Sam Harney
Great Divide
Seeley Lake, MT
Rolling into Missoula with no place to stay and hoping to take a few rest days, we had no choice but to stay with “some old guy" from warmshowers. That same old guy was the only person in Missoula willing to host us on such short notice. Shame on us that age would even cross our minds when searching for a host. What was our last hope for a place to stay in town turned out to be, only from what I can imagine, the best place to stay in all of Montana. Bruce Anderson, the owner, is a man of values I can only hope to have one day. We arrived at the huge, beautiful home on 240 Daly to an open door policy to ANY and ALL touring cyclists. 10 tents set up in the front yard and people sleeping on couches and the floor throughout the house type of place. The type of place every single guest in that house dreams about being put up in. It was so great to spend time and listen to stories from fellow cyclists from all over the world, traveling in every direction imaginable. With a few days of resting up, repairing and waiting for a dear friend to arrive who would join us the next few weeks of the ride, I got to focus on slimming down my bike as much as possible. There was a care package from Blackburn waiting for me in town that I had eagerly been awaiting since the first few days of the trip. Inside the package turned out to be a life saver and a total game changer. It was time to ditch the rear rack, panniers and handlebar bag. It was time that I experience the true bikepacking setup I should have started with from the beginning. With more than 85lbs on my bike at times, I was going to do everything I could to drop every ounce. The more and more I started to remove items I felt weren't absolutely necessary, the easier and easier it became, until there wasn't a thing left that wasn't crucial to the ride. All in all, after the new setup and everything I had sent home, I had dropped over 20lbs from my bike! I actually couldn't wait now until we hit the road again.
- 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