Bicycle touring kit list – Tried and tested gear after 3 years on the road cycling around the world

Everything we carry on the bikes after 3 years cycling around the world, plus a look at the bikes themselves.
We look through each bag, explaining what we carry and where we store it, giving our honest opinion on each item, and highlighting our favourite things.
A complete list of the kit with links to the suppliers can be found on debsandtom.com at https://www.debsandtom.com/kit-list

hey morning folks well today is the 21st of June 2024 which means that it’s 3 years ago today we set off from 19 Ridge green around the world on this big adventure had to believe it de I can’t quite believe it no no three years so we thought rather than go for a big ride we’ll do something a bit different and we’ll make a film about the gear that we’ve uh that we use and what we how we’ve honed it down after 3 years so this is properly tried and tested gear 23, 000 mil something like that 3 years everything works now doesn’t it it does it does it does yeah so let’s have a look at the bikes and the bags and show you what we carry with our livive now first thing to not a lot of people have a track stand cuz there’s two of us we get to lean our bikes together like this so This Is How We Stand our bikes up when we’re outside a shop or yeah it kind of works on any road surface any gr bumpy stuff not a problem slopes can be a problem but that’s it and they’ve have a like a little cuddle just like devs and Tom so I’ve got a thorn Nomad 3 um the frame is designed that you can actually play around with wheel sizes the reason I chose it well they’re a brilliant company that’s specialized in touring bikes and um so it was always in my mind that it would probably be the brand I went for when we were planning this Tom already had a Touring bike so I went for something that was very similar to his same wheel size Etc um um but I treated myself to the rolloff Hub 14 gears all contained with inside that little shell and that is pretty much maintenance free the gear cables here they’re not under tension so in three years I’ve actually never had to adjust the cable tension all we have to do is every 5,000k oil change which takes 15 minutes lights got a Dynamo but the back one is broken so I’ve got a battery one on now the rear wheel now this is a 700 C and it is a disc brake on it which I’ll be honest I prefer I wish I had it on the front as well explain why when I get there tires swall oh my gosh cycle tourist love love swall and we’ve got the marathon plus tour it’s a seven rating puncture resistance apparently and generally pretty d D good very hard wearing too now because it’s a thorn I’ve got an eccentric bottom bracket now that means when my chain stretches obviously no derailer so that can’t take up the slack I just undo a couple of bolts underneath here and move it round takes a couple of seconds to adjust the tension on my train Toms a bit more complicated frame is steel P rack also steel very robust the bags I’m using I’ll go on to in a minute but carrying forward I’ve got two water bottles on I’ve got extra mounts as well that’s down to Thorn they’ve put me absolutely loads of extra mounts if I need them but at the moment that work is working fine I’m on my second bottom bracket about the third drive train set in the time we’ve been on the road headset an FSA fantastic still the original bearings and I can’t get them to move they’re great to be fair there’s not a lot of power tension going through there but they just keep on going front wheel is a v brake now I’ve got XT I’ve got XT brakes levers it’s XT all the way through I like them and I think they’re a little bit um more robust little bit harder wearing you can see here the adjustment points depending on what size wheel I had the rim itself is the ride Andra now they are fantastic a classic touring Rim very hard wearing I’m on my second Rim took the opportunity last year to take the hubs home and have them rebuilt and they’re going really well Sun Dynamo Hub I’ll be honest probably wouldn’t bother in future um a lot of people use them to charge things but we don’t and it adds a bit of weight means I’ve got a front light on all the time but um no I would have probably gone that pushed me down to having a v braak i couldn’t have a disc break with that hub and I would in future I would have gone for a disc break too late now I’ll go into what’s inside a bit later on but I’ve got my handlebar bag got my gar in here which actually mounts onto a little light but you can’t actually see the light because of the bag system but I just love the position which is why I stuck with it really really nice really good line of sight it’s the 1080 I’m sure it does a million and one things but it tells me where I’m going and how far I’ve got to go and that’ll do for me I’ve also got bar ends on which