Singletrack/MTB
Gravel/All-road
Dirt-road Touring
Fat-bike
Our Reader’s Rig of the week comes from Taryn in Vancouver, British Columbia, who shares the beautiful custom-built Bassi Hog’s Back she’s currently riding all around the United States. Meet Taryn and find a colorful gallery of her loaded tourer here…
Words by Taryn Hamilton, photos by Erik Binggeser
Hi, I’m Taryn from Vancouver, BC! I’m currently bopping around the US on a big ol’ bike tour with my sweetie, Erik—we just wrapped up a gorgeous loop around the Midwest and are now pedalling south to tuck away somewhere warm for winter. When I’m not on tour, you can find me crafting and cooking in my apartment or off on a solo-overnighter to one of my favourite Gulf Island camp spots. I’m always happiest on my bike, dipping in the ocean, or in my tent with a good book.
I was a van-lifer and boat-dweller in a previous life, so I’m very accustomed to self-sufficient forms of living and travelling. As a longtime commuter cyclist, I always dreamt of having a dreamy adventure bike that I could load up and get out of town. My Hog’s Back is exactly that! I’ve covered thousands of kilometres on this bike—all over Vancouver Island, the Sunshine Coast, and the San Juan Islands.
After graduating from nursing school last summer, I completed my first multi-month bike tour from Vancouver to Los Angeles with a loop around Joshua Tree and the Salton Sea as an extra treat. It completely changed the game for me, and now all I want to do is live on my bike as much as I possibly can. When you’re on the road, you never know what weird, wonderful things might be around the next corner: a friendly miniature horse with diabetes, a roadside farm stand selling freshly baked s’mores cookies, the world’s largest six-pack of Old Style, or a gas station dumpster full of 200 candy bars!
- Frame/Fork: Bassi Hog’s Back
- Rims: Alexrims MD21 27.5
- Hubs: Shimano Deore
- Tires: Schwalbe Marathon
- Handlebars: Redshift Kitchen Sink bars, Grepp Gripper tape
- Headset: Tange Seiki Technoglide
- Crankset: Shimano GRX
- Bottom bracket: Wolf Tooth Components
- Pedals: OneUp flat composite pedals
- Cassette: Shimano SLX 11/46
- Derailleur(s): SRAM Rival
- Brakes: Avid BB7
- Shifter(s): SRAM Apex
- Saddle: Brooks B17 S
- Seatpost: Bassi
- Stem: Frances Cycles
- Front bags: Dark Realm 137 basket bag, Road Runner Buoy fork bags
- Frame bags: HMPL custom
- Rear bags: Road Runner Jammer
- Accessory bags: arewell Stem Bag, Jack’s Sacks On Demand Sack
- Rack and basket: Soma Lucas 3 front rack, Portland Design Works Zigzag basket
- Other accessories: Spurcycle bell, Velo Orange wavy fenders, Carradice Bagman
Other than camping gear, my absolute favourite thing to carry on my bike was my cattle dog Caroline. There’s nothing she loved more than going for sunrise rips to the beach or playing stick with all her bike pals at our weekly Camp Coffee Club gathering. After 13 incredible years together, I lost her to cancer this past summer, but I carry the memory of her (and a tuft of her fur) with me every day on this bike tour.
You can keep up with Taryn on Instagram.
Send Us Your Bikepacking Rig
Use the form below to submit your bikepacking rig. We’ll choose one per week to feature in a Reader’s Rig Dispatch and on Instagram. To enter, email us your best photo of the bike (preferably at a 90° angle), your Instagram username (optional), and a short description of you and your rig. If your bike is selected, we’ll need a total of five photos and a little bit more info.
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