Euro Bike Bimble

I’m talking about kit and “stuff”- just because I can carry all of it on the bike, doesn’t necessarily mean I should!

I’m now into the process familiar to every cycle tourist ,the eternal trade off between weight and necessity. Do I need that extra gas canister? Will I really need all those tools,clothes ,maps,clothes pegs (yes really)

Last night was the final dress rehearsal for the upcoming production of “How heavy is that bike?” and it’s certainly a bit …weighty! Those of you who know me will know I’m hardly a lightweight myself so my thoughts and prayers are firmly focussed on the spokes of my back wheel!

Kit wise ,I’ve got a tent (Wild Country Hoodie 2),inflatable pillow, Alpkit inflatable mattress and a Highlander 3 season sleeping bag . I have a Decathlon folding chair, figuring that the extra small luxury of not having to spend multiple nights sitting on the cold floor is worth a few extra ounces of weight. Cooking wise I have an Alpit Brukit (like a poor man’s Jetboil) plus a gas canister ,a Vango cooking kit and a collapsible bowl. This will more than deal with any campsite cuisine needs ( ie dried noodles and beans !) I reckon.

In terms of clothing there’s two full cycling kits plus a couple of extra tops. Off the bike it’s flip flops and various easy wash/drip dry bits of polyester ,along with another mega useful item,travel wash !! Pair this with a little washing line and a few pegs and it’s just a case of “wash one,wear one” on repeat .

There’s a few essential tools too,Allen keys,spare spokes,a chain breaker,15ml pedal spanner,cable ties and gaffer tape,some spare tubes and chain lube too. This should be enough to deal with any roadside issues and get me to a bike shop if necessary.

Theres a few other luxuries squeezed in,an IPad for route planning, Kindle reading (and Wordle obviously), small Bluetooth speaker and a notebook for my terrible memory .

And now….the most important bit of all. The bike started life as cyclocross bike ,made by Dolan but with Ribble markings on it too (who knows ). I’ve had it a few years now ,via Ebay and it’s the most comfortable and versatile bike I’ve ever owned. Obviously, in the spirit of Triggers broom there’s not much original left but for a £350 bike it’s just the job. I’ve changed the brakes from cantilever to V and upgraded the pads to Swisstop. The seat has been changed to a Selle Italia (as close to an armchair on a bike as I could find!). The original drop bars have been replaced with flat bars with Shimano lever brakes . The new wheels cost almost as much as the whole bike , a handbuilt Ryde Andra 36 spoke wheelset from SPA Cycles in Harrogate . They feel bombproof and I’ve added Schwalbe Marathon Plus 700×38 touring tyres . Gearing wise it has a 50-30-39 triple on the front with a 11-32 cassette on the rear, hopefully giving me a few extra minutes of riding on the hills before having to get off and walk !

Charging phones, Garmin, iPad etc is a challenge. Not only on the road but on campsites too. I’d looked at various options ,dynamo hubs,solar panels etc but settled on a Pedal Cell dynamo. This is basically a high tech version of a low tech bottle dynamo,but producing by more power ,even at low speeds (important!). It can either directly charge a device, or a power bank for later use . I tested it directly into an iPhone, and an hour of riding charged it from 36% to 78%,which is encouraging.

Anyway ,enough nerdy kit stuff for now ….

Bilbao to Athens that is!

This seems to be the general route I’ve settled upon. More exact details to follow but this is the idea. It’s about 2200 miles which is 45 (of my available 60) cycling days based on 50 miles a day. Some hilly/windy/tired days I won’t get anywhere near that distance but other flat/sunny/good legs days I may go beyond ,so let’s see.

Just over a week to go before I leave so quite a lot of prep to do this week, (on top of the day job of course ) so I’ll be posting some nerdy things this week, like kit lists,bike spec etc . Well I call them nerdy but other peoples lists and ideas have been really useful for me in the run up to this trip so the least I can do is tell you what make my tent is and what cassette size I’m using!

Look out also for some travel and logistical details re the route and ferries etc .

This blog has been designed to chronicle my solo trip,by bike,across Europe. Starting in August 2022 at Bilbao in Northern Spain and finishing at some point further West about eight weeks later.

Of the two tasks (blogging v cycling), I’m definitely favouring two wheels over a keyboard !

My aim is to use a combination of pedal power and ferries (I love ferries!!) to travel West to East over the eight weeks of September and October . The provisional plan is Spain-ferry-Sardinia-ferry-Sicily,Italy and another ferry across the Adriatic to either Croatia or Montenegro. This last bit depends on all the usual cycle touring factors such as energy, time elapsed,funds etc and will dictate how I actually get back home

More of that in posts to come

I’ll be updating when I can and this is just a first post so I can circulate the blog address in advance of my departure from the UK on the 28th August .