Review - Is it only me......?

Our cycle trip was the first that either Rob or I had done and, for me at least, there have been a couple of things that have occupied my mind. 

1. In Spain, we cycled along a busy dual carriageway and, northern Spain being mountainous, every so often it entered a tunnel. These tunnels were sometimes quite frequent but we didn't know at the time. Sometimes the tunnels were lit, but not always, and we couldn't see how long the tunnels were until we entered. Signs for each tunnel, lit or unlit, required us to put our lights on (and then invited us to turn them off on exiting each tunnel). Operating our lights meant that we had to stop, dismount, hold the bike with one hand and fiddle with a switch with the other hand, all the time with fast-moving traffic going past us. My rear light was at the rear of my rack (because of the dry-sack that I had on the rack which would have obscured a light on the seatpost) and my front light was low down on the LH front fork (because of my bar bag taking up the space on my handlebar). Then, when we exited the tunnel, we had to do the same again or just leave the lights on.....but for how long? Five or ten minutes later, we'd come to another tunnel. Get the idea? It struck me that it would be far easier if all bike lights had simple handlebar-mounted switches................or is this too simplistic? I must investigate further.
2. On a long cycle trip, it is almost impossible to avoid coming into contact with an oily chain. Rob and I used to have to check before we got into the shower each day whether we had black horizontal stripes on our right legs to ensure that we didn't emerge from the shower to dry ourselves on the nice, clean, fluffy, (always) white bath towels. Sometimes, if we were careless, clothing would also come into contact with the chain, either on our leg-warmers as we stood astride our bikes or, in my case, as one day I put on my wind-proof jacket only for it to slip and brush against the chain. On tour, unless you also bring Swarfega or a chain degreaser and detergents, the oily stain remains on the clothing for the duration. Once the tour finishes, the contamination can have "set" and be impossible to fully remove......as I'm discovering today! This is really annoying and I'm looking at bio-degradable oils now in the hope that if lubricants can degrade naturally, then the contamination should be easier to clean off on tour with a bit of help from common detergents...........or is this belief misguided? Again, I must investigate further.

If anyone has any comments or experience on either of the above, I'd be really interested to hear them.

Review - Bikes and other equipment

Well, what can I say? My bike didn't let me down once. I felt 100% confidence in every component. The only problem that I had was a broken bidon cage, which I'd added myself .......... and it was cheap!

Rob's bike was also utterly reliable and his chain coming off was merely a minor adjustment issue.

Between us we took 5 spare tubes and 2 puncture repair outfits but neither of us had a single puncture between us.........even though there were times that we cycled over broken glass and other debris and along paths which were littered with twigs and branches. My tyres were Schwalbe Marathons. Rob had Bontrager triple-protection tyres. Our only nervous moment came on the very last day when someone asked us the dreaded question, "Have you had any punctures yet?" and we both looked at each other and thought "Why did you have to ask that now?"

My gearing was right for me as I tend to "spin". My granny gear was just 19" (24T at the front and 34T from a Megarange cassette on the back). Rob's lowest gear was much higher than mine at 28" (34T at the front, 32T at the rear) but he managed well with his slower pedalling cadence. Neither of us had to get off and push the bikes at any time despite the gradients, the lengths of the inclines and the weights that we were carrying.

Rob's bike and mine were quite different, albeit that they were of a good quality with good quality components. Mine was a custom-built tourer in the traditional sense with low (triple chainset) gearing, 32mm wide tyres, titanium frame, heavy-duty rims, steel rack, leather touring saddle. Rob's had a compact (double chainset) gearing, 25mm tyres, an aluminium frame, aluminium rack, non-touring-specific saddle. The spec for Rob's bike would have had the traditionalists shaking their heads. So what does this prove?  To me, it means that the quality of materials and design is now so much better that it doesn't matter what you tour on, within reason. Rob's bike was lighter than mine so his spec had this as an advantage over mine.

Apart from clothing, I also carried various other bits of kit:

Tent, sleeping bag, sleeping mat, inflatable pillow, 3 space blankets - the sleeping bag was used but not the other items. 2 of the space blankets were to be used as a tent footprint. With our experience in sleeping under canvas in Seignosse, I could imagine that other pre-erected tents would be available if we couldn't find a hotel in a coastal holiday area, out of season, so I wouldn't bother with the tent, mat, pillow or 2 of the space blankets again which would save about 1.8kg weight and a fair bit of volume.

Bike Parka bike cover - I'd seen these advertised and thought that they looked good and would hide the bike from prying eyes if we camped. If I had used it, I would have had to cover the chain and transmission to stop oil getting on the bike cover. In the event, it wasn't used, and I wouldn't take it again. Another saving of 0.45kg.

Security cable - I took a heavy 15mm diameter cable lock which was 1.8m long. I reasoned that our trip would come to a sudden end if our bikes were stolen and I used the cable several times and would take it again. I may have been over-cautious but who knows?

