Lists, Lists, Lists

Having had a couple of trans-Atlantic flights in the last week (a total of seven takeoffs - eight if you count the unscheduled stop in Denver for a medical emergency on board) I've had plenty of time to sit down and write detailed lists of what I'm going to be taking with me.

I've written the lists. Then I've subdivided them and detailed each subdivision (riding clothes, camping clothes, toolkit, wash kit, rain gear, tent and assorted...) All very organised, though what's worrying me is that at no time have I actually crossed anything out. I'm on a mission to take far too much stuff and I'll only know what I'm taking when I try to cram it all into my Epic Designs frame and seat packs.

On a gear note again, on my return I found a couple of parcels of goodies that I've bought (yes, bought), like the Big Agnes Pitchpine sleeping bag and the Exped sleeping mat. It's all slowly coming together. Looks like I'll have to have my dress-rehearsal the night before I leave...

Pictures tomorrow. Though talking of that. What camera to take, eh? And how to charge it. I'm debating whether to take my Palm Pilot and folding keyboard with me to write stuff, but I may just go old school. And as for updating my blog, I reckon I might just text stuff home and get someone in the UK to post it here for the six or so people watching closely. :-)

More shopping...

It's been fun shopping for stuff for the trip because I don't really have any lightweight touring stuff. It's either car-camping gear, or very out of date... 

So, I've been shopping a bit and getting my gear up to date. The most exciting thing today is ordering a PHD Designs (they're made in Stalybridge, Manchester, don't you know) Ultra Vest. It's a silly 150g... yet good enough to minus 5... Combined with some arm warmers and a waterproof jacket (Haglofs Paclite shell) and I reckon I'll be set for any mountain storm.

I've also ordered a Big Agnes Pitchpine SL sleeping bag - 481g and super small. It has all the insulation on top and is designed so that you get all your lower insulation from your groundmat...

Time, time, time...

Now that I'm off in five weeks... (eek) I'm starting to wonder when I'm going to have time to procure, pack and check all of the (not very much) kit that I'm going to be taking. I have an order in with Epic Designs for bags, I have an order in with Craig at Fastandlight and I have a bike that works. The trouble is, I'm off to Mayhem in a day, then I'm immediately off to Idaho for a week for a press launch - which is great, but isn't going to help me work out how much of my toothbrush to saw off :-)

I return to the Singletrack Weekender race and then deadline week. And then I'm in Austria for four days at a Trek launch. I get back to Stanstead on the Sunday, have to head to Tod to pack that night, then on the Monday I need to be near Bristol Airport for my Tuesday flight.

Ahh well. This kind of bustle is the reason that I'm getting away... It'll all work out. 

The first step...

The hot tip from Mr Bontrager is to check into a nice hotel on the first and last nights. That way, I can put my bike together in peace, rather than in the airport foyer, and also, I can leave my bike bag at the hotel (with my 'flying' clothes in it) and pick it up when I stay there again on the way back.

It's a very funky hotel...

So, that's my first and last nights sorted. Staying at the Hotel Mirano, Biarritz. I can see that wallpaper getting quite stressful after a few martinis...

And talking of Bontragers, I have my first confirmed riding companion for the Spanish side, return leg of the adventure. Laura Bontrager, KB's wife is going to be joining me from Perpignan to Biarritz (or thereabouts). She thought it sounded a great trip and she's always wanted to see that bit of Spain. And being a Bontrager, she's mainly wanted to just eat lots of the local food. She speaks some Spanish too, which will help as I speak none!

Must pack small...

A quick Sunday-morning trip to the supermarket to load up on the essentials (milk, bread, cheese coffee and stuff) and I thought I'd take the Fargo with its current, borrowed frame bag (thanks Dr Jon!)



Trying to fit in four pints of milk (why do Morrisons sell milk in multiples of pints, yet our milkman delivers in litres?) a malt loaf, shampoo and some goats cheese showed just how little volume there is in one of these frame bags. I'm going to have to consider things very carefully when I pack - for both weight and volume...

(Oh, and I'm not suggesting that I'll actually be trying to pack milk and malt load with me, that was just for an idea of size...) :-)

I'm shopping with Craig at www.fastandlight.co.uk tomorrow for a Big Agnes sleeping bag, an Exped sleeping mat and a few cool cooking things (Optimus Crux stove and stuff...) - Should be fun.

It's a small world

It's funny how the world of the obsessive traveller is so small. I guess that there really aren't that many people who take off on their pushbikes to ride for 1000 miles. Sure, we might think that there are loads, but it's dozens, rather than thousands. The number of end-to-end (UK this is, not the Great Divide) riders must only be in the hundreds a year - less than a single Yeovil Town FC footy match crowd...


Anyway, I've been speaking to Eric of Epic Designs www.epicdesignsalaska.com in Alaska. He is held in reverence by anyone who is anyone in the extreme mountain biking world. He lives in Alaska and practices what he preaches - namely riding bikes for a long time as tools of exploration and properly getting out there. He's also very handy with a sewing machine.

In the same way that Brennan Mulligan and Rob Thingy gained kudos in bike messenger circles when they created Timbuk2 bags, based on their own, and their friends' experiences of being SFO messengers, so Eric - and his go-to list of ultra-endurance hotshots has taken conventional bike touring and turned it on its head. He makes bags that fit inside the main frame of the bike (a wasted space usually taken up by a half-empty waterbottle) and using it for luggage instead. In addition, he makes bags the size of small tree trunks that strap to your seatpost and store as much stuff as you actually need...


So that's the frame bag... Now, how much stuff can I fit into a seat bag too? Take one pair of socks and pants? Or luxuriate with two? I don't reckon I'll be luring many ladies back to my one man tent anyway... :-)

You may think that you need more gear for your trip - and that's the problem that I'm going to find - but actually, if you can't fit it into one of Eric's bags, then you probably don't need it... And anyway, it's not like I'm off to Alaska. I only have to get over some mountains in July... I'm unlikely to get frostbite.


Now how much gear can I get into that?

Planning starts here...

OK, so I have a departure date (July 21st) and I have a bike (Salsa Fargo)... I have four maps of France with some highlighter pen on them and I have a plan.




The plan is to ride from Biarritz on the Atlantic, heading east, over as many classic Tour De France climbs as possible until I get to the Mediterranean. Then I'm going to turn round and ride back again. All in around three weeks...