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