2016 JayP's Backyard FAT Pursuit 200K Gear List

Winter ultra endurance races have been around since the first Iditabike took place on the Iditarod Trail in 1987. As fat bike technology has improved, the popularity of winter endurance racing has exploded and racers can now choose from the Tuscobia 150, Arrowhead 135, White Mountains 100, Susitna 100 and the Iditarod Trail Invitational. JayP’s Fat Pursuit 200K/200M is the newest addition to this list of ultras and is destined to be a winter classic.

Like most of the winter ultra races, the Fat Pursuit has a “Required Gear” list designed to keep the racers safe in case of emergency.

Fat Pursuit 200K/200M Required Gear:

• Front and rear safety lights. White front, red rear
• Headlamp or bike light
• Ability to carry 48oz of water without freezing
• 0*F sleeping bag or colder
• Insulated sleeping pad – minimum size 20″x 48″
• Bivy sac or tent
• Insulated jacket (puffy)
• Stove, fuel, 16 oz. pot
• Fire starter, lighter and / or matches
• Extra batteries for both your safety lights and headlamp
• Map (provided)
• SPOT locator beacon

Fat Pursuit 200K/200M Recommended Gear:

• Gore Tex Jacket
• Spare gloves, hat, socks
• Ability to carry 100oz water
• Calories
• Thermos…nice treat!
• Goggles
• GPS, compass, watch, computer

Fully-Loaded and front-end heavy

What did I carry in 2016?

In hindsight, I would say that I carried too much gear & extra clothing and I will look for ways to lighten my load in 2017. I intentionally did not weigh my bike when it was fully loaded but I am sure it was well over 50 lbs and probably closer to 60 lbs. I took a pile of gear with me to Island Park and then made my final selection based on the last weather forecast before the race.

Bike

• 2016 Salsa Beargrease 
• 90mm Light-Bicycle carbon rims 
• 26 x 4.0” 45Nrth VanHelga tires setup tubeless with 6oz of Stans in each tire
• SRAM 1x11 Drivetrain with 26T front chainring

Testing my load at home prior to the race

Bags & Attachments

• Expedition Pogies – Revelate Designs
• Frame Bag - Revelate Designs
• (2) Mtn Feed bags – Revelate Designs
• Gas Tank – Revelate Designs
• Jerry Can  - Revelate Designs
• Harness (for sleep system)  – Revelate Designs
• Handlebar Pocket – Revelate Designs
• BarYak rails & cross bar - BarYak
• Compression Dry Bag (for sleep system) – Granite Gear XL
• Seat Bag – Carousel Design Works
• Downtube Bag – Bedrock Bags

Repair Kit

Bike Repair

• (2) Tubes
• Lezyne Multi-tool
• Lezyne hand pump
• Tire lever
• (2) 11spd Quick-links
• Gorilla tape 
• Valve core remover
• (6) Zip-ties

Kovea Spider Stove

Gear

• Niteride Lightning Bug 3.0 & Stinger 10 - Front and rear safety lights
• Lupine Piko headlamp with extra batteries
• Osprey 3L hydration pack under jacket
• 24oz Polar Insulated water bottle
• Western Mountaineering Puma MF -25F Sleeping Bag
•  Thermarest 20” x 48” sleeping pad 
•  SOL Emergency Bivy
•  Kovea Spider Stove, Snow Peak 700 Ti pot, 110g Isobutane fuel canister
• Aluminum folding  windscreen
• Fire starter, BIC lighter and storm proof matches
• Lithium AA / CR2032 / CR2450 extra batteries
• Garmin eTrex Vista Hcx GPS loaded with 200K route
• Garmin Edge 500 (battery died at 15.5 hours)
• Cue Sheet
• SPOT Gen3 (rented)

Sock Layers

Feet

• Lake MXZ 303 shoes, size 48 Wide (3 sizes larger than my normal shoes)
• Crescent Moon neoprene shoe covers
• Cabelas poly liner socks
• RAB Vapor Barrier socks
• Bridgedale Summit Socks 

Body

• Bib Shorts
• Toko Nordic Pants
• Craft Mesh Tank base layer
• Craft Pro Zero Extreme LS base layer
• Merino Wool SS jersey
• Cloudveil Softshell Jacket
• Craft Active Skull Cap
• Original Buff (on and off as needed)
• Oakley sunglasses, clear lenses
• Pearl Izumi PRO liner gloves
• OR PL400 fleece mittens (at night)

Extra Clothes (carried on bike)

• Feathered Friends down jacket
• Patagonia Nano Puff Vest
• Montbell Rain Shell
• Extra pair of fleece mittens
• Extra pair of fleece gloves
• Extra Craft Active Skull Cap
• Extra Original Buff

Personal Items

Personal Items

• (3) Pairs HotHands hand warmers
• (2) Pairs Grabber Insole foot warmers
• Small packet of chamois cream
• Dermatone
• Advil
• Vasoline 
• Ear plugs
• iPod Shuffle w/single ear bud

Lupine Piko Headlamp - One of my gear MVPs

Final thoughts on the gear I used in 2016

My gear choices leaned to the side of comfort vs. speed this year. I can make a few changes to lighten my load and still meet the requirements of the race. If the forecast were to call for temps well below zero, my load would obvious get heavier.

Gear MVPs

• Salsa Beargrease:  This fat bike rides more like a “mountain bike” than any other fat bike I have ridden and the geometry is perfect. 
• Lupine Piko headlamp:  The Piko has up to 1200 lumens if needed as well as the ability to customize the output and battery runtime by programming the PCS switch. I ran my Piko on the middle (4W) setting that produces 470 lumens and conserves battery power.
• RAB Vapor Barrier socks:  The RAB VB socks have taped seams, which prevent moisture from getting to your insulating socks & shoes. 
• Patagonia Nano Puff vest:  The Nano Puff is a lightweight, compressible layer that adds a lot of warmth for its weight. I bought this vest one size too large so it would easily fit over my jacket + hydration pack. 

Gear that won’t make the cut in 2017

• 45Nrth VanHelga tires:  I love these tires…but I will choose something with more float next year.
• Montbell Rain Shell: A full-on rain jacket is overkill & too bulky. A water resistant wind shell would be ideal and would pack down much smaller.
• Western Mountaineering Puma MF -25F Sleeping Bag:  This is not a camping trip. I will carry a 0F sleeping bag instead. 
• Thermarest 20” x 48” sleeping pad: Again, this is not a camping trip. 
• Osprey 3L hydration bladder:  My bladder leaked at the first checkpoint and this could have ended my race prematurely. It is too easy to cross-thread the lid on the Osprey bladder when refilling at checkpoints. 

Thanks for reading!