Equipment 3: rest of my kit

Uncategorized 2 Minutes

A few more items that I took with me, with comment

Sun cream (other brands are of course available). Very important: I have the “I am a cyclist tanned skin pattern now (arms and legs to just above the knee brown, rest pale!). Tip: remember to wash hands after applying cream, or the handlebars get covered in cream which makes for not very enjoyable riding.
Insect repellent: I took this with me but in the end did not need it. I guess if I had been camping that would have been different.
Washbag and contents – all essential, including the universal basin plug for those annoying places with inadequate plugs
Medical kit – luckily not used, but necessary. I also took some antiseptic wipes and did not use them either.
Binoculars: a little bit of a luxury, but handy if you want to look for birds in some places
Bungee cord – very useful for holding things onto back pannier rack
Packmate travel bags. These were very good for compressing clothing and keeping things together. I kept one for any slightly damp clothing that did not fully dry overnight. Recommended.
Microsoft Surface Go computer. Totally essential for writing this blog, keeping in touch and doing the navigation. A really nice machine – note also the USC to USB adapter and the card reader for the camera. Very light and ideal for this trip.
A 6 way USB plug. Again essential for charging everything every night – lights, phone, Garmin (and not shown here) helmet. Toothbrush every once in a while too. I started out also with a rechargeable power-pack but found that I was not needing it as I could recharge from the mains every night. If I had been camping that would have been different.
Small bag of USB cables for charging, plus my plug-in bat detector. I used this latter only a little as at the times that bats were out at these latitudes I was usually fast asleep. I did though detect six species on the trip – the majority at Minsmere in Suffolk.
Last but not least, I took several zip-loc bags with food bars. I found that I did not eat these as much as expected. I thought about energy bars and gels, but again did not use them. Jelly babies were good once in a while! I bought a waterproof bag to go on my cross-bar for foodstuffs, but found that my knees kept brushing it annoyingly, so got rid of it after a day or two. Others may find such bags useful.

Published by Mark on a bike

In May/June 2019, I am cycling the length on Britain, visiting all the places that I have lived and a few friends along the way. This is a charity ride aimed to raise funds for Alzheimer's Research UK and the Spinal Injuries Association. I will also have fun looking for various features along the way and exploring the meaning of memory

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