Water Weight
One of the challenges of our trip through the Carrizo Plain and Sespe was that there were little to no services for very long stretches. That means no stores, few residences and unreliable creek beds. The problem is compounded by the fact that few people travel the route we took. On one day, we were passed by all of two cars. One of which, was a ranger who saw our bicycle tracks on the dirt road and came up to see who these crazy people on a bike could be.
All this meant that we had to carry water and lots of it. We were aiming to carry approximately 2 gallons per person. This can be tricky on a bike. Not everyone had the same equipment, so we each had to find a way to carry our respective water weight and this created an interesting situation in which we could compare different means to carry water.
Stomach
I mention this only half-facetiously but IT IS important to drink as much water as you can when it is readily available. The less thirsty you are when you set out, the less you’ll have to take from your stores when you’re on the road. We made it a point to drink a lot of water when it was available.
Water Bottles
We all had water bottles and none of them failed. I carried three 27oz Kleen Kanteens. Two of them were on my bike and one was tucked inside a pannier. In addition, I also had a plastic water bottle that I took with me from the Great Western Bike Rally. I used it to bathe with since I could squeeze a jet of water in…places. I suppose the only downside to water bottles is that most bikes aren’t equipped to carry more than two of them. If I were going to do a lot of touring in remote places, I might find ways to mount more of them on the bike, like the Salsa Fargo.
Plastic Gallon Jugs
This is the cheapest and probably most readily available method of carrying water. You can get these in almost any super market. The KEY to using the plastic jug method is to get one which has a THREADED cap and not the “pop top” which is so common these days. The reason why this is important is that you may have to bungee the jug to a rack and a jug of the “pop top” variety will burst open spilling water all over the road.
Chris and Michael both were carrying gallon jugs they survived intact for the most part. However, on one particularly bumpy stretch, the top happened to unscrew itself. Check the tops periodically, especially over bumpy terrain.
You can either bungee these to a rack or use a strap (like a toe-strap, or those strap that Riv sells) and tie them off the D-ring of a Carradice. When they’re empty, they weigh nothing, but can be a little bulky.
Mini Water Cooler Jugs
Our friend Jenny spotted these in a market in Paso Robles. They resemble the large water cooler jugs you may have in your office, but smaller. The plastic was harder and seemed more durable than the regular gallon jugs. The cap threading was also a lot more confidence inspiring. The cost was negligible so it seemed like a better way to go.
Things were fine for a few days then Laura sprung a leak with her jug that was strapped to her Jannd Extreme Front rack. A closer inspection showed that the mini water cooler jug had cracked! The 8 hours of bouncing along dirt washboard had fatigued the stiff plastic to the point of cracking. The cheaper gallon jugs seemed to handle the bumps better exactly because they weren’t as stiff and the material would give way.
Jenny carried a mini cooler jug and had no problems. She, however, didn’t have it strapped down to a rack. Instead it was suspended from her handlebars, bound by some bungees and nylon rope.
If you plan to use these and are strapping it to a rack, it would be beneficial to place a sweater between the jug and the rack to help cushion the bumps, especially if you’re going over rough terrain!
Dromedary Bags
There were three types of dromedary bags that were being used on the trip. Laura and I had MSR dromedary bags. Jenny carried a combination of Platypus bags and a Camelback bladder with hose.
After using the MSR Dromedary bag in this situation, I have to say that I highly recommend them! They have a tough outer Cordura nylon shell that will take abrasions without splitting open. They also have a strap that runs through grommets around the bag that you can use as lashing points. At first, I strapped the drom bag to my folding chair that was in turn bungeed to my rack pack. I found that over time, the drom bag would slide down because of the weight of the water. In the end, the most ideal placement for me was to use toe-straps to lash the drom bag to the loops on my Brooks saddle. This kept the weight in a nice centered position on a piece of equipment that was designed to bear the weight.
Jenny’s Platypus bags worked well, but didn’t have any outer lashing points and the plastic was a little less resistant to abrasions. She had to place them in her panniers to carry them. She also experienced some problems with using the bare Camelback bladder. Since it had a built in tube and valve, it couldn’t be put under bungees. The pressure from the bungees would squeeze the water out of the valve.
Conclusion
Of the the various methods, the common milk gallon jug was the least expensive solution that provided pretty good results. The Platypus bags and Camelback bladder worked well, but their downside is that they can’t be readily lashed on to the bike (with bungees…I suppose if you had cam straps it would work) but have to be carried in a pannier taking up precious volume.
For me, I prefer and highly recommend the MSR Dromedary bags. Laura and I both each had a 6 liter bag and had no problems with them. They’re tough, reliable and can be lashed to the bike in a multitude of ways. They also aren’t that expensive when compared to a Platypus or Camelback system. When not in use, they can be folded up and take less volume than even the gallon jugs. Another plus is that they worked well with the MSR water filter we were using.
I find that they were a good investment and literally a life saver on our recent trip.
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Russ,
I’ll be in a similar situation on my trip with two friends from SF to LA. I leave tomorrow and start heading south the day after. While the stretches between services may not be as far as the one’s you’ve experienced, I realize that I will be cooking, a lot. which means my three bottles won’t cut it. I went to my local REI and picked up a platypus as you mentioned. The model I purchased is a 2 liter one. I’m hoping it will work out. In the past I’ve carried one 2 liter soda bottle, but went with the platypus for this trip because my water won’t be stored, but out in the sun on the top of my rack all day.
