It about the whole journey. It's about discovering a new route, planning how your going to get there, how often will you stop, where will you'll be bedding down, what kit will you take, will you even take a change of clothing and what luxuries are you not prepared to do without.
We've covered some of the aforementioned items directly or indirectly and now I'd like to share some ideas with regards to my kit or riding rig. These things evolve and differ from rider to rider, so you may disagree with my assessment especially if you're a racing snake.
Racing snakes travel ridiculously light.
I will need to sleep twice in a 60hr period. I'm not sure where that will be, but I'm pretty sure it will not be a convenient stopover, therefore I have to plan for the worst. So I'm taking:
- Lightweight foam sleeping mat
- Low volume down sleeping bag
- Low volume sleeping bag liner
- Emergency space blankets
- Keep your helmet on, using it as a pillow. Trick I learnt from Grant Usher. It works!
Staying warm is more important than staying dry, although the two often go hand in hand. Therefore I'm taking a change of dry clothing that I can sleep in or use as alternate cycling kit.
- Cycling trousers with removable inner chamois. The bottom halves zip off, converting to shorts
- Merino wool base layer
- Low volume puffer down jacket
- Extra pair of sock liners and merino socks
- Beanie
- Sealskinz gloves
I believe that the fastest way for me to get down to Richards Bay, includes a strategy of 4 hours of quality sleep in a 24 hour cycle. That is why I have placed such an emphasis on the above.
I know other riders can do with far less, but I can't.
I need to limit the amount of times I stop and therefore, deciding when to stock up to the gills or when to run lean with regards food and water, is quite a challenge. Rather too much than too little.
I think at max, my bike and kit will weigh around 28kg.
I plan to carry all of this as shown in the clip below.
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