The preparation has definitely been more than we expected. We have spent hours deliberating, bargain hunting, and testing, to make sure that we have everything that we need.
When you are carrying all of your gear on your bike, you have to think about every little detail. How much does each product weigh? Will it last? Does it serve multiple purposes? Is it absolutely essential?
In this article, we briefly list what we have with us, and where we place it on the bike. We still don't know if we have nailed it, but we think we have made a good start. We've tested our gear on a week long trip, but won't know how it lasts for much longer term until we get started!
When you look at Hugo's bike, you can see how all the bags sit on the bike. At the front, we have front fork bags, which lock into attachments on each of the forks. We have a large handlebar bag, which sits under the aero bars. We also have a mini snack and phone pouch on top of that. The frame bag sits inside the frame. We had these made to size. On the back, we have a rear rack bag which we strap onto the rear rack. This bag doubles as a backpack for hiking etc. Hugo also had a telescopic fishing rod strapped to the side of the rack. On the bottom of the frame, we have a bottle holder, where Hugo stores the cooking fuel and I can carry extra water.
In our 'electricals' we have our Surface Pro and iPad which will allow us to work on the road, kindle, Ryno Tuff solar panel, Cygnet power banks and cables that allow high powered fast charging, wall plug and euro converter, Fenix and Petzl head lamps with rechargeable batteries, Edifier mini speaker, ear buds, Coros smart watches, bike lights and a Wahoo GPS unit. The larger equipment gets compacted into our rear rack bags, between sleeping bags and clothes, and the smaller items go into our frame bags, inside small dry bags.
In the cooking system, we take our Trangia cooker and fuel bottle, a lighter, our Sawyer water filter, cups, bowls, plates and cutlery, and dishwashing liquid, brush, steel wool, a tea towel and a couple of microfibres. We pack this all up into one Rhinowalk waterproof front fork bag.
In our sleeping system, we have our Dwights Explore 3 tent, Exped and Nemo sleeping mats, Nemo inflatable pillows, Macpac silk sleeping bag liners, old but warm sleeping bags, microfibre towels, and lightweight miniature camping chairs.
Our sleeping system is split between us, and gets packed into the rear rack bag and the front handlebar bag.
Next we have our toiletries and medicals.
In the toiletries bag is a shampoo bar, conditioner bar, soap, hair brush, mini mirror, toothbrush and toothpaste, razor, beard trimmer, deodorant and baby wipes. We bring toilet paper and hand sanitizer. Emily has a mini makeup bag with concealer, mascara, lip balm and an eyebrow brush.
We use a mesh bag and yellow soap for washing clothes.
We have a first aid kit with plasters, bandages, emergency blankets, antiseptic wipes, sports tape, safety pins, scissors, and tweezers.
In the medicine bag, we have sunblock, antiseptic cream, anti fungal cream, anti bacterial cream, crystaderm, chamois cream, prescription malaria medication (doxycycline), pain killers, asthma inhaler, electrolytes, antihistamines and vaccine records.
All these things fit in a second Rhinowalk front fork bag.
We have each reduced our clothing haul to; 5 tops, 2 pairs of shorts, 1 pair of long pants, 5 pairs of undies, 5 pairs of socks, rubber birkenstocks, MTB shoes with SPD cleats, sneakers, 2 mid layers, puffer jacket, rain jacket, sun hat, beanie, gloves...
Emily has 2 skirts (for going out for dinner), a bikini and 2 sports bras.
All the clothing goes into a dry bag inside the rear rack bag.
And finally, the tools. Here we have a heavy duty lock for our bikes, two spare tubes, tube repair kit, tubeless repair kit, tyre levers, needles and thread, mini pump, multi tool, allen keys, zip ties, tape, a rag, lube, grease, locktite, super glue, a spoke key tool, cassette tool, spare bolts, headset spacers, brake pads, derailleur hangers and chain quick links.
We divide the tools between us, and they go in our frame bags, where we put all the small and heavy things, food, and some of the electricals.
When laid out, it looks a little daunting, and it can be hard to imagine how we can carry all of it. But every piece has a home it all fits nicely on the bikes.