you just have to have a different mind set of what is needed, and it has a very direct impact on how hard things are physically--and there is always going to be another hill...
Bold added. You are speaking to "the norm". I am not "the norm" and thus there are lots of "noisy" replies.
That is exactly why I made the following comments in another thread here (you can click the square carat next to my username in the quote to link back to the post, and thread, where the quote is from to read more if you wish):
Originally Posted by
KC8QVO
Also - do realize that, as has been discussed in this and other threads, your ideas on gear (shelters, heat, cooking) and ways of going about your type of touring is most certainly not the norm here on Bike Forums. That, I believe, is the root of the question/concern in some of the "noise makers". You are (and I am as well, as already noted) an odd-ball. Don't take that in the wrong way, we all only live once and however odd of a path we want to go down we should go down. Just be prepared for the noise because it isn't mainstream. There is a difference between being an odd fit looking for guidance/assistance and those trying to offer guidance/assistance. I think that is where the previously removed post was getting at with trying to assist you seeming like a waste of their time. I'm not in to politics, however its like a die-hard democrat trying to have a conversation about the same topic as a die-hard republican. Not only is it a challenge for them to have discussion, it is a challenge for them to even understand what they are discussing to begin with. Not picking any sides, the point is - audiences vary. If you are speaking to an audience on a subject that is foreign to them, or outside their wheel-houses, or worse - frowned upon by the audience, you are bound to get noisy replies.
We all only live once and however odd of a path we want to go down we should go down.
What the "norm" is gets back to efficiency - transportation efficiency. Transportation efficiency isn't a trumping factor to my style of riding. I like to be comfortable and enjoy my time "out" (away, outside, in the woods, etc). That is also why I don't slam the miles. I want to enjoy my breakfast and coffee in the morning. If it takes me 3 hours from the time I get up to eat, have my coffee, and break camp then fine. That 3 hours doesn't eat in to my target 100 miles for the day. My body wouldn't hold up to that from the get go, but even if I set a goal of 60 miles a day that would be a lot and would require stricter use of time off of riding to allow more time for riding. That isn't what my trips are all about. I do travel by bicycle - but at a much more relaxed and laid back pace to enjoy where I am and other things while off the bike than what appears to be the "norm".
That isn't a bad thing, it is just different. Two different mindsets, two different philosophies.
That having been said, yeah there are ways to trim down - but the decision on what to trim down/out and where requires, at the moment, sacrificing the utility of something by not having it. I'm not going to go spending money on new gear. For example - winter cycling boots with SPD clips and rain gear. In both of those areas I could shave several pounds by buying different gear. Therefore I am retaining the utility of the items by substituting them with gear that will do the job, just at a weight reduction. The several hundred dollars required to do that isn't worth the weight reduction - to me. To gram counters it may, but not to me.
Another point is the shelter options. In another couple threads I've had here recently I've tossed around ideas for shelter options, lighter tents, etc to possibly trim some load there. However, after this trip I have to say that I don't think it is worth it to swap the tent I have for anything else - even with the weight. The protection it offers, to me, stands higher on the list than dropping a couple lbs with a lighter option. For a short trip of a few days there would be some merit to a lighter tent where it would be possible to get a more reasonable outlook on what the weather is going to do, but for a couple weeks or more and the likelihood of stronger/poorer weather going up with a less accurate outlook on weather conditions that far out I would feel a lot better having the tent I already have.
So yea, we definitely have different mindsets. Transportation efficiency is a consideration, but in my case that isn't a trumping factor as it appears to you and most people on the forum. What trumps in my realm is comfort in the conditions and enjoying the trip + places I go and where I camp.
You can make the argument that more gear = more suffering on the trip by making the riding more miserable, but I don't see it as that - to the same extent. Weight is weight, yes, but the benefits to having the gear along means I have options and stuff to match conditions so I am more comfortable on my travels. There is a balance there, yes, and where I put emphasis in gear selections and preferences is definitely not what the norm is - I realize that. Hence the quoted comments.
To each their own.
I am putting a video together on the trip - mostly the gear break-down but I do have a slideshow in there also. It should be up this afternoon. I'll put that in a new thread since it would be buried deep in this one by now.