is not original but that gives me a choice of handlebar position which is really good got two mirrors um so I can see Tom the curb Etc and um this one for the traffic how brilliant at the minute but I keep breaking these and trying to find one that works that I don’t break is very difficult this little bag I bought in um in Wales said it was waterproof from specialized it isn’t water waterproof I brought it because of my tools I was going to put my Allen keys and things in there but because it’s not waterproof I don’t so I keep lip salve in there and that’s about it and I think it’s probably going to go I don’t really need it this bag will take an extra water bottle if we need it but at the moment it gets the bug spray and the sun cream it varies what’s in there depending on the country um I have my little lucky mascot um which was given to me in Mexico by a lovely chap who was cycling or had cycled you sh to Alaska and a bell which actually works fa well it’s about the fifth Bell um seat wow Brooks love it love it love it generally always comfortable it’s getting a bit worn dilemma time do I replace it possibility maybe at the end of South America I’ll put a new one on our bags um we went for orle no complaints one or two niggles but what you expect after 3 years and we’ll go into more details later but definitely recommend those right so here we’ve got my bike which is an Oxford Bike Works uh machine which you might never heard of because they’re a very small company but uh by chance we came across them on the way out of England because originally had a cube but it wasn’t quite big enough so uh and uh Richard the guy there makes some M to measure so this as you can see really unusual geometry I like to ride sat straight up because I get a bad B so I’ve got this huge extension these big butterfly bars turned up um and it gives me a really comfortable position um as with Deb’s uh Rim brakes on on front and back which as Deb’s have said i’ go with this bakes in the future because you break to just wear your rims and we we’re on the second pair of rims already we need a third pair so I wouldn’t go with that again got the Dynamo Hub U but my lights stopped working a long time ago again I don’t think I’ll bother with the Dynamo hub in the future because uh we don’t charge electrics couple of mascots I’ll let you see if anybody in the comments can tell us what that is and of course one of my PO teeth from Cusco in the recent Dental Extravaganza we did have shout out to uh I’ll call them say and jebby as I did on the very first day cuz I was so V nervous but uh the Lego mascots unfortunately didn’t last 3 years but they’re still there in in feet or in spirit again Brook saddle pretty happy with that it’s I think it’s a flyer special which uh has got the extra springs on for extra bit of suspension it’s pretty comfortable but I’m so heavy that I I get through them and this is my second book saddle um and it’s already about out of uh the extension that you can give to to make it more comfortable and stretch it so when Tom set off our first 6 months um he had the brook a different Brook saddle and within 6 months it killed it so we contacted Brooks and they were amazing I think it was a wonderful guy called Steve and they repaired his damag Brooks sadle or part destroyed but they gave him this one free because they felt this was better for him and they were right thanks Steve thanks Brooks again the rolloff Hub same as Debs I’d never be without one of those again now uh fantastic thing I’d never go back to a derailer system um just so so easy to to change gear maintenance free bottom Brack ETS and pedals I’ve been through a few of these I think I’m on about me uh fifth set of pedals and seventh bottom bracket and even now it’s got a bit of play in it um and we need to go to leaz we didn’t want to go to leaz um but uh I think it’s the combination of the weight I think this bike fully loaded is around about 60k and I’m coming on 100K so uh that’s that’s that’s a lot of weight and I think that that combined with the torque and the power in my legs just means I just go through the bottom brackets and pedals like no business carry 4 L of water we’ve got 3 l in these uh these um big bottles here um and a flask which isn’t the best place for it for keeping stuff hot or cold but it’s a it’s a nice convenient location now these are too heavy for the frame really I’ve had problems with the the uh the Fixins um so I’ve supported them with cable ties but the ultimate solution for this one I don’t know whether you can make that out but in quena we had a guy weld a rectangular piece of metal to the frame to give it that extra bit of thickness to uh um to help support it and it’s been good ever since uh little bit of a mud guard on the front and mud guard on the back which just helps uh helps stop getting completely Mucky and uh