Critique my kit list please?

[Achilles]

A couple of thigs I do carry not on the list are a Pee bottle ( a wide neck nalgene, carefully marked!), its the nearest you will get to an en-suite in a tent, and as you get older....... it makes the tea in bed in the morning possible for me anyway.

I also carry a trowel - one of the back-packing light orange ones, you already have the tissues and hand gel.

 

[rich p]

... it makes the tea in bed in the morning possible for me anyway.

.

Great idea but doesn't it make the tea taste funny! Sarah Miles was a fan IIRC!

 

[Achilles]

Hmmm, that is taking weight saving to the extreme! I will now try and delete these images from my mind.

 

[vernon]

I met a guy on a tour (Perth-Albany in Aus) his 'luxury' was a cut crystal wine glass! He had it for the whole tour, 14 days, & last time I met him he still had it!

I reckon Bonj is on the staff of CycleChat, just to push things along a bit when they get slow!

Don't stress, prepare as well as you can, & then enjoy it.

gb

One chap that I met had a caffettiere....

 

[vernon]

Like I said, true if the aim is to be a sycophant of those who indulge in the type of patronising cock-waving of which this...


...is an archetypal example, then yes it is wise to ignore me. But, I'll not stop pointing out that this isn't the only philosophy.
Oh, and mending a tyre with duct tape is not just a bodge, it's dangerous, and I find the fact that you've recommended a safety compromise offensive.

Dear oh dear Bonj at his best again. Dismissing a course of action without knowing the circumstances or the the nature of the repair. His ignorance knows no bounds.

I am fully aware of risks/risk assessment and properties of material as a chartered engineer with extensive hands on experience. The only hands on experience that Bonk seems to have is with his aforementioned phallus.

Tyre boots have fabricated from a whole range of materials as a 'get me home' or 'get me to a bike shop' measure. Materials successfully used include layers of plastic bags, bits of paper, card and tyvek. When suitable laminated and positioned, a tyre boot is not only an effective short term repair it can be left in place for several days until access to a bike shop is available. Not all cuts are reparable but, unlike Bonj, I am well qualified to judge what is and is not safe.

 

[rich p]

I have to fess up that last year we bought one of those little aluminium coffee pots to make up an espresso each. It was nice with a whisky in the evening!

 

[vernon]

I have to fess up that last year we bought one of those little aluminium coffee pots to make up an espresso each. It was nice with a whisky in the evening!

I'm not knocking the possession of a cafettiere. It's just not my sort of luxury

My luxury was a little more mundane - a radio. I might upgrade to a SW radio if I do more touring overseas.

 

[TheDoctor]

Corkscrew.

Very jealous. Are you going to be doing a blog?

Most NZ wine seems to come with a screwtop. Kiwis will assert that they work just as well as corks, and are better because you don't risk cork taint. I personally suspect that the fact that cork trees don't grow in NZ might have something to do with it too!

 

[Bigtallfatbloke]

don't forget a photograph of loved ones.......in a cold wet tent in the pissing rain miles from home on your Todd...it'll make a difference.

I good water carrier can be a simple plastic coke bottle picked up en route.

 

[bonj2]

Bonj does the word 'touring' trigger a pre-programmed response.
Have you at some point been indoctrinated by a cult and then your memory wiped clean and a new personality overlaid. This might account for those strange dreams you are having where you realize you are in a dream it's because you really are! The real Bonj is 'in there somewhere'.
Have you ever actually been camping, never mind cycle touring? C'mon tell us. What is it about touring that winds you up so?

No, the word 'bodge' triggers a pre-programmed generally heated response.
Contrary to popular belief, I do know a lot about cycling, and I probably would even go 'touring' if I didn't have this little thing that most people tend to refer to as a "job". yes I have camped lots but mainly as a kid with the family, but I'm probably going to get myself a tent and a stove and go for some weekends in wales once the weather gets a bit better.

don't forget a photograph of loved ones.......in a cold wet tent in the pissing rain miles from home on your Todd...it'll make a difference.

mobile phone could fulfill this purpose?

 

[bonj2]

One chap that I met had a caffettiere....

first sensible thing you've suggested.

Dear oh dear Bonj at his best again. Dismissing a course of action without knowing the circumstances or the the nature of the repair. His ignorance knows no bounds.

I am fully aware of risks/risk assessment and properties of material......
.....but, unlike Bonj, I am well qualified to judge what is and is not safe.

if you think that mending a tyre with duct tape is safe then you're quite obviously not 'qualified to judge what is and is not safe'!
Just 'cos it's worked once doesn't mean it's not introducing a much greater chance of causing an accident.

as a chartered engineer with extensive hands on experience.

Course you are, flower. Course you are.

 

[Danny]

I'd rather carry too much than not enough. On trips where I've carried 5kg more than needed it's slowed me down a fraction. My one attempt at ultralight was a miserable experience.

Agree. It is one thing to travel ultralight for a couple of nights, but you want a few comforts if your going for three weeks.

So don't cut down on the pillow, etc., but as others have suggested you could probably leave out a few of the tools - e.g. the pedal spanner.

 

[Danny]

Sorry to see that this thread has developed into another Bonj versus the world slanging match.

Personally I think Bonj is allowed to offer an opinion on Jay Clock's kit list - what he said wasn't actually so different from all the other replies. As far as I can see there are a few forum members who enjoy baiting Bonj at every opportunity, and as you have found, Bonj is only too willing to respond in kind.

As far as I am concerned the fact that Bonj is prepared to offer such firm opinions on subjects he may know little about make his posts a joy to read - and oddly it also means that he does come up with the occasional useful insight.

 

[vernon]

As far as I am concerned the fact that Bonj is prepared to offer such firm opinions on subjects he may know little about make his posts a joy to read - and oddly it also means that he does come up with the occasional useful insight.

remind us of both of them then

 

[vernon]

No, the word 'bodge' triggers a pre-programmed generally heated response.
Contrary to popular belief, I do know a lot about cycling, and I probably would even go 'touring' if I didn't have this little thing that most people tend to refer to as a "job".

Most of also have jobs but there again most of us seem better at time management than you to allow us to undulge in touring.....