100 lb+ loads

[5thdown]

What does a rider carry that makes up 100-120 pounds? I am talking additional weight and not counting bike or trailer. Are these riders carefull to avoid long grades (miles long) above 4%? I read about many rides in the "Register Your Ride" section of the site where riders pedal thousands of miles with loads exceeding 100lbs. How is this done? Do they go 6MPH on a flat grade? Do they travel more than 50 miles in a day? Does all this weight take a toll on the legs and feet? If you have experience here, I would like to hear from you.

[RussellSeaton]

No experience with 100+ pound loads, but I am sure mine are around 50 pounds including the food and water.  And I do not travel with tent, sleeping bag, pad, cookware, stove.  Just lots of clothes, tools, and other necessary stuff.  If I added a larger, heavy 8 pound tent, 3 pound bag, 2 pound pad, 6 pounds of cookware and fuel bottle, and pounds of rice, pasta, food to my usual load, I could get to 70 pounds pretty easily.  And if I had one of those big heavy SLR cameras with several lenses, then that is another 10 pounds.  I use a small camera on tours.  Its not hard to add up the weight if you are not very conscious of minimizing it and not taking anything that is not absolutely necessary.  And unless you actively try to finda and buy the lightest stuff possible, its easy to add an extra 5 pounds on a tent, 2 pounds on a sleeping bag, 1 pound on a stove, etc.

[driftlessregion]

Well, 10 MPH on the flats maybe.
This and the previous string are interesting because there has long been an assumption in touring circles that lighter is better. The friends I mentioned earlier that took everything but the proverbial kitchen sink were quite happy and didn't need anyone telling them it was too much!  Not my way of traveling but then I don't go super light either. The point is to take what fits with your notion of what is important on a tour. I don't need 10# of photog equipment but I do need that heavy pad and maybe even a pint of good single malt whiskey. The photographer will sleep on rocks before giving up his high zoot lenses. Some are leery about traveling without 10# of tools. They get nervous if they can't fix things in the middle of nowhere.  Who am I to say that is too heavy? My preference is to have every thing nearly new so nothing breaks down but that may not always be possible. We have different values and if the bike keeps moving forward that's all that really matters. Happy trails everyone.

[biker_james]

Well, I weighed my bikw after one tour, and it was 100 pounds, including the bike. That was without any water though, so that could be another 10 pounds. What makes it heavy? 3 man tent for the wife and I, groundsheet, sleeping bag and sleeping pad, camera, tools, water filter, stove & fuel, rain gear, cold weather gear, bike cover, tire pump, spare tire, folding camp stool (does someone make a titanium one?). This year, i took both a still and video camera, as well as the related chargers. And a second pair of shoes (Holey Soles-not necessary., but pretty light)
My wife carries the cookset, as well as necessities like a pepper grinder, and olive oil and balsamic vinegar. I think she packs more clothing than I do also. Her load comes in less than mine by 10 lbs or so.
Even with this load, we average about 20km/h ( about 12.5 mph) on flattish terrain, and  it is quite easy to go 25km+ on actual flat ground, if you can find any. You may only go 10kmh uphill (6mph), whats the rush? Our longest days fully loaded go up to 160km (100 miles).
We used to carry less, but didn't travel noticeably faster or further, so I'm not sure what the downside is.