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Gear List 2008

June 16th, 2008

(This post is being made in an Internet cafe during a nice big thunderstorm… power has already gone out once and it’s been blinking on and off. I suppose it will clear up by tomorrow morning — well I hope!)

Surely I was going to carry less gear this time than last year, having been taught the hard lesson of pushing bike up hill. But alas no, I couldn’t reduce it very much. Decided against chopping 3/4 off the dish washing sponge to save weight, though I’ve seen it done.

So anyway, here is the list, in case you might be wondering how many pairs of undies I am taking.

  • Bike
  • 4 x pannier bags
  • Handlebar bag
  • Helmet, gloves, sunglasses
  • Tent 2kg
  • Ground sheet 2×2.5m
  • Bright yellow nylon Tour de France rain poncho — makes a good rain cover for bike
  • Light-weight self-inflating mattress
  • Sleeping bag, sleeping bag liner, pillow case
  • Old sheet to sit on and for rags
  • Monster U-lock plus python-like cable
  • Key for above lock, plus magnetic compass keyring which never works
  • Cycling shoes
  • Chain oil, pump, degreaser, rags, disposable gloves, spare tube, puncture repair kit, bicycle multi-tool, the other set of pedals in case I get new shoes, cable ties, gaffer tape
  • Food bag (sleeping bag cover) and various amounts of food
  • Microwave bowl, knife, fork, spoon, teflon/aluminium camping cup, tea towel, sponge, dishwashing liquid
  • Camera, spare battery, 2 x 1GB SD cards
  • Mobile phone
  • GPS logger, 512MB SD card, SD card reader
  • Chargers, cords, EU power adapters for the electrical items
  • Passport, some money
  • Lots of maps
  • Tolstoy’s Anna Karenin (reading it the second time)
  • Small Tagenbuch, 2 x red pacers, Ubuntu pen
  • 2 x black lycra shorts, 1 x shy shorts, 1 x red jersey, 1 x soccer shirt, 1 x soccer training jacket, 1 x yellow rain vest
  • 2 x pairs of cycling socks
  • 3 pairs of other socks (actually I’m not sure why I brought these)
  • 5 pairs of undies, two under t-shirts, boxer shorts
  • Shirt, t-shirt, shorts, trousers, belt
  • Red gore-tex jacket (also a pillow)
  • Thongs
  • Little smelly travel towel
  • Washing powder
  • Toilet bag, etc: toothbrush, toothpaste, shaving cream, razors, nail clipper, a couple bandaids, soap, sun cream, moisturiser
  • (most importantly) hair wax

Can you see why touring is such hard work!?

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This entry was posted on Monday, June 16th, 2008 at 8:38 pm and is filed under Tour. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

5 Responses to “Gear List 2008”

  1. Tom Says:
    June 26th, 2008 at 1:09 am

    No WD-40? Last time I checked, if it’s unstuck use gaffa tape, if it’s stuck then use WD-40. Also WD-40 is great as a universal solvent as well (oil, chewing gum etc). Oh, and CRC is meant to be better. Developed by the same guy after he left the WD-40 company.

    Nice work with the google maps. Where are you planning to head off to this time?

  2. Tom Says:
    June 26th, 2008 at 1:22 am

    Like the photos, couldn’t find it but is there any location/description info, or a place to put comments, like “wow, church steeple number 468 looks like it was built during the 3rd Polish Gothic period of 1648 to 1668 under John II of Poland during the decline of the commenwealth as compared to church gargoly number 254 which was definitley built during the Germanic Romantic period under the last Holy Roman Emperor Francis II”

  3. G-banger Says:
    June 26th, 2008 at 4:56 am

    Bring on cycle tour 2008!! no shoes again? doesn’t sound like you’d have space to carry another tooth pick on that bike… at least you’ve got a few more clothes with you this time.

    good luck rodders! i’m looking forward to the published journal.

  4. rodney Says:
    July 4th, 2008 at 10:08 am

    Tom… incomprehensible! Sorry about the commenting on photos but at least you can comment on individual entries unlike that S.A.M. blog.

    G: No way shoes and socks and toothpicks are dead weight. The amount of clothes is pretty much the same as last tour. I could have cut down on shorts and trousers — I read one suggestion on the web to bring zip-off trousers. I was almost considering until I saw such trousers in the shop. Here I draw the line. While on tour there are necessary fashion indignities to be suffered in the name of comfort and convenience. Such as wearing lycra shorts and bike shoes into the supermarket, or thongs in the night club. Anyway seeing those zip-off trousers extinguished my weight saving zeal. Trousers and shorts will be seperate.

  5. rodney Says:
    July 4th, 2008 at 10:12 am

    I forgot to mention. The mattress is actually the self-deflating type.

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