube, gear/brake cable), first aid kit (pills, tweezers, mediswabs, bandaids, bandage, Iodine tabs), camera, iPhone/cash/ID/VISA, lighter, bogroll, ride food (2x GU's, 2x oat slices per day, 2x muesli bars per day, 2x mineral tabs per day), head/neck warmer, suncream, headphones, knee warmers;
Pika bag:
boardies, tshirt, Atom hoody, 100-weight sleeping bag, pad, bivy bag, Jetboil+spoon (I might have to get a little creative packing this bag;)
HydraPak:
daily consumables (lunch/dinner and water bladder), rain jacket
On bike:
1 large bidon, 1 small bidon, front light (Lezyne MiniDrive), rear flasher
Wearing:
helmet, glasses, jersey, arm warmers, gloves, bib knicks, socks, MTB shoes


I'll add some pics in a bit...

Majors Ck - Tinderry tour

After my 2 new Revelate bike bags arrived the other week I was keen to take them out for a spin. The stars aligned this past Easter long-long-weekend and I hooked up with Steve, Monty, Knobs and Reg for the first day of their 2-day ride from Canberra down to Broulee, overnighting in Majors Creek. My plan was to then ride back to Canberra via Captains Flat and the Tinderry's.

Day 1: Lyneham - Majors Ck, 97km

Getting organised at Steve's place

We all met at Steve's place on Friday morning and after divvying up some group food got away rolling by 9. The bogan-factor on Captains Flat Rd was high, but soon enough we turned off on to the quieter roads heading for Tallaganda State Forest. The saddle at the top of the Lowden Forest Rd was a fitting spot for lunch - water nearby, just over half way and the highest point for the day (~1100m) - and also a great spot to view the local wildlife. Rumswillinus Motoboganus I think is their scientific name.

On the road between Hoskinstown & Rossi

Steve on the undulations at Harold Cross

The last leg to Majors Creek features some awesome descents and only a couple of pinchy climbs. Never-the-less there were a few weary bodies as we rolled in to our accommodation for the night, the pub. Going beer for beer probably isn't the best way to recover from a day's riding, but the good thing is that after a few hours of it you tend to forget about silly things like recovery or rehydration. The wine at dinner broke up the rhythm of the beers anyway. In short - Majors Creek: great pub; young pool sharks; when you lose your dog, drink beer.

Majors Creek pub

Day 2: Majors Ck - Tinderry - Lyneham, 146km..ish

The next day it was time to part ways with my crew. I pointed them in the right direction (to Araluen) and then started back-tracking the previous day's riding. Instead of turning on to Harolds Cross Rd I stuck on the road south toward Captains Flat Rd. This bit was pretty crap to be honest. Corrugations and undulations were apparently in fashion when this road was put in, and I've since discovered neither mix too well with hangovers.

I stopped at the top of the Tallaganda to munch on my group food ration - salami and sweaty cheese. As luck would have it there was a map there which told me I could knock off 15km by by-passing Captains Flat on Wild Cattle Flat Rd. The dilemma was though that I was almost out of water (damn hangover) and Captains Flat presented, I assumed, the only reliable source of it. 15-less-km though. Bugger it, Wild Cattle Flat Rd it was.

Wild Cattle Flat Rd

This road certainly felt remote. It had copped a bit of abuse after the heavy rains, but subsequently, it was more interesting to ride. Sure-enough it spat me out on Jerangle Rd and after a quick few km's south I was at the turn off to Tinderry Rd. Licking my last bidon for it's remaining moisture I added 'Iodine Tablets' to my mental list of things to pack for next time.

I stopped for lunch at an abandoned little shack just after the Queanbeyan River and subsequently almost shat my pants by startling a young black snake while straddling a barbed wire fence. With renewed vigour I set about getting to the top of the Tinderry.

Lunch spot near Queanbo River

At Veda's property east of the Tinderry

I would meet God that day, or the Easter Bunny, and she would be called Veda and own a homestead on Tinderry Rd and damn would she love a chat! I filled up my bidons and after a good hour of chin wagging rode the last few km to top out on Tinderry Rd at about 1250m.

The view west toward Michelago from the Tinderry Rd descent

At the bottom, looking back up Tinderry Rd

Canberra was all down hill from here and after the wicked descent (20% in places) down to Burra Rd, I was on to familiar roads. The stretch between Michelago and Burra is a beautiful road and one that I haven't been on in a while, so I loved this part. Soon enough I was in Queanbo dropping in on my folks for a cuppa and a catchup before hitting the bike paths in the fading light for the final stretch home.

Moonrise over Lake Burley Griffin