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Cass Gilbert has been touring regularly for more than a decade. He shares his writing and photography on his blog. This winter he is taking a break in New Mexico, but, if you’re new to his blog, the archives contain much of note. Just recently he posted a gear list for a short trip.
I first heard of the Defeet Duragloves when Andrew Skurka included the wool gloves in his gear list for the Alaska-Yukon Expedition back in 2010. I was impressed that he chose to carry only one pair of seemingly thin gloves for all but the coldest portions of the trip. At the time I had an old pair of Outdoor Research PL 400 Gloves that I was happy with for winter backcountry use, but I kept the wool Duragloves in the back of my head as a possible replacement when the time came.
I still have Outdoor Research PL 400 Gloves and I am still pleased with the warmth they provide for cold weather hiking, but I’ve never been satisfied with them on the bike. Even in cold temperatures, I always manage to work up a sweat when cranking on the pedals. The PL 400 gloves are just too warm for that application. This past October I decided to purchase a pair of the wool Duragloves to see if they would be better suited to fill that niche.
The wool Duragloves are a blend of 40% merino, 40% Cordura, and 20% Lycra. Their thickness is that of your typical liner glove. The palm and fingers are covered with rubber grippy things. My medium sized pair weigh exactly 2 oz.
The gloves are designed specifically to address the problem that I was having. They are meant as a cool weather cycling glove that don’t cause your hands to overheat and sweat on hard hill climbs, but still keep you warm on the descent.
Duragloves are not made to climb Mt. Everest. They are made to climb mountains at a hard pace, descend the other side, and do it over and over until your ride is done. Thin enough to ride at your maximum effort and still give you dexterity to fiddle around in your jersey for food. Thick enough to keep frostbite off your fingers at 50mph down alps still laden with snow.
I’ve worn my pair on every commute for the past three months and can report that they do exactly what they claim to do. Temperatures this winter have been anywhere between 30° and 45° Fahrenheit and raining more often than not. Throughout it all the Duragloves have kept me warm and comfortable, even when wet, and I’ve never felt the desire to take them off to cool down. The thinness of the glove means that very little dexterity is lost. I do not need to remove the gloves to manipulate objects with my hands. I’ve had them for too short a time to comment on durability – and, until a crash, riding a bike tends to not be very demanding of a glove’s durability – but given the blend of wool and synthetic materials, I’m confident that the gloves will fully satisfy my demands in that department.
I have tried using the gloves on backcountry trips. I still prefer the Outdoor Research gloves for that application. Walking does not consistently get my heart-rate up to the extent that riding a bike does, and the Duragloves are simply not warm enough to keep my hands comfortable during that activity. Used as a liner with an insulated mitten I’m sure they would be adequate, but I prefer to use a thicker glove with an uninsulated shell mitten.
My only complaint concerning the Duragloves are the rubber grippy things. They could be grippier. When wearing the gloves it is difficult for me to twist the bezel of my Fenix LD20 headlights to adjust their mode. This is not the case on a more general-purpose glove, such as Mechanix gloves or Kuiu Guide Gloves. Even the grippy things on my Outdoor Research PL 400 gloves, despite having been worn down for years, do a better job adjusting the lights.
I can work around the lack of grip (adjusting the lights is the only application where this has come up) and everything else about the gloves is close to perfect. They are an affordable, American-made glove intended for aerobic activity in cool conditions. If you’re looking for a glove in that department, the Duragloves are well worth your consideration.
Last March I bought a pair of Continental Ultra Gatorskin tires. Their flat protection proved to be excellent – I have not had a single flat with them – but I found the durability of the tread to be wanting. They are now worn down to the point where they are basically racing slicks, which, while fun, is certainly not appropriate for wet weather riding. I don’t own a cycling computer or keep track of my miles in any other way, so I’m not sure how many miles the tires have on them. I think it’s fair to say that I average about 500 miles a month. The tires are likely to be just shy of 5,000 miles. For a pricey tire like the Gatorskins, I’d prefer to see a bit more longevity.
The various tires in the Marathon series from Schwalbe have an excellent reputation among long distance riders, both in terms of flat protection and durability. Peter White maintains a description of the various models which helped me to understand the differences between them. I decided that the Marathon Supremes would be a good fit for my needs. They are normally absurdly expensive, but I was able to find a good deal and pick up a pair of them for about the same as what the Gatorskins would cost.
I’ve been using the Marathon Supremes for a week of wet riding now and I’m very pleased with them. They certainly offer better grip than my worn-down Gatorskins. I feel more confident when aggressively cornering with them. The reflective sidewall is a welcome addition to my dark commutes. Despite the Gatorskins being considered a “race” tire and the Marathon Supremes more of a general road-riding/commuting tire, I haven’t noticed a significant difference in speed or rolling resistance. With the Marathon Supremes, I’ve gone back to a 700x28 tire in place of the skinnier 700x25 size of my Gatorskins.
The Marathon Supremes were much easier to get on my rims than the Gatorskins, which makes me feel a little better about the prospect of fixing a flat with these tires. Of course, if I get a flat anytime within the next 5,000 miles, the tires will receive a negative mark in comparison against the Gatorskins.
The real question about the Marathon Supremes is durability. I’m looking forward to see how they handle this winter and how long they last into 2013.
I wish someone would make a tactical messenger bag.
Plenty of companies make what they claim to be a tactical messenger bag: 5.11, Spec-Ops, ITS, TAD, and Maxpedition to name a few. None of these fit the bill. Those bags are all what I would refer to as a side bag or a man-purse. I don’t use that term in a derogatory sense – they’re fine bags, but they’re not messenger bags.
