Yes! I've pushed with panniers before

Method to my madness,
-15inch frame makes a frame bag pointless!
-Not using a bag on my back for maximum breathability (if such word exists).

Going to finalise my kit over the weekend, so may go with the bag option...

Hopefully no pushing will be involved, but do you need both panniers?

Just on one the non push side?
Stuff strapped to the top?

Hopefully just one, it's a front pannier but in the rear, so only 20l. Rough plan at the moment is
-sleeping bag on handlebar
-two flasks on the forks
-fuel on the bottle mount
-pump mounted under the BB
-foam matt (has to be foam) on top of the rack
-pannier with stove, spare gloves+ hat, food and down jacket, spare tubes and multi tool
-stem cell with GPS and head torch
-two feed bags with snacks (jelly babies in one, nuts n raisins in t'other)

Just need somewhere for my mini SLR camera (if it comes with me), or my phone for pictures

You chaps heading for Finland 'need' some of this clobber.

http://www.singletracks.com/blog/mtb-ge ... ike-shell/

Please, please ignore the bloke in the first picture demonstrating how NOT to ride a mountain bike ... sorry, pictures like that wind me up and make my job much harder.

foam matt (has to be foam)

It does?

Ian wrote:

foam matt (has to be foam)

It does?

It cant be a blow up one, guess they want reliability over warmth

Mandaory kit: (http://www.rovaniemi150.com/information/gear/)
-sleeping bag
-sleeping pad
-headtorch
-rear lamp (with enough batteries)
-2xreflective patches given by R150 organisors

Oh, right. Managed to miss that then. Might just drop them a line to double check...

Not much mandatory kit for me, doesn't say I'll get given the reflective strips though?:

MANDATORY GEAR
- Headlamp with enough batteries (we recommend: Energizer Ultimate Lithium).
- Rear red flashing lamp with enough batteries.

Racers must carry all the mandatory gear throughout the entire race from beginning to end and finish it with it.
Participants must bring all mandatory gear for check-in to the pre-race meeting.
Any racer who does not have the appropiate mandatory gear will not be allowed to participate.
Any racer who does not finish with the mandatory gear will be disqualified.

REFLECTIVE GEAR
Reflective gear is mandatory for all racers.
The rear red flashing light must be on during dark periods.
Any racer who doesn't have the red flashing light on during dark periods will result in immediate disqualification.

Would this do ?
http://www.ultralightoutdoorgear.co.uk/ ... m-mat-p222

100g

FLV wrote:Would this do ?
http://www.ultralightoutdoorgear.co.uk/ ... m-mat-p222

100g

Very surprised they are matching a foam mat with a down bag at artic conditions. I wonder if its lost in translation. I would go with an air gap mat and solid foam together. potential air temperatures of minus thirty could mean ground temps of Minus Thirty fiveish.

Ian, this is what I'm using
http://www.cascadedesigns.com/therm-a-r ... te/product

I thought I ought to break my boots in if it becomes a Death-Slush-March. Shirt, tie, trousers and -30 boots at work....

I walked my dog the other day in my boots, was -1c and my feet were red hot!

Rarely use youtube but did come across this video about the race. Might want to turn the sound off though and skip to the mid-section when he starts to ride, but it gives a good idea of what to expect
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BgzRNKNiZx0

voodoo_simon wrote:I walked my dog the other day in my boots, was -1c and my feet were red hot!

Rarely use youtube but did come across this video about the race. Might want to turn the sound off though and skip to the mid-section when he starts to ride, but it gives a good idea of what to expect
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BgzRNKNiZx0

Off with the winter boots to drive home in normal merrells.....felt like I'd got chilled slippers on!

Years ago I used to do cold environment testing for Jaguar. We would go to North Ontario where average temperatures were -20 deg C and sometimes it got down to -40.

All I can say is don't get cold. You will not get warm once you've got properly cold. And as there is no escape from the cold, don't try to travel too light. And proper footwear, gloves and headgear is crucial - not sure what gear is available in Finland but I imagine they have better and cheaper cold weather gear than uk shops (that was always the way in Canada).

Good luck!

slarge wrote:Years ago I used to do cold environment testing for Jaguar. We would go to North Ontario where average temperatures were -20 deg C and sometimes it got down to -40.

All I can say is don't get cold. You will not get warm once you've got properly cold. And as there is no escape from the cold, don't try to travel too light. And proper footwear, gloves and headgear is crucial - not sure what gear is available in Finland but I imagine they have better and cheaper cold weather gear than uk shops (that was always the way in Canada).

Good luck!

From my winter mountaineering days. This is very intelligent advice.
.although I'm sure you've all thought of this

I know some one who did this as a runner maybe last year. He said as it was a warm year he just ran in neoprene socks and normal fell shoes.

I reckon he's lucky to still have his toes! Probably got away with it as it was only -5...

Running keeps the feet moving and the blood flowing. Cycling doesn't, so feet are hard to keep warm.

The other thing was the dry air makes bogies like shards of glass. Sounds amusing till you get one - try to keep you nose warm and moist (but not wet), not cold and dry! And no picking!

Mandatory kit update: I can take my down mat, so that's one less thing to buy

Top advice slarge, the difficulty is to keep sweating to a minimal to prevent the moisture from freezing later on.

I've managed to get my sleeping bag into the 20l dry bag It goes in with easier now that I put in a silicon dry bag inside the main dry bag, so the sleeping bag now slides in and out instead of sticking

That's good news Ian, wished I asked that earlier in the year instead of buying my foam one (my air one won't be warm enough for the race, so I'll stick with the foam)

voodoo_simon wrote:That's good news Ian, wished I asked that earlier in the year instead of buying my foam one (my air one won't be warm enough for the race, so I'll stick with the foam)

You can always borrow my down mat if you wanted?

Chew wrote:

voodoo_simon wrote:That's good news Ian, wished I asked that earlier in the year instead of buying my foam one (my air one won't be warm enough for the race, so I'll stick with the foam)

You can always borrow my down mat if you wanted?

Cheers Chew, that's very kind. I'll keep with my foam matt at the moment, may even help to pad my bike for the flight

If it makes you feel any better I am opting for a foam mat over my exped down mat

While a foam mat is quicker to deploy, my down mat is easy to pack as it goes in with my sleeping bag.

I guess the issue is if the sleeping bag comes out then its more than likely something has gone wrong and your event is over so I don't plan on using whatever I am carrying :)