Sam Harney
Great Divide
Banff, AB
Have you ever hopped on your bike and felt like it weighed 100lbs? Mine actually does! With a full days food and water, I'm pushing that 100 lb. mark and I am in no shape to be doing so. This is not necessarily the ultralight setup I was aiming for. The smart thing to do would have been to weigh my bike and make some adjustments before I got to the airport and propped the overly crammed bike box on the scale. Without ever riding the bike fully loaded, I wouldn't know what to expect until we reached the trail. The last thing I wanted to do was start shipping things home from Canada the first day we arrived. I decided to ride it out for about a week until we reached Missoula where I could make all the changes needed. After a long night spent in the Calgary airport stretched across a couple chairs in the food court, we hitched a ride up north to the start of the trail where we also were able to replace the front wheel skewer that I had forgot back home. Within the first mile ascending out of town, I knew right a way that I had made a terrible mistake bringing the panniers. With most of the weight in the rear and mounted on a frame that was certainly not meant for the setup I had chosen, I was getting a terrible wobble the instant I stood up off the saddle. This is proving to be very difficult throughout Canada. When we reach Missoula for a few days of rest I plan to convert to a traditional bikepacking setup and challenge myself to drop every extra once of gear that is not completely necessary. I am anxiously counting down the days!After getting comfortable on the bike, I was able to focus a lot more on my surroundings and start looking forward to the road ahead. After only 3 days I felt as if I had actually been training for the ride and while my bike didn't feel so solid, I sure did. Canada is treated us very well in every aspect. I couldn't image a nicer place to start my first bikepacking tour.
- IMAGES OF THE ROAD -
Sam Harney
Gear List
- My Blackburn Gear -
- My Bike Specs -
- • FRAME-Salsa El Mariachi 2 (2013) SIZE: M
- • CRANK-SRAM S1000 GXP 26/39
- • SHIFTERS-SRAM X.7
- • TIRES-Continental X-King 2.4 Rear / X-Trail Front (running tubeless)
- • STEM-Salsa Pro Moto 2
- • FORK-Salsa Fargo V2
- • PEDALS-VP Components VP-001 Platform Pedals w/ Hold Fast Galaxy Print Straps
- • BRAKES-SRAM Elixer 5
- • SEATPOST-Salsa Pro Moto 2
- • HANDLEBAR-Salsa Pro Moto 2, 11-degree w/Crane Karen Bell
- • HEADSET-Cane Creek 40 ZS44/EC44
- • CASSETTE-SRAM PG-1050 11-36T
- • WHEELS-Stans NoTubes ZTR Rapid w/ Salsa 2 by Formula 32H Hubs
- • SADDLE-Brooks B17 Brown
- • ACCESORIES-Two Fish Quick Cage Adapter 22oz Water Bottles x5 (*-2x)
- My Personal Items -
- • Jetboil Flash-110g Fuel
- • Mummy Bag Liner-Sea to Summit Thermolite Reactor Extreme
- • Alpha Light Long Spoon-Sea to Summit Alpha Light Long Spoon
- • Winchseter Knife-With intimidating Gut Hook
- • Face Sunscreen
- • Petzl Tikka 2 Headlamp
- • REI Nonstick Frypan 10''
- • Sleeping Pad-REI Lite-Core 1.5
- • Passport
- • A.C.A. Maps-The Great Divide Route
- • REI Halo +25 Down Sleeping Bag-With REI Lightweight Compression Stuff Sack
- • MSR Alpine Spatula
- • Tent-Marmot Eos 1P
- • Toothbrush / Toothpaste / Floss
- My Technology/Climbing Gear -
- • Kindle Keyboard 3G
- • 2006 LG VX5300 Flip-Phone-(broke 3 days in)
- • CLIMBING GEAR-Black Diamond: C4/X4 Cams #4, 3, 2, 1 x2, .75 x2, .5 x2, .4 x2, .3, .2, .1 Positron Screwgate Caribiner Rocklock Screwgate x2 Stoppers x 15
- • CLIMBING GEAR-C.A.M.P. Orbit Wire Bent Gate Carabineer x14 Tango Superfly Wiregate Carabineer x14 Elderid Boa DuoTec 9.8 x 60m Rope Mammut Dyneema slings small x10 / long x4 Evolv Astroman Climbing Shoes
- • Gear Aid Tenacious Tape Patches
- • Garmin 62s GPS-w/ Ram Mount Cradle / EZ On/Off Mount
- • Canon T2i-Sigma 18-200mm Lens, extra battery/charger
- • Petzl-Corax Harness Reverso 3 Belay Device
- • BATTERIES-AA Batteries x6
- • Blackburn ATOM SL 5.0 CYCLOMETER
- • Ipod Touch 4th Gen-Skullcandy Ink'd 2.0 Earbuds (Equipped With Over 500
- • GoPro Hero3 Silver and White Edition-Charger and extra batteries x2
- • Metolius-Torque Nut Tool *-Chalk Bag Alpine PAS
- • Park Tool-VP-1C Patch Kit GP-2C Glueless Patch Kit (for small softgoods tears)
- •
- My Riding Gear -
- • Giro DND Gloves
- • Teva Zilch Sandals
- • Giro Westerly Wool Gloves
- • Smarwool Balaclava
- • Bell Super Helmet
- • Adidas Terrex Solo Stealth Shoes
- My Clothing -
- • Giro Rain Jacket
- • Giro High Neck Zip-Up
- • Giro CA Ride Crew
- • Icebreaker: Multisport Socks-x2
- • Giro Insulated Vest
- • Giro Merino Polo
- • Giro Merino Arm Warmers
- • Oasis Leggings
- • Giro Insulated Vest
- • Giro Mobility Overshort
- • Giro Merino Winter Wool Socks-x2
- • ExOffici0 Give-N-Go Boxer Briefs -x2
Sam Harney
- FROM: Canby, OR. USA
- DOB: 1988-08-12
- Single
- OCCUPATION: Gutter Cleaner
- What was the genesis moment or inspiration for your upcoming adventure? When Blackburn took us under their wing. We were only half serious about doing the ride beforehand and would not have done it at all this year without someone to report to.Thanks guys for the inspiration!
- What is your goal for the route? Have a better time on the road then I could have possibly had if I had stayed at home. I was having a pretty good time at home!
- Have you traveled by bike in the past? Yes. Pacific NW, SF-Palm Springs, Trans AM, Portland-Panama
- What do you hope to get out of this journey? A contact list full of new friends and some remarkable tan lines on my rippling thighs.
My Must Haves
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AK-47 keychain
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Stubbs Spicy BBQ Sauce
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Portrait of my buddy Taylor
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Big Buck Hunter