Thoughts on a Round Europe Trip

Page may contain affiliate links. Please see terms for details.
OP
OP
MacB

MacB

Lover of things that come in 3's
Interesting on the solar charger, I'd had a skim of a few sites and sort of dismissed them, I see that they act as a cache battery as well. I'll need to spend a bit of time getting this aspect sorted. Despite my time on here I'm not a big social media user as a rule and my main source of entertainment would be reading. Thw wrost I could do is take too much and end up mailing some of it home.

Hmmm, the 10w could be the answer, I've sent them a question, which I guess will be no, to see if the storage battery can accept more than one input at once. Would be nice to be able to input solar panel and generator hub together. Even if the solar panel gets knackered you can still charge up the battery from mains to use as a backup charger. I think maybe a belt and braces approach by having something like the PlugIII or the Luxus U up front plus this out the back.
 
Interesting on the solar charger, I'd had a skim of a few sites and sort of dismissed them, I see that they act as a cache battery as well. I'll need to spend a bit of time getting this aspect sorted. Despite my time on here I'm not a big social media user as a rule and my main source of entertainment would be reading. Thw wrost I could do is take too much and end up mailing some of it home.
one of the good things about this design is you can mains charge it as well which through all of Scandinavia (when actually using campsites) is a doddle because all but one of the ones we used have kitchens and frequently laundry areas with power as well...
 
Oh it's fun, I meant dull as in the 'yet another 1000 miles of trees' bit. You'll have a great time, we'll miss you. :cry:
I had similar issues through Sweden... took to conducting experiments on ants at lunch time because that was about all there was to do... there weren't enough cars to play licence plate black jack or enough sign posts to play scrabble. My OH held some interesting conversations with himself though, speaking in 2 different voices... :crazy:
 
OP
OP
MacB

MacB

Lover of things that come in 3's
I had similar issues through Sweden... took to conducting experiments on ants at lunch time because that was about all there was to do... there weren't enough cars to play licence plate black jack or enough sign posts to play scrabble. My OH held some interesting conversations with himself though, speaking in 2 different voices... :crazy:

Well I reckon imagining different ways to kill 3BM could occupy me for many thousands of miles of trees, for some reason it's a daydream I never seem to grow tired of.
 
OP
OP
MacB

MacB

Lover of things that come in 3's
Ok carrying on with the kit list, bike:-

frame = fine
guards = yes
wheelset - rohloff/son 700c probably handbuilt 36h on DT Swiss touring rims
tools - I have no shortage, keeping it down will be an issue
spares - spokes, 2 x tubes, repair kit, one tire or go with Marathon Tour or Plus and take no spare, or just a get me to the next place folding spare? chain, brake pads(BB7 discs), cable - that would be it for me
tires - I'd be running big tires, certainly 700x45 or bigger, comfort choice would be Marathon Supreme but would M+/Tour be more sensible?
lights - temptation is for the Luxus U at the front to take care of charging from the hub needs and whatever rack mount taillight matches. Plus one each front and rear emergency battery lights
racks - front and rear

next will be luggage
 
Ok carrying on with the kit list, bike:-

frame = fine
guards = yes
wheelset - rohloff/son 700c probably handbuilt 36h on DT Swiss touring rims
tools - I have no shortage, keeping it down will be an issue
spares - spokes, 2 x tubes, repair kit, one tire or go with Marathon Tour or Plus and take no spare, or just a get me to the next place folding spare? chain, brake pads(BB7 discs), cable - that would be it for me
tires - I'd be running big tires, certainly 700x45 or bigger, comfort choice would be Marathon Supreme but would M+/Tour be more sensible?
lights - temptation is for the Luxus U at the front to take care of charging from the hub needs and whatever rack mount taillight matches. Plus one each front and rear emergency battery lights
racks - front and rear

next will be luggage
tyres will depend entirely on which country you are in and what roads you plan to do. remember the UK is odd in having all roads as tarmac... a lot of the Scandinavian roads are gravel or dirt roads... also I would carry a spare. We got lucky the day my OH's rear tyre blew out. We could have dealt with the issues ourselves with there being 2 of us... but it would have cost us our ferry (Honningsvåg to Meeham) and they only sail once a day. A folding spare will be fine.
I can't see you will need an emergency light for each... you will need to carry something like a head torch anyway for campsite/wild camping use at night - this can easily double as a spare light (we put it over our barbags when in tunnels and it worked just fine).
 
