So... Here is my bathroom! Very small. Those who know me also know that I never wear make-up or use crèmes and all that stuff. Everything fits in this green bag, which is waterproof (well... before there was a hole in it). I put everything in one bag, so I have everything at hand at once. 1 = towel (tenipuri, small towel, from Japan)
2 = ear-buds 3 = toilet paper (for wild camping and campings without toilet paper) 4 = tooth brush (collapsible) 5 = tooth paste 6 = razor (might be left at home... easy to replace if necessary) 7 = soap, which is also used as shampoo 8 = brush (wich will be left at home during the first part, maybe also later...) 9 = deodorant It isn't much, but if you think about it, it's enough. I'll have to replenish toilet paper often, but I can do this wherever I find a toilet with toilet paper. Another thing that will often be replenished is the soap and deodorant. I'm curious to see how I'll be able to do this. Don't forget you can give me challenges! :) See you next time!
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Hi all!! :) So during the Easter weekend I went to a cycling weekend from the Wereldfietser. It's an organization for people that like to travel by bicycle, in Europe and beyond. In total there were 54 people present and there were only 4 Belgians: me and 3 guys. All the tents in these picture were from the Wereldfietser, and we weren't even complete at that time! The 4 Belgians went together in a big van, with all of our stuff and arrived on Friday. It was already dark and when we unloaded the bicycles there was a problem. My front tire was flat, very flat. Since it was dark, we decided to fix it the next morning. We put up our tent and started cooking. But again... something was wrong! The gas canister I bought wasn't compatible with my stove... . Luckily my friend brought an extra stove and happened to be in need of some extra gas. We shared the stove and gas, so that problem was solved. This was the first time I used my new cooking pot and mug. The water boiled pretty slowly, but that was because I was scared to raise the flame. The flame can't reach the sides of the cooking pot, because the sides are made of rubber and will melt. I cooked some rice and put in some peaches and tuna in it. It was yummy and I was happy I had a bowl to put my food in. Before I only had one cooking pot and its lid, which was also a pan and my plate. Not a lot of options... . I went to sleep on my new mattress, with a new pillow and a new liner bag. I used a borrowed sleeping bag, because mine aren't ready yet. After a nice, but chilly night. I showered, ate breakfast and started to pack. I felt really disorganized and was very slow with packing. My friends helped by already changing my flat tire, but I still left last.... . I kept on thinking that I forgot something and whatever. We're cycling 92 km, which is a lot is you haven't done a lot of cycling before. The sun was shining, there was no rain and not a lot of wind. We arrived a bit before 5 in the evening. We cycled at a slow pace, but in the end we went a lot quicker because of tail wind! I had to push my body to cycle this many kilometers in one day, so my butt wasn't feeling too good. Later in the evening I also felt my achilles tendons hurt... . We put up the tent again and started cooking. I made pasta, baked a salmon and heated up some sauce with mushrooms. I threw in some ansjovis and olives and had a very yummy meal! Other people made wraps, bacon and eggs, cabbage with potatoes, mashed potatoes with sausages and vegetables, a pasta packages where you only had to add hot water, ... . After that it became a bit chilly and about half of the group ended up in the bar and talked until around 22h at the latest: bedtime! In the morning we woke up with the sound of rain. I love the sound of rain on my tent when I don't have to exit it, but I hate it in the morning, because it means I'll probably have to cycle in the rain! Some people ate in the toilet building, so I joined them. Because I already felt that my body wasn't accustomed to long bicycle hours I decided to take a shorter route, cycling only 55 kilometers. The downside was that today we had a very strong headwind. We arrived at the camping around 16h30 and put up our tents in the sunshine, with a beautiful rainbow above us. With a few people we went out to dinner. The rest stayed at the campsite or went to the Paasvuren nearby. Paasvuren is when they burn a gigantic pile of wood, at Easter obviously. When we came back from dinner I noticed that my knees were hurting a lot as well. This was probably due to the strong headwind we had faced all day. And listening to fellow cyclists it would also be the case the next morning, but luckily it would be side wind, slightly better. The next morning I was packed first of our group: so organized! The trick? Packing in my sleeping bag and everything I can before I have breakfast and start talking to people! :) My body was in a lot of pain though and we had 66 kilometers to cycle, to get to the car. The side wind was very strong and sometimes it aided us and sometimes it didn't. I lowered my saddle, which I should've done earlier (reason for the aching of my achilles tendons and probably also knees). At 30kilometers, about halfway, we had a lot of heavy rain for a while. It felt like hail on my face and my clothes on the right side (side wind, remember) was soaked. The fun was over at that point and since we were already way past lunchtime we went and sat down to eat in a bar. Our clothes were put on the heating and we enjoyed some soup and eggs and toast. Then we figured out a shorter route, but ended up doing about the same amount of kilometers planned. We arrived at around 16h, changed outfits and left for Belgium again.
