This was probably the most difficult aspect of the trip: deciding what to take!! When planning for the trip it was important to consider the areas that we would be travelling through, the local Climate and what would be the most important  items. Everything also came down to one important consideration… WEIGHT!!

Every additional item placed into our panniers also added to the weight of the bike and therefore the load that we would be cycling with everyday of the trip. Here is a list of pretty much everything I took on the trip:

3x socks

3x boxers

3x t-shirts

Fleece/warm top

Water-proof jacket   (By far the most used item of the trip!! – get a good one!)

Shorts/cycling shorts

long lightweight trousers

Warm hat and gloves (x2 pairs in winter!)

Sun Glasses (interchangeable lenses were very useful for brightening up gloomy days!)

Waterproof trousers

Thermals for sleeping

Buff  (managed to lose this on the first day!)

Set of clothes for looking normal in public 

A common theme of the trip - Me wearing waterproofs!

 

Foot-wear

Approach shoes – I normally swear by SPDs however I didn’t bother on this trip and I really didn’t miss them at all. Take waterproof ones if possible to avoid soggy feet!

flip flops

 Toiletries

Multi purpose Soap suds (A really good idea as they are environmentally friendly and can be used for everything!)

Tooth-brush and tooth paste

Small towel

Sun cream

Essential camp stuff

Roll mat (Thermarest really are the best!!)

Sleeping bag (used a Snugpak Premier 2 – light but really warm!!)

Water-bottle x2

Torch-headtorch

Penknife

First aid kit

Dry bag for electrical goods

Maps

 notepad and pen

Tent – (we used a Vango tempest 300 – Worked perfectly and there were no problems however I would have liked a slightly bigger one as things atarted to get pretty cramped towards the end of the trip!)

Kitchen stuff

Stove (MSR Whisperlite – Really good and burns almost anything – Never did get the hang of simmering with it though!)

X2 cooking pots – We used big ones which worked really 

Spork!

Cleaning pad for cooking gear

Small lightweight plastic Tupperware style bottles to keep cooking stuff in such as oil, salt, pepper e.t.c.

Misc

I-pod  

Essential documents and photocopies

Passport and photocopies

EHIC for European travel

Travel insurance documents!

I managed to squeeze all of the above into 4 panniers (JUST!!) with the tent sitting on top of the rear rack.

Stacked and ready to roll!