Category Archives: Gear

The kit list – final pack for the big day

October 17, 2009

Ok…well…today I finally did my final pack for my trip.  I sure cut a lot of things out and have come to terms with the fact that I will just have to do laundry more often and carry less.  Even so, the fully loaded touring bike weighs a TON…

You may or may not be interested in this list…so if you are, enjoy the read…if you aren’t, move on to a more interesting post!

The Kit

The Kit

Kit List:

  • 2 pairs of cycling shorts
  • Flip flops
  • Collapsable bucket
  • Sprayway Goretex Paclite Trousers
  • Berghaus Goretex Paclite Jacket
  • Exped Downmat 7 sleeping mat
  • Vango Spirit 200+ tent
  • Silk sleeping bag liner
  • Sleeping bag
  • Large Ziplock Bags
  • Garbage bags
  • Journal
  • Karrimor Shoes
  • Baby Wipes (thanks Gordy)
  • Propane Canisters
  • Stove
  • 2 Pots
  • 2 Plastic cups (just in case someone wants to join me for a cup of tea)
  • 1 x Plate, Fork, Knife, Spoon
  • Sponge
  • Chamois Cream
  • Tiger Balm
  • Travel Wash
  • Anti-Bacterial Foaming Hand Wash
  • Deodorant
  • Dr. Bronners Soap
  • Lip Balm
  • Multi-Vitamins
  • Cod Liver Oil
  • Vitamin C
  • Plasters (band-aids for the Americans reading this)
  • Lemsip (cold and flu)
  • Strepsils
  • Ibuprofen
  • Paracetemol
  • Hand Warmer
  • Diareze Diarrhoea Relief
  • Gauz
  • Anti-Septic Wound Wash
  • Wound Dressing Pads
  • Sunblock
  • Fleece Beany
  • 1 x Swimming trunks
  • 1 x Cycling Trousers
  • 1 x Cragghopper Cargo Trousers
  • Merino Wool Base Layer – Top and Bottom
  • 2 x Fleece Sweaters
  • 1 x Hi Visibility Shell
  • 2 x Cotton T-shirts
  • 1 x Long Sleeve Cycling Shirt
  • 1 x Short Sleeve Cycling Shirt
  • Pyjamas
  • 4 Pairs Socks
  • 4 x Underwear
  • Canon G10 Camera
  • Microfibre Towel
  • 2 Spare Innertubes
  • 1 Lifeline Mulitool
  • 1 Brooks Saddle Spanner
  • Tyre Levers
  • Chain Lube
  • Camera Tripod
  • Spare Phone Battery
  • Sony Ericsson Phone
  • Leatherman Fuse
  • 3 x Books
  • Cateye Strada

And all that packed down to this:

The Surly LHT - Fully Loaded

The Surly LHT - Fully Loaded

Surly LHT Fully Loaded

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Bicycle Porn – The Surly Long Haul Trucker

October 8, 2009

For those of you out there that appreciate a little bicycle porn, feast your eyes on the pics below. I don’t think these pictures need much of an introduction so without further ado…my new Surly Long Haul Trucker

Surly Long Haul Trucker

Surly Long Haul Trucker

Surly Long Haul Trucker

All these pictures were taken on one of her maiden rides at Devils Dyke in the South Downs just north of Brighton, UK.

I won’t bore you with it here, but if you are keen on the spec I will include some more info about it on ‘The Gear‘ page.

Also posted in Surly Long Haul Trucker – 1 Comment

Only space for one special lady…

September 12, 2009

It’s a sad day…well…mixed emotions really.  I’ve decided that there is only space in my life for one special lady, and as my newest mail order bride is on her way here, I will have to sell the other to the highest bidder!

It is with heartfealt sadness that I listed my lovely Trek 1200 road bike for sale on ebay today.  I thought about selling her privately, but just couldn’t bear the thought of putting a fixed price on her, so I have started the auction at 99p and will let the gods decide.