the old Yorkshire flag the uh the Rosa Alba from the from Yorkshire which we both carry although we could perhaps do with a new one because they’re getting a bit battered uh or Le bags again bigger ones than Debs uh this type um I don’t think they even make anymore because it’s not as waterproof this one the waterproofing on the inside uh which isn’t as good because it just wears away whereas these ones the more traditional the waterproofing on the outside and they’re a lot more robust originally this bike did come with a track stand like a motorbike one like a like an upside down V that you sort of push on you can just see there the remnants of where it fixed to the frame but again the bike was too heavy for that really so we ended up taking it off just to save a wait and the there was also the spring wasn’t there as well oh and the spring there was a lovely little device cuz obviously often your bike does this and it spins right round there was a spring attached here to try and stop that but again it didn’t last the course so I think the big handlebars too much leverage yeah got a mirror on the left I didn’t have one of these all the time I only got this I think in the states and now I wouldn’t be without one honestly to be able to see the traffic coming it’s ideally it’s cracked because of where I fell off on the Pau Canyon but I’ll leave it there to remind myself how close we are from uh danger um and cable ties the py along with duct tape the Cy toan cyclist best friend cable ties we’ve been through a few of these that’s just sort of cable tied on as a bit of a Podge job we’ve got the original these are actually off my Cube uh bike these these butterfly handlebars and underneath there’s a leather padding but I’ve put on top of that traditional uh handlebar tape and that makes it really comfortable to hold on 99% of the time I’m ridding I’m riding uh holding up here only go down here really to break when we going downhill or in urban areas so uh yeah so what’s in the bags let’s have a look what’s in the bags but first thing to know is after 3 years we’ve pretty practiced about what goes in which bag what makes it easier and because of the mirror one of the things you’ve always got to do with this bike is lean it on its uh right hand side cuz if you don’t you break the mirror which we’ve done so times so in doing that I make sure the stuff I need to get to quickly is in this side right so the way we’ve got it packed is both duffel bugs or the camping gear so to set up camp to make the tent up to get all the bedding out all we need is the two duffel bugs so let’s have a look in this one you’ll notice we’ve got a bit of Gaff tape there to just protect it against the uh the seat rubbing which it does and rubs through the uh waterproofing janen Lincoln was the one that came up with that idea and gave us our first tape thank you Jane you’ll notice that they’re all getting a bit worn I mean here for example uh the uh strapping is snapped on one of them so it’s a bit tricky to get that in and out but uh it’s it’s all it’s all okay and so in here I carried the tent which we’ll show you later that’s the tent inner and outer all inside a dry bag most stuff we have is inside either a carrier bag or a dry bag to keep it dry there’s the poles and the pegs so that there is the complete tent system we got a backpack which is pretty bulky and pretty big but it’s not very heavy but it’s proved really invaluable when you wanted to go and do some big tricks and want to put a lot of stuff in so again I wouldn’t do without that Montaine we’ll do a kit L but I think it’s uh I don’t know how many liters but it’s pretty big but there you go we’ll put that up later then the other thing to a little thing to note with these bags what we’ve often found is they spin out like this when they’re fully loaded and they found that the secret to avoiding that is to always roll them away from the seat so when you’re fixing them roll them that way away from the seat and then they spin up against the seat and don’t fall off so there’s a handy little tip for you and last of all in here is our number one luxury item which we wouldn’t be without with a a couple of helox chairs which are just perfect for when you camp pin up but they’re magic chairs because they put themselves up wow so I think these are the helinox one standard and extra large and I think we could have got away with a little bit smaller and saved a few grams so I’ve got extra large because obviously I’m extra large but this one of Debs is just the standard and I’m quite comy in that and I think she could have probably got away with the chair zero so uh had we again done that in the in the future we might have gone a little bit smaller but there’s not much in it and it’s super comfy oh it’s the times we’ve been at campsites thinking thank goodness we’ve got these chairs you can just