Surly Long Haul Trucker in Winter

Saw this - Daniel LeLievre & Derek Marshall are traveling from Seoul, South Korea to Sagres, Portugal on Surly Long Haul Trucker touring bicycles. goal of this ride is to raise $50,000 for the fight against world hunger.

We do not see much winter here in San Diego, so I thought it would be good to relay their thoughts about their bikes and riding in winter.

Some things they learned from the ride:

1. SKS Fenders, or fenders in general, really make for a cleaner ride. Derek doesn’t have fenders and was covered with mud after about 2 minutes on the bike. I was perfectly clean, although my front Ortlieb panniers were covered in mud.
2. Adding some extra inflation to your tires increases speeds while under heavy load. I was rolling pretty heavy on the ride and my speed was down about 2km per hour. I stopped and pumped up my tires with my Topeak Road Morph up to near max capacity. I was rolling with the wind and got an extra 4km per hour out of my bike.
3. A simple 3-layer clothing system seems to keep us warm. I’m wearing a pair of synthetic moisture-wicking long underwear (tops and bottoms), a think wool jacket on top, and a Gore Wind-stopper Jacket on top of that. For my legs, I’ve got the long underwear, a regular pair of boxer shorts, and wind-protective pants. Add some wool socks, a pair of cycling gloves, and waterproof shoe covers, and that’s it. We were riding in light rain, 34 degree weather, and a 20mph wind. No problems. I really think the addition of the Wind-stopper jacket has solved my problems.
4. The Surly Long Haul Truckers are holding up nicely. I have over 900km on my bike while Derek is still breaking his in. I have had no problems thus far with any part of the bike. So far, all of my racks, panniers, and water cages are holding up just fine.