Because of the terrorist attack a week before there were no metro's riding after 19pm, so I had to cycle home as well, in the dark... I was very happy when I was laying in my bed! So, after reading this, you'll probably think: why on earth does she like this kind of trip and how can she think about doing this for 15 months? Well... First of all I won't be forcing myself like I did this weekend when I'm alone. On my own trip I'll listen closely to my body and respect my limits a lot more. Second: I'll have a better bicycle with a perfectly adjusted seat (I hope). The bike I'm currently riding isn't configured the way it should, which means I'll always suffer to some degree on longer tours. Yes, in Japan I also suffered a lot. Not from the knees or the achilles tendons, but also from the butt. Not an agonizing pain like on this weekend, but a very dull pain and every evening the wounds from the shavings were opened again, to be closed again the next day. So, why do I like this? When all is fun and good I'll answer because of the freedom, the sense of adventure, the close relationship with nature you build, the things you see and people you meet, the time you finally have to do whatever you want and to think about whatever you want, however long you want to think about it, the fact that you don't worry about bills and work and problems with your house and .... , but just enjoy the ride. I can even say this when I'm cycling uphill, as long as it's in good weather. On bad days, days in pain and days in rain and heavy headwind.... It's nice to force your limits a bit (not too much!!), to extend boundaries, to focus on just one task: to reach the net town, the next crossing or the next meter in front of you. The moment you're noticing that you're pushing too far, you do have to be lucky to find a place to stop.... . If you don't: the day sucks and that's okay! Next update: my very small bathroom! ;) Oh, and don't forget that you can challenge me during my trip! :) Kelly Hi there! Slowly but surely I'm getting closer and closer to my trip. I have a lot of my equipment ready, but still need a few things. My kitchen (not counting the food) is ready however. This is how my kitchen looks when everything is packed. In the black bag I hold my lighter, spoon, gas canister, stove and thee and sugar. There is enough space left to put some small food in: sauce packages, minute soup, a can of tuna fish, .... . For this post there is no food in there. In the round orange bowl I have a cooking pot, a bowl, mug, fork, chopsticks and my knife. Now to the picture with everything unpacked: 1 = cooking pot with a see-through lid, including drain holes for hot water.
2 = a big bowl 3 = a big mug 4 = a lightweight, plastic fork 5 = Opinel, a sturdy knife 6 = lightweight spoon 7 = chopsticks (can be halved in size) 8 = lighter (will look for one with a flexible end, but still need a big one, because I'm scared of fire 9 = my stove, a MSR Pocket Rocket 10 = gas canister (wrong one though...) 11 = ziplock bag with teabags and tiny sugars 12 = black bag and canister for my stove Is this all you need while camping? A lot of people take two cooking pots and / or a pan with them. I do not need a second pot, since my cooking isn't very elaborate. A pan would be nice, but I can also use my cooking pot for it. I also carry a sponge and a very small part of a kitchen towel to clean my gear (not pictured, I forgot). I will not be carrying soap, but clean my dishes as soon as I can with water. If I have the possibility to wash my dishes with soap, I will obviously do this. Do you have any questions about my kitchen? Or how I cook? Let me know in the comments! :) |
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July 2016
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