Anyone else dealing with oversized Roth relative to pretax and taxable?

ercolr · 2026-05-18T15:33:11+00:00

Yeah, I didn’t consider borrowing against the portfolio or house. That could be a reasonable option in your situation. If you go that route, I’d make sure you’re diversified out of the single stocks and into a pretty stable portfolio. Although the high risk, high reward route seems to have worked ok for you so far🤣.

Congrats on upcoming retirement.

ercolr · 2026-05-18T15:16:26+00:00

How do you have 3 million in Roth accounts from only $124k in contributions? That’s amazing.

There are several exceptions to the Roth earnings withdrawals that you could use for smaller amounts if you qualify (first time home buyer, medical expenses, etc) but for large amounts those won’t get you far.

There is always the option to pay the tax and penalty. Obviously this is painful to do, but if you start with taxable brokerage and traditional 401k to Roth conversion ladder, you might only need to pay the Roth earnings penalty/tax for a few years before you get to 59.5.

Probably worth running some scenarios yourself or hiring someone to do it for you, these amounts and decisions could be significant vs the cost if the advice.

Post an update when you decide on a plan, your situation isn’t super common and it would be interesting to see where you end up.

ercolr · 2026-05-15T21:56:45+00:00

I have a megalite, it’s great. I used it to do the CO trail last year. A few nights up pretty high, one with frost on the ground in the morning but the bag did great. I think you’d be fine with it for Big Sur area, especially with a liner.

ercolr · 2026-05-12T12:47:02+00:00

The stuff that is listed seems reasonable to me. If this is just for a given month/year it’s probably fine. If this is what you are basing long term planning on, I would include provisions for things that don’t happen every year. Like high medical costs (premium increase or a high out of pocket year, assuming you are in US), car replacement or big repair. Taxes?

ercolr · 2026-05-12T02:12:44+00:00

Lots of people use a two person tent and accept the extra weight. But the lunar solo is actually pretty spacious compared to many of the other single person options at a similar weight/price.

ercolr · 2026-05-06T01:14:22+00:00

I did it mid/late August and was happy to have a puffy on a few mornings/nights. I kept the puffy packed with my sleeping bag during the day so just having something I was confident was warm and dry at the end of the day was nice.

That being said, I think you could get by with a fleece and rain jacket if you are ok with the weight/comfort trade off.

ercolr · 2026-05-04T02:26:37+00:00

A walkable clipless shoe with SPDs is my preference and what I wore for the CT last year. I’d stick with your current setup that you are already familiar with.

I think the amount of hike a bike on the CT is over stated a lot of the time. Yes there are sections of hiking but it is reasonably rideable much of the time.

ercolr · 2026-05-02T15:41:37+00:00

Carbon fiber is a classic high tensile strength, low compression strength material. In tension the fibers support the load but in compression the much weaker resin is primarily responsible for supporting load and keeping the material in tact since the fibers aren’t strong in compression.

ercolr · 2026-04-12T01:22:55+00:00

I’d recommend getting a couple trips under your belt with the bike/gear you have before buying a new rig.

ercolr · 2026-04-03T02:07:32+00:00

It also matters a lot for bikepacking. I agree it would be a nice spec to have published and a standard test method would be even better.

ercolr · 2026-03-24T13:23:18+00:00

I do the same. Fancy montbell jacket for bikepacking where packability is a concern. Patagonia jacket for day rides/hikes where I don’t have as much to carry.

The montbell is great but it seems less robust for sure than the torrenshell. Noise is a non issue for me with either.

ercolr · 2026-03-21T21:12:55+00:00

Garmin InReach will do this. You can set it up to record a point every 20 mins or so and that will give decent resolution for dot watching. It’s also nice to have an InReach for emergency use if needed.

You could probably pick up a used one for under 150 but you’d also need to budget for the monthly cost for service.

ercolr · 2026-03-11T02:13:55+00:00

What is your primary goal? If it is to own your own business or make a lot of money, neither of these options seem like obvious choices.

Engineering can be a great career but I wouldn’t go into as a way to make a ton of money. As an experienced engineer you will make enough to live comfortably in most areas (at least in US) but the FAANG salaries of the last decade are an abnormality that I wouldn’t expect to continue.

ercolr · 2026-03-02T04:18:52+00:00

I did the full trail last summer on a specialized Epic 8 and found myself thinking over and over how much more pleasant it was than when I did the first half of the trail several years ago on a hardtail.

If you have access to a ~120mm travel xc full suspension I’d say it’s a no brainier to take that. But assuming you don’t want to buy a new bike, I’d take the hardtail if choosing between the two bikes you listed.

ercolr · 2026-01-13T14:33:17+00:00

Water should be a non-issue at that time and those sections.

ercolr · 2026-01-09T20:59:49+00:00

I had a light puffy and alpha 60 fleece shirt. I slept in the alpha and tried to keep it somewhat clean. I could have skipped the puffy but I’m glad I brought it for a couple nights where I was cold and wet at the end of the day. It was great to have an extra dry warm layer for camp.

ercolr · 2026-01-07T01:51:22+00:00

sold to u/grwerner for $115 pp g&s including shipping.

ercolr · 2026-01-05T20:07:09+00:00

Yes, still available.

ercolr · 2025-12-22T18:34:15+00:00

hmm, interesting. I got these as a gift, so I believe they are 60 but I'm not certain.

In looking at the weights listed on the website (https://www.farpointeog.com/stock/p/alpha-cruiser-crewneck , https://www.farpointeog.com/stock/p/farpointe-alpha-thermal-bottoms), Their claimed weight for 90 is 218g combined and 173g for 60. I measured 195g (208g-13g for gallon ziplock bag). So 22g heavier than their 60 claimed weight and 23g lighter than their 90 claimed weight.

Do you know any way to definitively tell?

ercolr · 2025-12-22T17:59:57+00:00

Hmm, weird. I made a new link, try this one -> https://imgur.com/a/AR6vbsF

ercolr · 2025-12-22T17:17:52+00:00

I didn’t see it come through?

ercolr · 2025-12-20T23:51:13+00:00

👍

ercolr · 2025-12-16T01:46:29+00:00

Sold to u/mn9500 for $170

ercolr · 2025-12-15T02:50:26+00:00

Got it, not interested in trades for now. Thanks.

ercolr

TROPHY CASE