Being on the road for an unquantified amount of time requires a bit of inventory. This, in Stef’s mind, is the case of inventing herself a new saddle bag. For the less well tooled among us, it means a kit list.
Sleeping wherever we stop, being self-reliant is the order of the day. Leccy for our phones, porridge on the road, and pedals under load, everything we take has to be capable of standing up to a little poor treatment and still provide function.
Doing our best to keep everything light, but wanting our gear to last for future trips, our kit falls on the more robust side. Whilst we’ve had some time to get hold of the things we wanted, there really is no one set of answers to what you need for a tour, so there is absolutely no reason to think of this list as prescriptive – but, perhaps diagnostic of the situations we’re expecting to stumble into…
Will’s Bike:
* Cinelli Gazetta Della Strada
* Brooks B17 saddle
* Shimano components – 10-speed
* H Plus Son TB14 rims
* Schmidt SON 28 front hub
* Busch-Muller E-Werk power converter
Stef’s Bike:
* Orbit steel frame – raw steel
* H Plus Son TB14 rims
* Brooks B-17S saddle
* Shimano components – 10-speed
Tech:
* DSLR with a couple of lenses
* Phones
* 2 x Beeline Navigation units
Luggage:
* Carradice Kendal Panniers (Stef’s)
* Carradice Super C Panniers (Will’s)
* Stef’s homemade saddlebag and bar bag
* Chrome Front Rack Duffle 40 – kindly supplied by friends at Always Riding
* Two dry bags
Camping:
* Thermarest Evolite sleeping mats
* 1 x sleeping bag from Stef’s attic
* MSR Hubba Hubba NX2 Tent
Cooking:
* MSR 1.6L pot
* Vango folding gas stove
* Opinel knife
Clothing:
* Swrve cycling shorts for Will – top quality!
* Howies cycling shorts for Stef
* Two tops each
* Two changes of underwear
* A raincoat and a puffer jacket each
Not sures:
* Maybe a speaker?
* Good books