sit and relax after a hard day it’s just perfect AD DI yeah oh definitely yeah they’re staying in the kids okay so the other camping kit bag um obviously Yorks your rose and then and in we go what’s in here now over the years these have got slightly deformed and I don’t know what it is I can never undo them I need a Tom go on Tom you just have to sucking them off a bit even when I do that it doesn’t work again I just sometimes I can do it sometimes I can’t one undo before the other and it pulls out a funny angle and I can never get them to pop out okay Eureka we’re in so what’s in the bag recent acquisition in Cusco for hiking and it’s small enough to go in the bag it’s actually second hand but it was the only one that fitted so they kindly solded it little and large our fmer sleep mats now this was a recent change for me my sleeping bag Tom and I both originally had pretty much the same one allbe at different sizes I’ve gone for a Spanish make a lot smaller and not to quite it’s cold weather Thomas’s sleeping bag just a wee bit bigger than mine as you can see [Music] so as you see helmet I always as just Tom we always wear our helmets whenever we go anywhere I always wear a cap I love the cap keeps the sun off my eyes this one is perfect a wonderful present after I cooked my last one on the icefield parkway from a great guy called Don who happened to be carrying it with him just the ticket and I always leave my hair clip on the strap of my handlebar bag because I can lose anything so I know where it is and I can get the hair out of my eyes and when it’s hot oh God I need my hair clipped up done okay what’s in the back bag so this one when it’s leaned up against the wall on a post first thing I’ve got on the top of everything you can see everything is in bin bags because the bags aren’t as waterproof as they used to be but the first thing I’ve got is a warm top so up in the mountains it’s getting a bit chilly and just dip into that bag grab that out on the side we’ve got the padlock again for going into shops and things um a uh a water container which is really handy that’s that’s MSR that’s uh Roberto gave us that in San Francisco and that is a brilliant bit of Kit I think it can hold something like nearly 5 l of water super but so that goes in there too and then inside here all wrapped up in waterproof plastic and my main clothes which we’ll talk through later laptop again in it’s own dry bag the electric box which we’ll look into as well and our washing machine so this is a great bit of Kit huge big dry bag um when we got dirty washing we fill it up fill it with water tie it up shake it around stamp on it wash it around and it’s like our own little washing machine so that’s a great for so that’s uh back bag number one so coming close to some of this you can see uh the the bags have taken a bit of a batter in over the years we’ve patched them up with gaffer tape and the pain of our lives are these little gray bits they’re forever falling out and you can see when they’re gray you can imagine trying to find that in amongst the stone and the dirt is really difficult so or Le please paint them fluorescent orange or something that would make so much difference I think they come out because the whole system along here gets quite worn um so it’s it’s a problem that develops over the time but yeah please allly also on the back you’ll see we’ve got the extra foam pad uh as well as the air mattresses that we’ll show you later that’s really useful just for working on the bikes saving the old knees the knees aren what they used to be and uh when it’s really cold it underneath the sleeping M has a bit of extra insulation so no weight to it we’ve cut it down a bit to fit on the back of the bike but uh wouldn’t be without that either so this other bag we’ve got easy access to waterproofs uh to be honest there’s no such thing to me as breathable waterproof after 3 years on the road we’ve tried them all we’ve tried the G uh the um gortex the North Face and all the best thing for me good old Peter storm it’s a bit like a plastic bag it makes you sweat it keeps the water out so there’s our waterproof seat covers as well which is important for the books uh saddle and then inside here we have again wrapped in black plastic our overnight bag so this is all we need to get out I’m we camping up in there I’ve got my clothes for the night which we’ll go through in a moment so that’s the overnight bag so once we’ve pitched the tent with the two Duff Falls that’s the only bag we need for the night come another person and then the rest of that I think we’ll go through inside because as you can see it’s getting a bit warm and there’s air on inside so we’ll go through the rest of that bag later on the front of the bike we’ve got what we call the kitchen bags these two bags here are full of food and uh the kitchen the cooking ingredients