Bailey Newbrey - My Tour Divide Race Gear Setup
Congratulations to Salsa rider Bailey Newbrey for an incredible ride in the 2018 Tour Divide Race. Bailey finished his ride as 1st place singlespeeder, and 2nd place overall in his journey from Banff, Alberta, Canada to Antelope Wells, New Mexico. Below, he shares a bit on his bike choice and supporting gear for the 2700-plus mile event.
The Tour Divide is a demanding race. Not only physically and mentally, but also on one’s bike and equipment. Finding the right mix of gear that’s tough enough to survive yet light and packable enough to be towed across the country can be tough. Thankfully, my friends make the absolute best tools for the job.
I’ll be riding a Salsa Cycles Woodsmoke paired with their Firestarter fork. Whisky Parts Co. bars, seatpost, and rims give an optimal mix of comfort, low weight, and high durability, while the Sinewave Beacon serves the dual purposes of illuminating my path and keeping my GPS unit charged. In addition, I’m utilizing a mix of bags from Salsa, JPaks, Porcelain Rocket, and Must-Stache to carry all my gear to the Mexican border.
But just what goes in all those bags?
My Salsa EXP Series Toptube Bag will carry things I want easy access to. Charging cords, a wall charger, my knife, sunscreen, external battery, chapstick, and rope to hang my food are what will ride up top.
The Must-Stache feedbag will keep all snacks I’ll need and more close at hand.
PHOTO PASSPORT
The JPaks framebag is divided into three sections. In the map pocket I keep my passport, spare lithium ion batteries, spare brake pads, lube, and toolkit. The bottom portion, which I hope to not use, holds two tubes and tire levers, a water filter, and small medical kit. The top pocket on the bag primarily contains my clothing. Rain jacket, vest, wool knee and arm warmers, wool socks, rain mitts, rain pants, and a pump round out the contents of the framebag.
In a Porcelain Rocket seatbag I keep my sleep system. Bivy with a quilt inside, sleeping pad, puffy jacket, and wool shorts.
And that’s it! Add in myself, and all this stuff represents my Tour Divide Blue Dot.
Follow along on the last days of my ride, and the rides of all the other folks via Trackleaders!