For me, the defining characteristic of a messenger bag is that it designed to be worn on the back, not hanging down on one’s side. Timbuk2, Chrome, Seagull, and R.E.Load are examples of companies that make messenger bags. I want one of those bags, but with the excellent, so-called “tactical” features that the aforementioned companies bring to the market: appropriate use of PALS webbing1, ability to support concealed carry, a quick-access medical compartment2. (Oh, and velcro for my tacticool patches, of course.)
Try riding a bike with a tactical man-purse, and then try riding a bike with a messenger bag. It’s easy to see why anyone with “messenger” in their job title carries an actual messenger bag. The practicality of such a bag isn’t limited to just the bicycle market: try running, or performing any physical activity (particularly a violent one, as might be required by someone with “tactical” in their job title) with a bag flapping on your side. It doesn’t work. Some companies have tried to address this by adding a stabilizing strap to help lock the bag in place. That’s a fine addition, but it is no replacement for a bag that is properly designed in the first place.
I can’t recognize any advantages that the man-purse offers over the messenger bag. The messenger bag, on the other hand, offers distinct advantages over the man-purse.
I began to read his blog last summer, when he was riding from Anchorage down along the continental divide. It’s a great blog, and his gear is clearly heavily used and carefully chosen. Recently, he has discussed his cook kit, tools, luggage, clothing, electronics, and his bike and the changes it has gone through.
But I did get out for a ride along the Snohomish and Skykomish rivers on Saturday.
She quit her job as a London bike messenger and left the UK in September of 2011. Currently she is in Korea, having cycled across Eurasia. I was made aware of her blog a couple months ago and was immediately hooked. I went back to the very beginning and read the blog all the way through. There are not very many blogs out there that I can say that about.
Late Saturday morning I loaded up my bike and took off for the mountains. The plan was to head out to Granite Falls, pick up the Mountain Loop Highway, and spend the night somewhere around Barlow Pass. The following day I would continue along the highway to Darrington and head back to Everett to complete the loop.
The way out of town is an unremarkable ride along the shoulders of two state highways. It doesn’t take long to reach Granite Falls, where the Mountain Loop Highway begins.
I’ve driven the highway into the mountains countless of times – many of my favorite trailheads are located off of it – but this was the first time I had pedalled it. The highway itself doesn’t get too high. The highest point is probably a little under 3,000 feet, but I was starting from sea-level, so there were a few hills to climb. I shifted down to my granny gear and prepared to spin my way up, past the quarries and mines and the masonic park that always gives me a slight feeling of discomfort. The National Forest begins near the top.
After entering the forest the highway follows along next to the south fork of the Sauk, which makes for a pleasant, flat-ish ride, with very little motorized traffic to interfere. Most of the established camp grounds are closed this time of year – “closed” being National Forest Service code for empty and free.
I had initially intended to spend the night somewhere along this stretch, but it was only mid-afternoon. I decided to head a bit further and camp around Barlow Pass. The pavement ends at the pass and the highway loops down and out of the mountains along a narrow gravel road. When I reached the pass the Sheriff was there, sorting through his ring of hundreds of keys, attempting to locate the one to unlock the gate at the start of the road to Monte Cristo. Apparently a young boy was hiking out there with his family and cut himself on a piece of old mining equipment. The search and rescue team were on their way up but would need to get through the gate. It must have been some cut to warrant the response.
There was plenty of light left at the pass. I amended my plan once more and took off down the unpaved section of road, deciding to camp somewhere in the woods below. The road is in pretty decent condition, by Forest Service standards. There aren’t too many potholes and the gravel isn’t layed on too thick. It makes for a bumpy ride, but my skinny 700x25 tires handled it fine. I pulled over for a quick dinner at 6PM and then got back on the road, intending to ride till 7PM. That would give me about 30 minutes to make camp before it got dark.
At 7PM I found myself near a picnic area with a short trail that led into the woods to a small clearing with a table and enough room for a tarp. I pitched camp there and went to bed not long after.
The morning was chill. I rose with the sun. After fueling up with oatmeal I shook the frost off my tarp and packed everything back on the bike. I only had a couple bumpy miles to pedal before reaching the pavement again.
I was perhaps too optimistic when I packed only fingerless gloves. The cold air caused a sharp pain in my fingertips. I stoked the furnace a bit by breaking off a few hunks from a bar of dark chocolate that I kept readily accessible in my frame bag. Either the chocolate or the rising sun worked.
At Darrington I reached the end of the Mountain Loop Highway. The next leg of the trip would be along SR 530. It was the stretch I was looking forward to most. I had never ridden it before, but each time I drove along it the road struck me as a wonderful stretch of pavement to pedal. It travels through the foothills of the Cascades, along pastoral scenes set against mountain backdrops. Horses and cows outnumber motorized traffic.
The road lived up to my expectations. I cruised along the meandering highway until reaching Arlington in the late morning. There I stopped at the Shire Cafe (in the same building as the Mirkwood game store, Mordor tattoo, and Rivendell hair salon) for a breakfast burrito – enough fuel for 53 miles. A block away I picked up the Centennial Trail.
I pedalled down the trail, though the woods of the county, before cutting west out to Marysville, from where I went over the sloughs and the Snohomish river to complete my loop back in Everett. In town I detoured to the waterfront farmer’s market to conclude the trip with an apple and baguette of victory.
This is the best ride I’ve yet to do all within Snohomish County. The route looked roughly like this. I think that my mileage was closer to 130 miles. The trip could probably be done in a full day, but I enjoyed it as a leisurely overnight trip. It took me 26 hours, door to door.