uh so we’re go through them again in the room cuz he’s roasting and then handlebar bag inside here with the rather nutty foam lining the GoPro sits in there so easy access so when I film on the bike it’s usually just one hand riding and one hand holding the GoPro filming around we’ll go through that in a bit more detail later okay so I’ve empty these out inside but this bag is the bag I need whenever we get off the bikes be a hotel or camping and how do I know it’s the bag I need need or the bag I don’t need has a patch on just makes life easier for me at the front like Tom I have a kitchen bag which is this side and again just to make life easier for me I have a little tag on here this bag has multiple purposes and I’ll explain a little bit later and then of course like Tom I’ve got my handlebar bag which is indispensable I do keep it tidy purse kept in place by my binoculars both eye glasses toilet R extra toilet R phone and reading glasses perfect and we’ve also got a magic tent now this is our tent a Nemo I think it’s Aurora they may even have stopped making it now but it’s a dream of a tent it’s absolutely perfect it’s symmetrical it’s so easy to put up takes about 5 minutes it’s big roomy even for somebody six got four like me he is an absolute dream and uh green too the first one we had was blue which was not ideal for wide wild camping but uh you can tie these up here for when to there you go and then inside look at the space in here bloody lovely is’t itoo got these lovely vents for when it’s a bit extra hot just lets a a little bit more air in look at that and pretty waterproof I mean the ground sheets taking a bit of a battery in over think we’ve had this one about a year um so third tent we had a big Agnus when we set off that was quite old wasn’t it yeah and then uh a blue version of this and now the Green version oh look at that that looks comfy Debs it certainly is um there’s room for all our bags when we camping somewhere and uh we’ve got them all sorted so that works really really well little bag up here little pocket we can put our head torches in there so we have a light in the tent think you can see here this venting that Tom was talking about that little bar just pops down and they drop down when we want that gone you can obviously have it without the outer we’ve got it pegged down here but you can have it without those so you can have it inside a building Etc and what I love when we have just the inner is we can Li down there and watch the night sky which is just fantastic can get big damp on the morning if there’s a bit of condensation but other than that definitely worth it so this is our sleeping mats uh thermarest NeoAir one large and one small as for normal and uh this is Deb house she blows them up every night look so rather than blowing them up with your breath which would fill and full of moist you’re doing it every night we have this handy little valve on the dry bags which uh means you can blow them up like this fill that with air Roll It Up and Away you go you can see they’re getting a bit grubby now but uh 3 years on the road like all of us we’re feeling the wear and tear mine we’ve patched them both up twice mine’s got a slow puncture which we can’t find which means you’ve got to B it up two or three times a night but it’s no big hey so the back bag one of the back bags with the computer to close the electric box so the computer it’s uploading at the moment so it’s not actually in here but uh most important for the C computer is a good hard case because uh it does get a battery computers over here if you want to have a quick look Dev it’s a Dell XPS 13 um collected quite a few stickers on on the route yeah happy memories who but uh it’s uploading with the iivan Wi-Fi which is taken quite away for the nearest film quite a bit of weit in that but to do the films and to do all the photos we need we need that uh the washing bag we’ve talked about the electric box so coming for this there so the again pretty heavy but uh this has got a myriad of things in little set of headphones for listening to music not upsetting depths tiny tiny little headphones there and then the charging system now this is extra weight that we don’t really need to carry but I like to carry it so can so this thing is a um a raft power I’m not sure what exactly what you call it I’ll put it in the description but the way it works basically is it um adjusts to various voltages and and currents evens them out and it’s got four ports and it fast charges on four different leads so uh if we’re in a cafe or a hotel just for one night we want to charge everything uh I think it’s worth taking that because uh it charges charges four things at fast charge pace so we’ve got four leads and again I like to carry a 2 m lead um and and high spec leads that that really fast charge all the time 2 MERS because you’re often a