Maps - I had bought 10 maps (total weight 0.9kg) to cover the route but photocopied extracts from the first 5 as our intended route was narrow and we didn't need to read the rest of those first 5 maps. This proved a great success as I was able to give Rob a set of photocopies too and they weighed very little. After we'd finished with the copies they could have been thrown away (although I gave some to some other cyclists who had no maps!!) When we did move onto the 5 remaining proper maps, they were a real nuisance to try to fold efficiently for our route and were very bulky. I would photocopy maps again in the future wherever I could.

Filling station disposable gloves - brilliant. Weighed so little yet were used to keep fingers warm and when oiling the chain, merely turning them inside out to encapsulate oily rags, before throwing them away.

Boots pvc clear shower caps - 3 for £1.00 or so. These were meant to protect my Brooks leather  saddle from being saturated by rain. I took 1 in my bar bag and the other 2 as back-up in a pannier (they weigh almost nothing). The first one was used frequently whenever I stopped and it was raining and then some days I even left it on the saddle as I cycled. I thought it would tear or disintegrate but it is still perfect. The best £1 that I've spent, I think, and I've still got 2 left!

Foam pipe lagging - of internal diameter to wraparound the top tube of the bike frame. I took a few differing lengths. Again weighed very little, but provided good protection when the bikes were tied up aboard the ferries and could act as protection if the bikes had to lean against one another. Another good bit of kit.

Small cargo net - instead of numerous bungee cords, I'd bought this in a small supermarket in Spain last year for a couple of euros but Rob had one from a motorbike accessory shop for about £6.50. It's a good size for a bag to be secured on top of the rear rack.

Panniers, bar-bag and dry-sack - Ortlieb panniers and bar-bag, Karrimor dry-sack. All 100% waterproof..........and weren't they put to the test!!

Cateye bar end mirrors - great. Allowed me to check traffic behind without turning too often. Can be rotated out of the way when you need to lean the bike against a wall. Easy to adjust on the move. Admired by several other tourers that we met en-route. Couldn't imagine touring without them now.

Blackberry phone - just right. Could post to this blog although photos were of limited quality. (I've since found out that the poor quality photos that I posted were because I'd used the in-built zoom and the camera resolution wasn't up to it).

Panasonic Lumix 14mp camera with video capability (Model DMC-FX150) - terrific. Small, lightish, good quality images and video in one bit of kit. Took 2 x 8GB cards and 2 batteries and needed them! Over 500 pictures and 50 video clips taken at no cost. The only minor criticism which applies to so many cameras these days is that there is no viewfinder and in bright sunlight you have a job seeing the screen.

Energy bars - I took about 10 Kellogg's Nutri-Grain bars which were filling and tasty but they took up room. I might start with a couple next time but then just buy food along the way. 

Drinks - We asked if our bidons could be filled in a couple of hotels and there was no problem, but sometimes water is so boring! I developed a taste for Gatorade and Powerade sports drinks at about 1 euro a 500ml bottle and these came in a variety of refreshing flavours with only about 45 calories per bottle i.e. not sickly sweet. So I'd have 1 bidon with Gatorade in and the other with water

Spares - As well as tools, which all fitted inside the 3rd bidon, I took spare spokes (of the right length, for someone else to fit), batteries (camera, lights, bike computer), nuts and bolts, cable ties, rags, oil, citrus degreaser, chain links, tyre valve adaptor, spare cleats, brake and gear cable, spare brake (as mine are the less common mini-V brakes), insulation tape and a small amount of duct tape. I would take all these again as well as a short wide paintbrush for getting the crud out of the chain as I was cleaning it. Having a clean, oiled chain (oiled 3 times on our trip) made a huge difference both physically and psychologically.

Lights - rarely used unless going through tunnels during the day. Can't really comment on how good they were.

Review - Off-bike clothing taken

My off-bike clothing is listed below:

Regatta 1/2 zip long-sleeved fleece, Regatta zip-off trousers, Karrimor short-sleeved technical T-shirt - all in lightweight polyester: - all performed well, dried very quickly when washed and did not crease. The T shirt was brought as a layer for wear under the cotton shirts or in the sleeping bag (during our cold nights under canvas).

2 short sleeved cotton T shirts - each was printed to publicise the charity aspect of the tour. Both were warm. Used the technical T-shirt beneath if I needed extra warmth. They took longer to dry than polyester clothes and I had to smooth them out when packing to minimise the appearance of creases.

1 pair of black cotton athletic shorts - I had visions of wearing these over my cycling shorts when we stopped in order not to put people off their lunch, but this didn't materialise. Nevertheless, I wore them on our campsite rest day and they were a more day-to-day pair of shorts than the zip-offs would have been which, if they'd got dirty, wouldn't have mattered.

Karrimor K2 black/charcoal sandals - I was really pleased with these. they looked like trainers but had many openings in the uppers. When worn without socks, they looked like sandals. When worn with trousers and black socks, you wouldn't notice that they were "open" and they looked like enclosed trainers/shoes. One of my better buys.