My Trek 1200

My old Trek 1200

In the meantime I am waiting for the arrival of my new mail order bride…a Surly Long Haul Trucker.  She is currently in transit and I look forward to welcoming her to my happy home later this month.  I’m sure we will have a happy life together…normally I don’t seek long term relationships on an internet based service…but she just met all the right specs and had uploaded a great picture of herself!

Surly Long Haul Trucker - she's on her way to me now!

Surly Long Haul Trucker - she's on her way to me now!

Also posted in Bicycle Touring – 0 Comments

My spoke broke – and how about that weather?

August 27, 2009

It looks like the start date for this bicycle tour is going to be sometime in mid-October – the 15th of October exactly. Perhaps I’m being totally stupid and this is the absolute wrong time to do it, but as far as timing goes I feel like I have very limited choice. It’s going to be cold and getting colder – and I’m expecting to live in a tent?!

Either I go when I can – or I get stuck in a new job not knowing when I will make this dream a reality….

I don’t know. It leaves me quite scared – a little apprehensive. But I trust that things will work their way out and need to let go a little. Just get on my bike, and see what happens.

Another thing that also scares me is the fact that I know so little about bicycle maintenance…what if something happens and I have no idea how to fix it?

I was talking to my friend about this the other day actually – and lo and behold – a spoke broke on my road bike yesterday during a day ride to Eastbourne!

So I went to the bike shop, asked them what I need to fix it. Got the tools and watched a few youtube videos on how to replace a broken spoke – voila! I’m a genius.

Ok – self confidence slowly building here. Good.

I’ve got most of the things I need now – tent, sleeping bag, cooking gear, bike is on the way (not arriving until September 21st though). I’m now focusing on clothing that I’ll need to keep me warm.

I have a feeling that doing a winter tour is going to be tough.

Also posted in Bicycle Touring, Random Thoughts and Discoveries – 0 Comments

Ready for the road – but what bike do I use?

August 26, 2009

I’m originally from southern Oregon, US. I grew up in the land of plentiful forests (BIG trees!), unending mountains, and more offroad trails than you know what to do with so my natural state of cycling would have been on a mountain bike. It’s all I ever knew for many years.

I then moved to London, UK (by way of Norway, Switzerland, and the US – with a few trips and a few stops in between). In London I quickly realised that tube and bus simply would not hack it and took up road cycling as my main mode of transportation. Now this may sound a simple task, but riding a road bike in London is far more dangerous that one might imagine (and makes bombing down a dirt track on a mountain bike look like child’s play). Road biking in London is more like a full contact sport as opposed to a reliable and quick mode of transportation. Seriously, you are constantly pushing away black cabs and buses while dodging idiot tourists – now throw in a little London weather just to spice it up!

I’ve been thinking about a long bicycle tour for a long time. Just me, the bike, and the open road. Nothing holding me back but the strength in my legs and my ever dwindling bank account.

So as I started to plan a multi country bike trip across Europe I really had no idea what kind of bike I should be buying. I’d never really heard of a touring bike, or the act of ‘bicycle touring’. Call me ignorant, but it’s all new to me.

I’ve spent hours scouring the internet learning new things about things I didn’t know I should know (like the difference between Reynold 753 and Reynolds 653 steel, or the hierarchy of the Shimano components). Go on, persecute me if you must. After reading through countless forums, visiting every bike shop in town, and Googling my heart out. I was still no closer to finding the right bike.

It has taken a few weeks now. But I have finally decided on the bike for me. I will be buying myself a Surly Long Haul Trucker. It’ll be brand new…it’s not the top of the line…but it is beautiful. And she (I’ve decided it will be a she) and I are to become best of friends. I suppose you’d have to give your bike a name as well…after all – it is your only company and companion for a while…

This does mean however that my trusty TREK 1200 road bike and I will have to part ways, as there just isn’t room in my life for two special ladies (and I need to sell her to help subsidise my trip!)

Also posted in Bicycle Touring, Random Thoughts and Discoveries – 0 Comments
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