Event Review: “Comes With Baggage” Film + Limberlost Bikepacking Q & A
I couldn’t think of a better way to spend the evening of Saturday, July 25th than to head over to Velocult where the folks from Blackburn were having a screening of their film, “Comes with Baggage.” Afterward, my friends who run a local company called Limberlost presented on off-roading bikepacking Q & A to tie up the evening.
It was fun. It started an hour late due to the live screening of the Tour de France – but I did get to watch, for a second time that day the riders struggle up the Alpe d’Huez, and thank my lucky stars that it isn’t me having to make that 8%+ grade uphill to the summit.
So in a typical, low-key casual fashion, the 7pm event rolled out about 8pmish with kind of a local legend, Billy ‘Souphorse’ Sinkford (and old school Boston messenger represent!) began the evening by talking about Blackburn, what the company is up to; talked about the film’s debut in Monterey, CA this spring; Sea Otter. . . I’m sure I’m garbling up all this information – also; it’s Blackburn’s 40th anniversary of being in business. Always cool to see that for a company.
The first video was just a shortie interview with one of Blackburn’s “Rangers” named Shayne Khajehnoori. He is attempting to do the Pacific Coast trail with his bike and portable raft. He realized that it gets a bit lonely out there on the road and it’s nice to learn some new skills. I’ve linked it here if you’d like to watch that 3:11 minute video.
We then went right into the main movie. It was great. Showed the history cycling and bikepacking specifically. Had interviews with some great people. I don’t want to give away any spoilers, but I will show you the trailer!
For the next part of the evening we talked with Gabe and Jason from Limberlost to give us the insider scope about bikepacking. I’ve known Gabe since I moved to Portland and have been super stoked about the birth, evolution and growth of what started out as just a crazy scheme – so it was great to catch up with these guys and get info for people interested in doing some off-road touring for themselves.
(I apologize in advance. These aren’t direct quotes from either Gabe or Jason. I did attempt to notate as verbatim as possible but they were passing the mic back and forth like it was a joint so it was difficult to note who said what. It’s also not in order of when the questions were asked during the Q & A. I reorganized to have it make more sense to you, the reader.)
“What is Limberlost?”
If you’re interested in doing off-road adventuring, but aren’t sure if you can or don’t know where to go, Limberlost provides fully supported, guided tours. They’ll let you know in advance what the expectations are, minimum requirements, they provide the food, have a support van, etc.
“What is the greatest mistake someone can make as a newbie?”
Jason: Not remembering to eat. Sometimes you will miscalculate or not realize the next town is further away than you realize and you “bonk.” I mean, you find out really early that chili fritos are available at any gas station, they’re cheap and they’re high in calories. So you eat a lot of chili fritos.
Gabe: You don’t eat 10k calories a day when touring. Not keeping your expectations low. Make sure you learn to adapt.
Jason: Also, splitting up the group when there’s no cellphone reception.
“What is the difference between road touring and off-road?”
Gabe: Focus on what fits into what else. Space vs weight.
Jason: Load smartly and load lightly. Generally on road touring you’ll have panniers. With off-road the frame bags are against your bike, strapped to your frame. They don’t rattle around, more secure, tighter in.
“Do you plan out your personal trips or do you wing it?”
(paraphrased) We make a plan but are adaptable to knowing that we may not make it the entire way to where we planned out to camp that night. Keeping expectations low are good so you can just roll with what happens.
“How important is weight distribution?”
Jason: Depends on the type of riding you are planning on doing. For mountain biking, you don’t want to keep a lot of weight in front. In traditional road-type touring, I’ll load the front up a little more. But even distribution is key.
“In reference to a recent news story in which a mountain biker in Idaho lit his feces on fire in an attempt to ‘destroy the evidence,‘ how important is it to leave no trace?”
(paraphrased) We often don’t want to talk about that kind of personal stuff and unfortunately because of which, misinformation and damage can occur. All you need to do is bury your poop. Remember to bring a trowel or learn to dig with a stick and go 6″ deep and at least 200′ from a water source. And don’t bury or leave plastic wrappers behind.
“What is your favorite comfort item to bring with you?”
Gabe: I used to have a slingshot, but I lost it. I recently got this jaw harp that I’m learning to play.
Jason: I have a bluetooth speaker kind of boombox. Sometimes I bring my bb gun. I didn’t bring it with me today, because I didn’t want to be riding through Portland with a bb gun strapped across my bike.
“What is your tent set-up like?”
Gabe: Depends on the trip. Sometimes no tent. Just a tyvek burrito with my sleeping bag, maybe some mosquito netting or a wide-brimmed hat. I like a bivy sack sometimes because you can just crawl into that and not worry about it. Some people like the comfort of a tent no matter what.
Jason: Same. . . When you’re with a group of people it’s nice to have a place to go to where you’re by yourself. That’s when it’s nice to have a tent.
“What do you prefer, clipless or flats?”
Gabe: Depends on the riding. If I know there’s going to be a lot of walking, I’ll put my flats on but if I know there’s going to be lots of flowy and road terrain, then I’ll ride with clipless.
Jason: I always use clipless. They make shoes now that have enough tread on them that I can walk in them like normal shoes.
“What do you eat besides chili fritos?”
Jason: Food that’s packable. Gabe makes dry mixes. I get those Indian curry packets that are heavy but they are conformable.
Gabe: Nuts and granola. Try to use things that you can find in places. If you’re going on a 5-day trip you don’t have to pack 5 days worth of food. Check your map because you probably only have to carry food for a few miles to camp from a store.
Find out more information about Gabe, Jason and their crew at their website or look into booking your next event with them. I mean, come on! What a unique way to celebrate something, right?!
I ended up winning an Outpost Fat bike rack at the event. . . mostly out of proxy due to the lack of fat bike riders there and my uncannily good luck at winning things. (I think if I told them of my lucky streak, he would have taken it back.) Keep checking back for a product review as I attempt to bash the crap out of it in proof that I simply can’t have nice things.
