Equipment
Equipment List
So not long left before I set off and one of the things that I suppose like most people say before they go away is, have I got everything. After my last trip, there were a few issues. Equipment, weight, and food. All I have hopefully addressed, if not, well then I will be finding the next few months quite challenging.
The issue of Equipment
Five years ago I was embarking upon cycling across America, one of the biggest problems I had was with my saddle, with a limited budget, I decided to prioritise other things over my saddle, thinking that it would be okay. BIG MISTAKE! There were times when I thought I was going to have to quit because the pain on my backside was so great. So rather than using the standard saddle giving to me with the bike, I have gone with a Brooks Flyer saddle, nearly all bike tourers swear by Brooks saddles and most people you see touring will have a Brooks saddle, so it is going to be interesting to see how it goes.
I have ditched my original panniers and gone with Brooks panniers after the rained leaked in during my trip up to Edinburgh.
The bike is the same one I used five years ago, a Ridgeback Voyage, and has done me well to date although it is quite heavy. There were a few issues, but I hope I have sorted them now.
The issue of Food
The biggest problem I am going to have along this trip by a long way I imagine. With no money to buy anything how am I going to pile on 4000+ calories a day to make up for burning them off. The answer is I am probably not going to be able to, but I have emptied all my front panniers of camping gear and overall odds and ends and piled a load of powdered food in there that I can survive on. Huel powdered food is a Vegan shake that has everything in it, the right amount of carbohydrates, fats, proteins and vitamins per shake/meal. The hope is that when times are tough, and the food is scarce this will keep me going throughout the whole trip. I imagine I will be talking about food a lot on this journey!
The issue of weight
The majority of the weight on the bike is food, and I feel that while it shows that you don’t need much for cycle touring, this is essential for my trip.
So what to Bring:
Ridgeback World Voyage Bike
4 Brooks Panniers front and back
1 Brooks Saddle Bag
1 Front FWE handle bag
2 Insulated water bottles
1 Camel bag
1 Solo tent
1 Exped Mattress
1 Small pillow
1 Lightweight sleeping bag
1 Brooks Flyer Special Saddle
4 Bungee cords
A lot of Huel Vanilla flavoured powdered food with Shakers
1kg Cashew Nuts
1kg Raisins
1 Helmet
1 Pair of Oakley Sunglasses
1 Pair of Headphones
1 Samsung Phone
1 Kenyan flag bandanna
1 Pair of padded cycling shorts
2 Pairs of Iben + cycle socks
1 Pair of Cycling cleats
1 Cycling Jersey
1 Cycling Jacket
1 Cycling waterproof tracksuit bottoms
1 Thermal tights
1 Thermal shirt
3 Pairs of pants
1 Pair of shoes
1 Pair of trousers
1 T shirt
1 Shirt
One pair of swimming trunks
1 Jumper
1 Wash bag
1 Travel towel
1 Solar panel charger
1 Tripod
1 GoPro Hero 5
1 DJI Mavic Drone
1 Sony Alpha A6300 Camera
1 Laptop
1 Microphone
1 Mini tripod
Extension lead
1 Travel plug
1 Tool Kit with essentials