Hello again! Of course you also want to know what I'm taking with me to fix my bicycle! I don't know much about fixing bicycles, so I'm taking basics with me. Ducktape, rope, tiewraps and thinking out of the box will do the rest! Here's my toolbox: Again, no numbers this time. All the way up you can see my pump: a bit big and heavy, but very good. The black round thing is where I keep all my tools (what you see in the plastic bags and in the bottom of the picture. I also take some oil, a spare inner tube and reserve brake pads. The tool in the middle is to loosen and strengthen my S&S couplings on my bike (the thing that lets me break my frame in two). Packed it looks like this: The pump and the inner tube with the oil (in the grey Ezy bag) go into my panniers and the black toolbox can be placed on my frame or in my panniers, depending on the amount of water I need to transport.
So, that was everything about my packing gear! If you have questions: contact me or look at the FAQ page "packing list", where you can find a detailed list of items I take with me and their weight! Have fun!
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Hello! In this day and age it's hard to go anywhere without a bunch of electronic devices with you. I've always tried to minimalise the impact of these devices on my life and the same applies to me being on a holiday. I take very little electronics with me and no cellphone, gps or tablet for the first part (Until December). For the second part I will take a tablet with me. That way I can notice the difference between taking it or not. During the second part I'll have a lot more opportunities for wifi and internet, so it's logical to take it with me to enjoy some perks of modern day life. I just hope I won't grow into someone that's always depending on her tablet, cause I hate that... . So, enough chitchat, what DO I take with me: No numbers this time, because of lack of time. What do you see? The red thing is my e-reader, filled with books, pdf's with useful information (hospitals, specific information, ...) and some pictures. The blue thing is my mp3, filled with music and some videos for my taiko-challenge. The big grey thing is my tablet, which I will only take with me in the second part. The white round thing is my world plug and the square white thing with a face is a card reader, which I only take in the first part. In the upper right corner you can see my micro-SD cards, to ensure I won't run out of memory and a spare battery. The other items are charging cables.
As you can see I travel quite minimal and that is intentional. We are too hooked up elektronically for me to really enjoy the perks that every day life offers... So the first part of the trip I try to minimalise everything, but do give me the luxury of some music and lots of good books! ;) Hello again! So, this time I'll tell you all about my complete packing list. I'll let you know what I'm taking with me and where I'll put it in my bag. So: My right bag is my sleeping room, bathroom and clothing. So, all of this fits in my right pannier. This pannier is meant for things that I need in the evening while camping, or in general whenever I'm not cycling. 1 Sleeping bag Cumulus 600 2 Liner silk bag SeaToSummit (not in a bag, so it looks a lot bigger now) 3 thin vest for in the evenings, in hostels, ... 4 Cycling vest for cold cycling days 5 Tripod for my camera 6 Bathroom (see post of 18th of April 2016) 7 Elektronica (chargers, SD-card reader, extra battery camera,...) 8 E-reader Kobo Touch 9 small down jacket 10 shirt and trousers for a 'tourism day' 11 Accessories for warm weather: cold scarf, pj's/swimming clothes, ...) 12 Sleeping mat, pillow with buff, headlight Petzl and travel clock 13 Underwear 14 Cycling shirt and pants 15 Cycling shirt and pants So, of course I also have a left pannier, mainly filled with items I don't need for a longer time and items that I need during the day. This is now filled with clothing for cold weather, bike maintenance stuff and cooking gear. This is what it looks like: 1 First aid kit and medication 2 Rain coat, rain trousers, warm gloves and overshoes (cold and rainy days) 3 accessoires for cold weather (extra buff, undergloves, warm hat, undershirt, ...) 4 bag with kitchen supplies (see post of 3th of April 2016) 5 waterbag 6 sarong (long, thin cloth that can be used as towel, dress, skirt, scarf, blanket, ....) 7 bottle with tools 8 thermal underwear 9 pump 10 kitchen supplies (see post of 3th of April 2016) 11 Bag with assorted items for quick use: maps, insect repellent, sunscreen, moneybelt, ...) 12 innertube So, is this all? Almost. On my handlebar I've attached straps to hold my tent and groundsheet. Furthermore I'll attach a small bag to my handlebar as well to put my camera, passport and money in: close by and easy to take with me if I leave the bike for a bit. I also have a helmet, shoes, buff and cycling gloves with me, but I'll be wearing those all the time. Here is a picture of my bicycle all ready to go: You'll see that the helmet and shoes are underneath a net. This net can be stretched out if needed and is very usefull to put some extra food or water under, when necessary. In the mountains I can put my raingear underneath is for easy access as well. When it's warm and my clothes or towel needs to dry, I can hang them there as well, without having to worry that they will fall off.