long way from the plug you want to lie in bed looking at your phone or doing some work on the computer and the and the socket is actually 2 m away so uh only a couple of extra grams I’m sure but 2 m sure spare pair of reading glasses razor and plug from the states which I think we bought in Florida um a couple of uh camera filters which are very rarely used but if you want them and you need them that’s all you need there’s a polarizer circular polarizer and a big stopper uh neutral density filter there um some spare uh glass screens for the phone we got those uh in England and still got a spare one um hard disc drive we’ve got two of these two uh gigabyte I think they are two terabyte I should say um small Samsung hard dri brilliant little things tiny Debs carries one I carry the other and all the photos the films and everything go on there uh so that’s always backed up and we keep them in two different places a plug adapter for Universal across the world uh SIM card extractor couple of uh warm hands hand warming sachets not in fact for the hands but for the camera when we’re up in the mountains and it’s freezing cold and uh stops the camera condensing um remote uh lead for the camera for when we’re doing long exposures and things um memory card reader for the camera Sharpie pen and a few few spare bits for the GoPro so we’ll spread all that out and do a list of that but that’s what’s in the electric box okay so this is the clothes in the green bag which we don’t often get out this is sort of spare clothes um in the dry bag pair of swimming shorts for going swimming where it’s a public place uh four pairs of socks two if on the bike it’s got another pair on wearing and two that are a bit warmer for the cold climates the old green vest top which uh is on its last legs I think but we’ll keep wearing that for when it’s really on two pairs of cycling shorts once only really wear one but uh if you’re on a long stin without a shower you can you can wear one and uh and and get the others clean while you wear the others the the the fleecy top which we mentioned earlier nice little RAB outfit pretty nice with a hood you’ll see me in the videos on that in the morning when it’s cold Fair pair of shorts outer shorts um there got another pair I’m wearing which again are on the last legs uh two pairs of pants spare pair of long trousers uh pair of thermal leggings which which will go in the camping bag when we’re in a cold climate uh sort of an old waterproof top which isn’t any waterproof anymore but it’s useful as a windbreaker a flannel uh which is nice to get clean with and a couple of Marino W tops which are lovely in the cold weather brilliant brand minus 33 I think they’re called from the states and if you’re tall like me they make them tall extra large tall so if you’re like if you’re tall like me 6’4 you can never find a shirt that fits and especially when you’re looking for a Bas layer you want something that’s going to cover your back so then make these extra long and look at that they fit perfectly for a tall person so I’d certainly recommend them – 33 so there’s the spare clothes and the great thing about these dry socks is they act a bit like a vacuum pack thing so I put all these in here and then what I do to get the best out of the packing they’ve got this little valve on you open up a tie top so you can compress everything and then what I tend to do to make the best of the space is just sit tight lovely get the last of the air out and that way it takes up a lot less room in your B [Music] so this is the camp bag it is just what we need for the overnight stuff so as well as one I’m wearing to cycl in shorts shirt and socks and uh cycling shorts in here we have spare pair of pants spare pair of socks nice long socks to stop the bugs buying your ankles spare shirt and I must put a shout out all this to be honest all this shirts again bit like the minus 33 they make them extra long so I think they’re 2 or 3 in longer in the sleeve and in the back and the quality of this is insane I’ve I’ve worn this for 3 years and it’s still gr strong I mean it’s Sun bleached but the stitching’s good Fabric’s good fantastic great brand Oris okay pair of long trousers even though it’s scorching hot around here when we camp up it’s the long trousers because of the bugs a buff that we can put on our head to keep the bugs off flannel to get clean and spare pair of uh the remains of some socks which I tend to put around my ankles when it’s really buggy to stop him biting me ankles double double skin and then the travel towel which is quite big but very light wait so for the rest of this uh this bag we’ll spread it out on the bed so it’s easier to see spare pair of shoes have real difficulty finding shoes to fit so normally I might only carry one pair but uh these meril extra wide are about the only shoes I can find to fit so there’s