Oldies Gap Year

One option we specified for the bikes are special couplings that essentially allow the frame to split in half. So this is my bike split in tow with the front wheel taken off, and the handlebars twisted around 90 degrees The large cardboard boxes came from Halfords, who were more than happy to give us them. I’m conscious that we will also have to scrounge boxes and packing stuff abroad - notably Tokyo and Bangkok, so want a system that will just use whats readily available. The picture above isn't the finished thing - I’ve added some more cardboard protection. The rolls of cardboard between the spokes of the bike are meant to avoid the box being crushed and the wheels with it. We are flying with BA, where there are basically two options. Either put the entire bike in a ginormous plastic bag, essentially complete, or like I have done above in a box. There is a fair amount of debate as to the best method. The plastic bag afficionados say that it’s obvious to luggage handlers that it’s...

We have done various trips locally with an increasing load and then spent 4 days in Pembrokeshire with a full load of what we expect to take. My bike weighs in at 45kg and as such becomes a bit of an unwieldy monster if you lose concentration and let it start to tip over. If you are not careful you and the bike become an upended tortoise with a similar grave difficulty in getting upright again. The very low gears that I somewhat sniffed at when we did a trial unloaded run when we bought the bikes came into their own. Pembrokeshire has got some stiff little hills, and the only way to conquer them is to spin in these ludicrously low gears and wobble/weave your way to the top. Oh, and don’t try and stop half way, as getting going again requires an art that we have yet to master fully. Perhaps the main thing we have learnt from these mini trips is how easily you can get cold- so we have invested in some decent down jackets from Patagonia ( the company, not the place) that can pack down i...

We’ve been planning for some months now, with the most important purchase being the bikes themselves. They are specialised touring bikes from Thorn Bikes. Whilst heavy, they are extremely well built and designed to carry the loads of panniers at the front and the back. A fair amount of the equipment we already had, but the other major purchase was a decent light weight tent. I’ve had a one man Hilleberg tent for years, and sold it on ebay to part finance a larger Hilleberg tent. Again it’s a quality issue - they are light, easy to erect and quite simply do the job that they are asked to do. I have no wish to camp for the entire duration - in a way its more of a back up plan if we fail to find any suitable accomodation in the way of bed and breakfast etc. I think by the time we get to Thailand we won’t need it all and may send it back before we leave Japan. We have gone for the comfort rather than spartan option in terms of equipment, which does mean carrying a fair old load. My bike...