Ready? Set? Go!! Hello again! After my kitchen, bathroom and bedroom it's time to tell you more about the clothing I'll be taking with me. I'll be cycling in warm weather (30°C - 40°C) but in the mountains it can be a lot colder (10°C and -5°C at night), so I need to take clothes for cold weather as well. When I meet up with my boyfriend in Vietnam he'll take the clothing for cold and wet weather with him, so that I have more space (will not have high mountains again). Here's a picture first: So, what are all these piles?
1 Cycling pants and shirt 2 tourism pants and shirt 3 accessories for warm weather (pj's/swimming gear, cycling underpants, cold scarf) 4 down jacket (for colder evenings in the tent) 5 cycling pants and shirt 6 thermal underwear 7 accessories for cold weather (undergloves, extra buff, warm hat, undershirt, waterproof socks and warm socks) 8 raingear (rain jacket, rain pants and overshoes) 9 cycling vest (colder days) 10 tourism vest (evenings, hostels, ...) 11 sarong (dress, skirt, towel, blanket, scarf, ...) 12 underwear 13 Keen sandals 14 Kuro, our cat (will be with me in thought only!) In December my boyfriend will take the thermal underwear, accessories for cold weather, raingear and down jacket with him. That will save me a lot of weight and space for the next part of my trip. Next time I'll tell you about my bicycle repair kit and about my electronics. See you soon again! (by the way: in 10 days I'm leaving already!!) Kelly Hello again! This time I'll walk you through my bedroom. You already saw my tent, but let's start with two pictures of my inner tent, to get an idea of where I'll sleep. They aren't the best pictures, but it will have to do for now. So now you have seen the inner tent. As you know, I have quite a big tent. The inner tent however isn't that big, but that's okay. It's big enough to put everything in there that I need. So let's start with how my bedroom looks when packed: As you can see, I have two set-ups. Both consist of my tent in the middle, my sleeping mat, pillow and light on the right and my liner in the smallest bag (no picture yet). The first one, with the Panyam 600 sleeping bag on the left, is the set-up I'll start with. The second one, with the Liteline 300 sleeping bag on the left, is the set-up for the rest of the trip. The third picture is a comparison between the two sleeping bags. So, let's start with the Panyam 600 sleeping bag. The original colour is orange, but I ordered it in blue. This sleeping bag is shortened for me and has a comfort temperature of - 8°C. This is the temperature in which it's comfortable to sleep for a woman. The reason I start with this sleeping bag is because I'll be cycling the Pamir Highway. The highest point is 4655m, which means: cold! As you can see on the picture, the sleeping bag doesn't fit completely inside the provided bag, so I'm now looking for a new one. I'll be only using this up in the mountains. The other parts that I'm cycling will be very hot, so I won't need a warm sleeping bag. For those parts I'll only use my liner: a purple silk-stretch very thin sleeping bag. A liner is what you use to put inside your normal sleeping bag, to keep it clean. My other sleeping bag is the Cumulus LiteLine 300, which was also shortened for me. It has a comfort temperature of about 2 to 3°C. This is the sleeping bag that I'll use during the second part of my trip, from January 2017 till the end. Often this sleeping bag will also be too warm, but you never know when it will be a bit colder. Of course I won't sleep on the floor directly! I have bought a new sleeping mat: a Thermarest Neo-air Xlite Women. The womens version is only 165cm long, but that's enough for me! It's extremely light and packs very small (as you can see on the photo. Inside the bag for my sleeping mat I also put my pillow, with a buff to make it softer and a headlight. This all fits in the small bag, so that's very useful! The pillow is a bit big, but I got it very cheap and it is a good one, so I'll keep it. Unfortunately I forgot to take a picture of my entire set-up while camping, so I can't show you a complete picture. In June I hope to do a small camping trip, in which I'll try to take the necessary pictures! So if you want to have pictures of certain items: let me know! :)
See you next time! 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! 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! :) Hi again!