a spare pair there so I’ve got two pairs of shoes pair of flip-flops for when it’s really hot and sunny tripod now that’s something I’ve often toyed with the idea of do I need it do I not you can only get the shots with a tripod with a tripod so I don’t know but it’s heavy so that’s a potential a spare battery pack um for charging stuff up couple of spare gas canisters for the stove which we’ll talk to you about shortly on that um couple of uh head torch head torches uh one each there um hat for when it’s really hot and sunny don’t often use that but again when you need it you need it when you’re off the bike down jacket for when it’s really cold and then in that dry bag is almost sort of cold and wet weather gear which is a pair of waterproof trousers two pairs of gloves and a hat and then in this bag here we have some repair tools which Debs will talk about later cuz she’s the bike mechanic of the pair so that is both of my back bags completely so there we go [Music] okay so the two kitchen bags let’s have a look what’s inside these not a lot of food at the moment cuz we’re in a hotel but uh these are really nice double uh Fastener from or Le actually the two things make it really sort of animal proof and waterproof and again this is the better better quality fabric so in here we have some uh drinking chocolate we like these little containers they weigh nothing and they keep stuff from getting bashed about stuff gets very damaged with vibration on the bike so these some stock cubes and some spices now this is what we’ve changed to from the we used to have a primer ONN fuel gasoline stove or petrol stove but uh it was so unreliable one day it work next day it wouldn’t couldn’t work out why and we just got sick of it so we’ve changed to butane propane mix and we’ve got this lovely do is it I don’t know quite how you pronounce that but uh propane stove which is just a treat can a bit tricky getting the gas bottles but we carry a couple of spares and if it means we have to go a week or two without the stove then I’d rather have that than the reliability of the uh of the primer on fuel to be honest water filter MSL Guardian again it’s a big one but uh for two of us it’s it’s really fast and we can we can quickly fill stuff up with that um the only thing that’s not part of the kitchen bag but it sits in the kitchen bag is a spare tire so in here again protected by plastic bags is a spare schry tire cuz Deb has had a blowout once in her Tire which we needed to replace the tire so maybe a bit of Overkill to carry it but we carry a spare tire and then pan number one which uh is a nice little uh little pan there with the stove the gas bottle rather again protected with carrier bag and a little windshield we found that the best way of these is just to get a roll of 5 m roll of tin foil and fold it up and it gives yourself a little Windbreak and it does the job just perfectly for like a quid something like that so there you go so that’s kitchen bag number [Music] one kitchen bag number two our lovely mugs which we got from uh secret spot sherf shop in in scarra still going strong thanks Tomo really good [Music] mugs random ttin peaches it’s not the only thing you can get um ingredients for porridge oatmeal porridge coffee CFE filter oh no this is probably the best coffee filter we think for compromise between um weight hassle we did have an air press but it was too much hassle but this thing is just a drip filter with this brass or copper I’m not sure mesh you put the coffee inside let it drip tastes good some more spices and pan number two which is the big pan not sure the capacity of that we’ll give you a kit list but uh SE to Summit is it I think wonderful big pan for cooking up a big stir fry something like that with some some tea and some quino and some other things in there and at the bottom of the bag just to give it a bit of stability C some spare inner tubes which we haven’t needed for a long time because the new Ines which we didn’t mention on the bikes we’ll have to we have to find out the name of those they’re really good bunch of resistance we haven’t needed to change these for a long time so and that’s kitchen bag number [Music] two so in here we’ve got a couple of handy little pockets for a bits of rubbish and such like I’ve got some uh lip balm in one side for when it’s hot and sunny or cold and windy and then inside the GoPro sits in there we’ve got phone the wallet with all the money and the cards and everything so TR passport so potentially a little bit vulnerable there a lot of people carry a a false wallet and a false purse but I just put it all in there um a battery pack for charging things up without having to get in the back bag for the spare one um because the GoPro we used to have uh a GoPro with the uh volter I think it is integral battery grip but it was rubbish I wouldn’t recommend that