-K.C.
KC.
Good luck with your trip. Let me know if you pass through Long Beach. The Platypus you have should work fine since you’ll be pretty near population centers. Look for errant garden hoses (a good source for water in the “wild”).
When you guys get near Goleta, be sure to camp at Refugio State Beach. Best H/B site in So. Cal.
If you have the time and are passing through Ventura…take an inland route to Lake Casitas or Ojai. You can camp at Lake Casitas ($25/site but you can split it) and there’s a nice site in Upper Ojai Valley near Dennison Grade.
Morro Bay also has a nice one by a golf course. Leo Carrillo is the last halfway decent one until you get to San Clemente.
Anyway…have fun!
Russ
Great topic Russ. I was thinking about how you and your group carried water through Carrizo. I have one of those MSR bags and thought that might be a good option. Glad to see I was on to something!
Errin
The other nice thing about those MSR bags is that they can be converted into a camelbak style bag. MSR sells a hose and valve attachment.
They now make an on/off valve for camelback bladders. I’m sure they don’t work as well as the MSR or platypus bladders, but it might make a cheap conversion if you already have the camelback.
http://www.rei.com/product/668226
Tavis thanks for that link! I wonder if that would work. I have a CB bladder laying around. Might just try it out!
I’m ordering cage mounts from Jensen for the front forks of my Surly TC for a two week tour of the Blue Ridge Parkway. They’re not pretty, but should work.
Thanks, Jack
here’s the link. I would be interested if anyone has tried after market cage mounts on the front forks.
http://www.jensonusa.com/store/product/HY308Z16-Elite+Vip+Universal+Cage+Mount.aspx
Russ, I am enjoying reading about your adventure, Ride On!
Just wanted to mention there is also a “shower” attachment for the MSR dromedary bag. You can hang the bag with some rope and turn it into a decent little heaven (I mean shower).
Pathless peddler(s),
People really like Ortlieb water bags. For example:
http://www.hobobiker.com/were_getting_showers_even_when_wild_camping
You can get them in up to 10L capacity. In addition to keeping you nice and hydrated, you can get a shower attachment and hang them from a tree - et voila, you’re spankin clean. well, almost.
http://www.ortliebusa.com/CartGenie/prod-66.htm
10L sounds like a lot, but I know I’ve burnt through that much in a day of biking plus a night of cooking and camping.
Best Wishes.
For some time I’ve been saving 5 liter bladders from wine boxes with the intention of converting them to extra large hydration bladders by finding some fittings for a drinking tube. I suppose they would also work well as-is (are) for transporting water. They each have a tap built into the stopper, which could be useful. I can’t say how durable they would be, but plan to soon find out. The only potential problems I can see are that the stopper is a hard plastic molded piece that snaps in tightly and can be difficult to remove. Over time, wrestling with it might stress the bladder material or the junction with the neck. Also, you must first consume the 5 liters of wine.
I’ll jump on the bandwagon for the MSR dromedary bags- Jo and I have a 6L and 10L bag, plus a 3L Hydromedary, and they’re all fantastic. I’d highly recommend checking out the Hydromedary as a great compromise between the simpler dromedary bags and a camelback bladder- the Hydromedary has the same ultra-durable outer shell of the dromedarys, but has a much more substantial-feeling bite valve setup with an integrated shutoff, so you could still bungee it without worrying about over-pressuring the bite valve. Oh, and it comes with a clip to attach the tube to whatever you want for convenience.
I’ve not tried this, but I think it may be possible that the tube is long enough to mount the hydromedary towards the top of either a front or rear rack such that you could still drink out of it without unpacking or even necessarily having to stop. If you’re using a front rack, I could definitely see this working perfectly- just something to consider.
If you had set the mini water cooler jug upright if it would have failed? On the pallet in transport, they are stacked four high and must have a minimal burst rate in that configuration. The bottom of the mini water jug seems more sturdy and should be able to withstand more flexing. On a bike, upright would shift your center of gravity a bit higher, of course, but it might be worth it.
Cheers,
Matt
I may have missed it, but has anyone actually tried using/wearing a CB to haul the cooking, ect. water?
or how about stuffing a couple of platypi/CB bladders into a day pack?
No one used a CB on the trip as a backpack…just the bladder wrapped in a pillow case.
Russ,
I just ran across this article-
http://recklesscognition.wordpress.com/2009/01/13/methods-for-attaching-water-bottle-cages-without-screws-and-bosses/
I ran into that article after seeing a LHT with the Profile seat(rail/post) cages on it.
we like to use Spanish-made leather bota bags to carry extra water. on a trip where we know service stops are going to be sparse, we each carry two 3-liter bags and that’s about 2 gallons with our on-bike bottles. we only fill them up as needed and tuck them into the panniers when empty. i find them pretty easy to lash to the sides of my panniers or top of my rack and having two bags makes it easier to distribute the weight. but the real reason i like these bags is just because the leather looks and feels so nice and rugged. makes us feel like a couple of Clint Eastwoods crossing the desert.