It's crazy busy in life so it's hard to make time for my preparations. I take it slow and do things one at a time. The past weeks I've spent mainly on my first aid-kit. I went to see a specialized doctor to see what vaccinations I need. I surfed the net and my own mind and put a list together of things I think would be useful. Then I went to my own doctor and discussed the items. For some items we discovered better ones, but it was a pretty good list. Next stop? The pharmacy. I had a lot of prescriptions with me and a list of items that do not need prescriptions, so it took a while before everything was found. The pharmacist told me I could come back the next day, so that he could order missing items and I could make sure I had enough money. Yes, I had to spend quite a lot of money... . But hey: it's important to have these things in case you get hurt badly! I guess you guys are wondering what I took? Well, here it is: First of all I take some personal medication with me. This takes up a lot of space, because I have to take two pills every night. I'm also allergic to certain trees and stuff, so medication again. And obviously you need normal painkillers. Second part of the medication is bandaging and desinfectant for wounds. I've bought some steristrips (for heavy cuts), some band-aids, gauze and bandages. I also have soms tubes with me to clean wounds and keep them from infecting. Third part are items related to specific situations. Obviously I take medication for malaria, altitude sickness and travelers diarrhea. I also have a rescue blanket with me, after sun and ORS (for dehydration). Fourth and final part are vaccinations. I have had almost all vaccinations that are necessary; but I still need the one for rabiës and a second one for Hepatitis A. How will I transport it all? I'll punch as many pills as I can and put each kind in a small ziplock bag, with instructions and name of the pills. I will try to minimalize volume wherever I can and ultimately I'll put everything in a sturdy plastic box. This makes my first-aid kit waterproof and protects everything from being crushed. Let's hope I can leave the box deep in my panniers for my entire trip! Happy holidays and for 2016 I wish that everyone is able to see a small glimmer of good in everyone, everything and every situation, how afwul it may be. Kelly Hi everyone!
Do you recognize the feeling you get when you are packing for a holiday of two weeks in a hotel somewhere sunny? Most of the time you're switching between "I am taking way too much" and "Oh, I forgot this" and "Do I need to take this? You never know when ....". It can be hard sometimes to figure out what you need to take and leave home, even for a short trip. Most of the time you can solve it pretty good just by taking a big enough suitcase with wheels, to make transportation and decision-making easier. I have had friends going to Japan for a year (studying) and they could take up to 23kg with them on the plane. For one it was more than enough (she even took printing paper, just because she could) and for the other it was a really tough decision. And here I am... . I will not be staying in one place, but will travel all the time. I need to be self-supporting during this trip, which means I'll have to be able to manage my own meals and sleeping spots. My outfits need to be accommodating the tourist days, but also the many many cycling days. I will be going away for 15 months, most of the time in very good weather, but some weeks in colder weather due to the mountains. I have to take stuff with me to fix my bicycle and to keep it going. And with all this to take along I always have to remind myself that I have only one way of making transportation easier. That way is to take less stuff (less volume and less weight). In the summer of Japan I managed to cycle with 12kg (excluding bicycle, food and water). For this trip I'm aiming for no more than 15kg (once again excluding bicycle, food and water). I also aim for only 2 big bags on my bicycle (and one very small pouch). How can I achieve this? Every item I want to take with me has a friendly chat with the weighing scale, even a fork of 9 grams! When I need to buy new stuff I tried to find the version that weighs less, is still very useful and isn't overly expensive. Wherever possible I try to find more than one use for my items. My cooking pan is also a lid for the cooking pot and can be used as a plate. A liner bag can be used to keep your sleeping bag clean, but also to make it warmer and it can be used on its own in very warm weather, or when sleeping in a bed with dubiously clean sheets. A buff on the head can be used during the day(to keep the sweat away and to not have a sunburn on your head) or at night, to make it less cold. It can also be used as a neck scarf, wristband or to make your pillow softer. Further more I consequently think about weight opposed to the advantages of taking items. Initially I planned to take my DSLR camera with me, so I would be able to take gorgeous pictures. This meant a lot of weight: 1kg for the camera, 800grams for the handlebar bar that I would need to take, a tripod of 400grams, ... . I noticed that I didn't take full advantage of the camera though and didn't use it as much as a small digital camera, due to it's weight and need for taking your time. I was planning on buying a new lens for this camera but decided to spend the money on a quality digital camera instead. This means I don't have to take a handlebar bar, saving me a lot of space and weight. It also means I can take a tripod that is smaller and weighs a lot less and of course the camera itself is a lot less heavier. I can put it in a small pouch on my bicycle, so I always have it close. In total the weight gain will be around 1,5 kg! The most important things I'm still lacking at the moment are my sleeping bags, a pump and a water filter. I already know which sleeping bags I'll buy, but I'm waiting for the winter to buy them (so I can buy them in a group sale and get a discount). The pump will be ordered soon. For the water filter I still need to do a lot of research before I purchase it. A final big question about my gear is the one concerning my clothes. I believe I'm taking too much clothing with me, since I have to be prepared for colder and warmer temperatures. I'm still trying to figure out how I can diminish the amount I'll be taking with me... . Once I have ALL of my stuff I will take some pictures of it, so you can see what I'm taking and where on my bicycle I'll leave it. That will be for somewhere in 2016, hopefully around March-April. If you'd like me to write a post about something specific, let me know! Hugs, Kelly |
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July 2016
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