Re: hydration packs…all that weight on your shoulder leads to fatigue that you don’t need IMHO…keep as much weight on the bike as possible
Re: tires - (should be its own thread) I went with a knobby WTB riddler (was supposed to be wet but was dry) and it sucked. flatted twice and my teammate (who did’nt flat) had the pathfinders with the solid center tread bead is what you need to repel the flint. Not sure what the course is but ours was north and there were only 4-6 sections where i was worried about side walls. Where the rubber meets the road i where you want it and traction is not that bad where any time you need it its predictable to speed check and not need aggressive knob (this isn’t a CX race)
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I’ll just chime in and say that in my experience, I haven’t found tread to really have any impact on punctures. I’ve ran the 650b x 47mm pathfinders on some ridiculously chunky and rocky mtb trails on bikepacking trips with no punctures, and I’ve also sliced open some Rene Herse knobbies on far less gnarly stuff. The way I look at it is that if yo happen to ride over something sharp enough to cut your tires, you’ll flat regardless of the tire you’re running. Obviously tire casing has some impact, but I think at race speeds, if something is sharp enough to flat you on one tire, it almost certainly would do the same on any other tire with identical line selection.
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Sounds reasonable. I think I’ll go weak mix in the pack alongside regular gels for the beginning of the race and for near the end, fewer gels with stronger mix in the bottles, garnished by whatever dirt I’ve picked up.
On gravel races, I’ve noticed that full bottles are more likely to fly out of the cage if they’re full due to the increased inertia. That’s the main reason I can think of for drinking the bottles early, though I have invested in some very solid cages to prevent that.
I’m actually going to be selling mine. Im selling my old bike and putting on the stock tires. Mine has 30 miles of wear on them so pretty much new
It’s an obvious thing but bears repeating: test whatever setup you’re going to use before race day. Last year I waffled and only used a pack at the last minute for reasons and I can’t imagine it helped with the body fatigue I felt later in the day. The pack is convenient to be sure, but for me you have no idea how much you’ve drank, it’s heavy and it’s hot.
This year I plan on 3 bottles in cages and 2 additional in a frame bag that I can swap in when the others are empty. Used arundel mandibles last year and didn’t come close to ejecting a bottle so 
that continues this year. But first, I’m going to test this out on some rides first…
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Snacks and phone are going in a small frame bag or out-front burrito-style bag. My new bike is an XS frame so room is suuuuuper limited for frame bag and bottle cages
Skratch is going in the hydration pack, 1-2 frozen-solid water bottles in cages, depending on if the frame bag allows room.
Tools, tubes, mechanical stuff in the bottom pouch of the hydration pack.
This will be my first Unbound event. Doing the 200. I haven’t read anyone discuss listening to music during the race. I have done several long (200+) rides and I do like to use music at times. I rode in the Hondo gravel event last year (119 miles) and it was located in a similar part of Kansas. My spotify app couldn’t pick up a signal and at some point I gave up on the music. What are people planning/ thoughts on this topic? thanks
Use the offline setting on Spotify. Will save battery and there will be unserviced areas.
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I’m glad you brought this up because I hadn’t even thought about it! Definitely going to need the distraction.
I love the solitude of the hours out on the Kansas Prairie listening to nature but that’s just me. but definitely you’re not gonna get a cell signal so download any music and I would use wired earphones not wireless. And in my opinion don’t put them in if you’re riding with a group
You will have a lot of lonely time on the 200. I went slower just to have someone to talk to after 10 hours
In 2019 I rode hours 4-16 pretty much solo. My “favorite” part was the last two hours in the dark listening to crickets/frogs and looking at the stars. Once I realized I wasn’t going to beat the sun, I let go and tried to appreciate the beauty
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I was the same way at mile 155 stop. I no longer cared about my time and it became so much more enjoyable
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A fully charged set of Shokz lasts forever. pause button easily accessable and you can hear the Kansas Prairie or the group you’re in OR music without anything IN your ear.
If you’re using a cell phone for music, you’re also going to want to make sure you put as many apps into battery mode/force stop as possible. No reason to have reddit/twitter/ring doorbell polling a cell tower every 5 minutes and then spamming you with notifications. Not like you can do anything about it.
Strava on the other hand…
Being in the SF Bay Area I have a dearth of gravel rollers available. Looking at TR workouts, Seems a workout from the Tempo> Interval are about as close as we’re going to get in the form of roller simulation.
Opinions?
bit of a drive, but some rolling gravel out here in the foothills off Highway 16 starting at Rancho Murietta and headed up above Hwy 49 towns of Sutter Creek and Plymouth.
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What is everyone using as their drop-bags with crew-for-hire?
Will a standard duffle work (assuming it meets their “carry-on” size limit)?
If it meets their size limit I wouldn’t see that as a problem. Last year I just used a couple of large-ish dry bags. But I really didn’t put that much stuff in there.
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Reusable grocery bags worked fine for me
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Dry bags… nice! I didn’t think of those and weather protection was an issue I had thought of.