In advance of a get-together with Rob to discuss our cycle trip, I have now laid out, photographed and packed virtually all items that I'm proposing to take. Considering this is the first "draft" of the packing, it's pleasing that nearly everything has been accommodated. What minor problems there are do not really concern weight (total in all bags and
panniers is 30lb), but volume. In particular, the pack sizes of the camping gear and the tapered shape of the panniers has left pockets of unused space in the lower parts of the pannier. Whilst small items can be put down there, the aim is to keep things accessible in proportion to how often they may be needed.
Anyway, the photo below shows the items being taken:
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| Camping gear top right, off-road clothing bottom right, spare cycling clothing bottom centre, electronics and on-bike warm clothing top left, towels and toiletries bottom left, tool kit in 3rd bottle at top centre, with maps in the middle. |
When packed, this is what it looks like:
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| All camping gear and bike tools (that are not in the water bottle) are in the rear right pannier, the clothing and toiletries are in the rear left pannier and the rest is in the bar bag, with waterproofs in the orange dry-sack |
I had hoped that I wouldn't need anything other than the bar bag and panniers but if I'm carrying waterproofs (a lightweight set of golf
waterproofs were much lighter and more compact than cycling-specific ones), they need to be quickly accessible without exposing the dry contents of the panniers to rain; hence the orange
dry-sack that I will strap to the top of the rack.
I still intend to refine the
packing list. In particular, I will look for smaller measures of toiletries and may replace one or two items of clothing if I find better, or just simply remove some.
There's still time to ponder ...............
Elan