Bandana - as I have a centre parting in my hair of around 20cm wide, sunburn on top is a problem for me. I didn't want to take a baseball cap (weight and volume) and so settled for a bandana which I knew I could also wear under my helmet if I needed to. Rarely worn as the weather simply didn't warrant it but I would take this again.

Charity running vest in polyester - this was meant to be dual function - for wear on hot rest days or on hot cycling days. Needless to say, it was superfluous to needs and I wouldn't take one again.

2 pairs of black cotton socks - to wear with the zip-off trousers. Nothing to say about these as they were fine.

Pants  were discussed in the previous post about cycle clothing.

If I was packing for another tour today, I would take a long-sleeved shirt in polyester. I find that my arms get cold very easily and this makes the rest of me cold.

Aside from the above, I felt that what I took with me was pretty much right.

Review - Cycling clothing taken

My cycling kit

Shoes - Shimano MT23 (SPD) - couldn't fault them. No fit issues although a little narrow for my feet so bought next size up. Got wet but dried quickly. Inserts were washed once and dried quickly. These shoes are lace up, MTB shoes with recessed cleats, with a neat elasticated band to keep your laces from sticking out where they may catch the chain.

Socks - 3 prs white trainer socks, 2 prs black cycling socks - the white socks were fine until it rained and then the grime became so difficult to wash out. (I should have taken Vanish washing powder which would have cleaned general grime easily). Oil was the final straw with one pair which now languishes on a tip in La Rochelle. The trainer socks were cheap and a bit thin too. The black cycling socks were taken as a back-up for ordinary socks as well as for cycling. These were freebies with bike magazines, were thicker than the white ones and didn't show grime as much. I may have got away with the white ones if the weather had been better.

Underwear - 4 prs of pants - ah, the much talked about pants! Wore clean pair each evening then the same pair for cycling next day. Worked well for me. Extra slight cushioning, no chafing. 4 pairs meant that pressure was not on to wash each night. 

Shorts - 2 prs padded shorts + 1 pair of padded bib shorts - only ever wore one pair padded shorts. Could have left the bib shorts at home with the other pair as back-up. 

Jerseys - 2 short-sleeved, 1/2 zip, Muddy Fox - budget buys but a little too thin for the cold and wind that we experienced. Cut not brilliant either. Would replace with better quality full zip jerseys and accept that these will cost a lot more. Could have got away with these if the weather had been hot.

Arm warmers, leg warmers, ear warmers (muffs), buff - all used, all bought from Decathlon except the buff which was another magazine freebie, and all excellent. They got wet but dried quickly.

Lightweight windproof - stuffs into its own sewn-in bag to the size of your fist. Thin but effective and sprayed to be waterproof before leaving home. Not as warm as I would have liked and would buy a slightly thicker gauge material.

Waterproofs - struggled to find something suitable before the trip that would be light and wouldn't be expensive. Took Muddy Fox jacket and golf waterproof trousers with cycle clips. Both garments were re-proofed with spray. Jacket was poorly cut and pulled across the shoulders but was windproof, largely waterproof and day-glo orange! Could be seen from neighbouring countries! Trousers were impractical as they soon became oily and were eventually left in a pannier, not to be used after the first few days. Really have to bite the bullet and buy quality waterproofs which are going to be heavier too! Ummed and aahed over buying Altura but will now look hard at these, as the trousers have in-built leg length adjustment, whereas other makers regard all cyclists as beanpoles!

Gloves - 1 pr fingerless padded gloves - these were OK and that sums them up. They weren't expensive and did a job but I had to supplement these with the disposable filling station gloves because my fingers got so cold. I wish that I'd taken a pair of full gloves as well (which I found at home when I returned).

Overshoes - a buy from Aldi, which I waterproofed. Needs overtrousers to pull over the top of them if they are to be effective. Crude in terms of cut and fit, sometimes had difficulty in clipping in but helped in Spain in the worst of the weather. Fabric hem wore through on the sole after a couple of days. Not a good buy and would need to look at a quality pair if I was to consider overshoes again.

Yellow gillet/waistcoat - I took this because this is apparently a legal requirement in bad weather and at night. However, I never wore this and wouldn't bother to take one again. (No doubt the police couldn't get close to me to caution me as they were blinded by my day-glo orange jacket!)

Rob didn't wear specific waterproofs and took the view that as long as he didn't get cold, his clothes would dry while he cycled (unless it carried on raining, of course). After the "failure" of my waterproof trousers and overshoes, I abandoned them and just wore the waterproof top. Whether the top was waterproof or not is open to conjecture as you can get wet simply from perspiration but the top largely kept me warm. Shorts and leg warmers worn on the lower half did get wet (as did the shoes) but they didn't feel like it and they did seem to dry very quickly, so the need for waterproof trousers and overshoes was not felt.

Helmet - we both wore helmets, whatever the weather, and this was just a matter of course for both of us