patrick767 said:
One thing maybe those of you familiar with such events might know: he mentions camping. How much gear is involved here? Are these riders kitted out with full backpacking gear even up to and including a tent?
Backpacks seems to be used a lot. The fast men are going ultra light. I rememer pics of the two leaders a few years ago. All the gear for one of them was packed into a seat bag that was a little larger than a football and what looked to be a bedroll was strapped to his handle bars. Neither were using backpacks. From the looks of it, their gear probably weighed less than twenty pounds. It would be interesting to see a comprehensive gear list.
Tarp tents seem to be popular. I know some use bivy bags instead of tents. I recall in the past someone used one of those emergency bivy bags that are sold by Campmor. Those things weigh about nothing.
The thing that freaks me out is when I read things from competitors like, "I have the capacity to carry 320 ounces of water." Or there is a 200 mile stretch through the Great Divide Basin with no water.