OP
OP
MacB

MacB

Lover of things that come in 3's
I can't see you will need an emergency light for each... you will need to carry something like a head torch anyway for campsite/wild camping use at night - this can easily double as a spare light (we put it over our barbags when in tunnels and it worked just fine).

and there's one of those bits of knowledge I was looking for, painfully obvious when pointed out but much appreciated
 

rich p

ridiculous old lush
Location
Brighton
I'm envious Mac.
If it were me I'd be heading for the warmer climes from Feb. We're all different and you may have other reasons for heading north (Dayvo is a generous bugger!), but touring and camping in warm weather is unbeatable IMO.
France, Portugal, Spain, Italy, the Croatia, Slovenia, Slovakia...
SatNav may know better but I've read some pretty dispiriting CGOAB reports from people who have flogged round Latvia, Lithuania etc but hey ho.
I shall read your progress with interest till you set off.
Make sure I get an invite to the pre-launch party!
 
OP
OP
MacB

MacB

Lover of things that come in 3's
Well a key aspect will be that nothing's set in stone, I really do plan on making it up as I go along. For starters Belarus is off the menu now as I don't want to mess about with visas. The two 6 month trips over two years option is looking more likely now and probably the Southern loop first. That'll be my training/learning trip for the following Northern loop which I anticipate to be a bit harder.

The only serious prep I'll do is on the kit after that I trust to my inate abilities with cash/credit card to get me by.
 

Crankarm

Guru
Location
Nr Cambridge
Southern Spain would be nice now, far too hot in June July August and Scandinavia far too cold in the winter making it impossible.

Re charging. I'm looking at the Goal Zero Nomad 20 solar panels and their Sherpa 100 battery pack. The solar panels will fit nicely over the rear panniers and the charger can be mains charged and has multiple inputs and outputs. It can charge smartphones, i-pads, AA and dslr batteries, laptops. With your Son 28 front hub I would consider a Tout Terrain head set USB plug as well so you have two different sources of power.

Rohloff hub 36 holes is seriously heavy duty. It is my preferred choice as well. 36H wheels will mean you will be able to carry some serious weight. Maybe worth carrying a spare Rohloff rear sprocket or two or indeed different sizes, for climbing and the flat. Also you'll need to carry the hub oil change kit. You won't have any problems in Germany ……...

Tents - I have looked long and hard and there are many candidates, but the one that stands head and shoulders above the rest is the MSR Hubba Hubba.

If doing Northern countries in winter you need a good sleeping bag at least a 4 season down bag. But the winter cold can be unremitting and you'll have problems staying dry and keeping your clothing dry. I can't think of anything worse than putting on smelly damp/wet cycle clothing on a cold winter's morning with the prospect of a long cold ride ahead.

Exped mats may be comfortable but they are pretty heavy and large. I have a 3.8cm Mountain Equipment one which is very comfortable.

Panniers - 4 all round with a bar bag, either Ortlieb or Vaude. My preference is for Vaude as they are just better.

Tyres and tubes - I would go with a couple of spares of each, tyres folding. But in Europe you are never going to be far from a good bike shop or indeed internet to order some from UK.

Pump - Topeak Road Morph for MTBs as larger volume.

Stove - Trangia 25-6 running on gas. Self contained having everything - you can cook in and eat out of the pots. Butane/propane gas is available in most major European countries even France however a little more difficult to find there as the French prefer Camping Gaz still thinking they are right on everything and the rest of the world will do as them. Also MSR are just about to launch their new WIndbolier stove which is pretty impressive. Similar to a Jetboil but boils water so much more quickly and is resistant to wind as it has a neat convector wind shield.

Don't forget water carrying capacity - 3 bottle cages and separate bladders.

Lights just in case, your usual lights will be fine, no need to get anything special. Definitely a head torch - Petzl.

Clothing - wet weather gear and over shoes as it will rain.

GPS/Phone - MemoryMap have just launched the TX3 unit which is a GPS combined with Smartphone. It comes with 1:50k or 1:25k OS mapping for UK. It uses Seal smartphone which few have heard of but watch this space, as soon as a large manufacturer decides it is the way to go, GPS and Smartphones will seamlessly become one.

Kindle to avoid taking heavy books.

Net book or small lap top for editing pictures, keeping journal/blog , etc.

Camera and or head cam such as a Go-Pro.

An itinery of places you want to go and things you want to do. It would be very dull if all you did was ride from A to B everyday, well it would be for me. For instance maybe you might want to do some walking, hiking at some point, as I am guessing your tour is as much of a holiday as it is a bike ride. Maybe you could have a theme to your ride to make it more interesting?

This is it for now.

HTH.
 
Crankarm makes a good point. Sometimes you want to leave the bike and do something else, maybe not walking but something. A day trip or a longer excursion, so take what you need for that. I personally took boots and a rucksac on one tour and did three days walking. I also played golf once and stayed with someone for a few days. You don't always have to be on the bike and if you don't fancy a bit, well, sling the bike on a train or plane.
 
Top Bottom