at all the wire kept breaking it never worked um it wasn’t waterproof uh just and the sound was terrible on it so we’ve gone back to just a standard uh a GoPro handle uh but the battery of course needs charging quite regularly so I can just leave that in there and got the leading pair of reading glasses for the old folk and then inside here some blue roller some plasters our internet is provided by glow call me which um isn’t the cheapest or most efficient way of doing it I guess uh a lot of people get a SIM card in every country they go to but we’ve got I think six different devices that can connect to the internet the laptop de tablet two phones the uh the Garmin and various things so we find that that serves Us best because then we don’t have to change our SIM card and our phone numbers and that kind of thing so that is like a portable Wi-Fi hotspot and then in here cocooned in this lovely foam uh packaging and in another dry bag of course is uh the big camera as we call it which is a Nikon z7 with uh which a 14 30 mm lens cuz I’m a sucker for the uh the long uh wide angle shots quite a heavy camera um for a trip like this but it’s the camera I had so you know it saves getting another and it captures light so beautifully it really does perhaps don’t get it out as often as I as I should maybe once twice a week we take pictures with this but it’s there for when we need it and you can’t get shots on your phone like you can get on this so uh and that’s the handlebar [Music] bag okay so this is my main back bag it’s also just so you know it’s the atle roller top classic roller top because that’s what it does the top rolls which three rolls helps keep it waterproof and this actually to be fair has stayed pretty waterproof but I’ve still got it lined with a plastic bag so this is our everyday bag and I carry bits that Tom doesn’t so here we go and for those who’ have seen the films will understand that’s our toothpaste toothbrushes quite a few bits in there because of got to look after Tom’s teeth we’re getting on a bit so they everyday tablets that we take every day nothing very exciting and this bag is my night bag Camp bag so everything in here is what I need for an evening now I’m not kind of quite as good as Tom and I have a bit more kit I have a lovely big throw I’m on my third I’ve lost the other two which um I wear as a when I’m going out I wear it around my shoulders I put it over my legs when I’m sat in the chair to keep all the midges off me keep me a bit warmer I love my little throw I can also get changed inside it I have a very warm Marino wool from Endura long sleeve top for coal camping and I have a short sleeved which I pinched off my lovely excting daughter Helen little vest to sleep in so long sleeve short sleeve sleeping top short sleeve sleeping shorts bought in Canada from a charity shop and then this my goodness few days before we set off we had a whistle top tour to get a few essentials pick this up and I love it long sleeves get my thumb Loops in there Hood Pockets big pockets on the outside and the inside you can get tons of stuff in it and I still think it looks pretty good and that gets worm virtually daily over 3 years so that’s my warm top for camping keeping the midges off like Tom I carry a pair of socks I had a lovely pair laundry lost one so these are new these are Angora alpaca wool something like like that and they keep my feet warm on the night but they also keep the midges off me and then these have been going to stay one my baggie from TK Maxx sort of leggings need a wash but they keep me comfortable I sleep in them when they’re cold and I Lounge about in them when we get to the campsite keeps all the midges off as well and they kind of push up to my knees when it’s a bit warm and there’s no midges so that’s my sleep system it’s also my evening system if we’re in a hotel and not really going out everything there so in here is some shampoo I don’t know why it’s in there but it’s a big bag of shampoo um then I have my everyday cleaning stuff moisturizer antiperspirant that sort of thing um packs down in there first aid kit carried this for 3 years and to be honest we’ve used it one in anger and that wasn’t for us so close to just not carrying one we’ll see then put extra painkillers in with that here this is my uh electrical equipment you can tell I’m probably not as electrical equipment minded as Tom so what have I got in the bag I’ve got my little tablet few little stickers too and that’s where I write my blog and watch Netflix quite heavy actually but it wouldn’t be without it I got funny sensitive ear so I can’t do a little ear thing so I have these birthday present from my beloved so I don’t annoy him on the night and my charger all lives together in there here Camp shoes I don’t want my trainers on but I can cycle in these I can hike in these these are what I wear when I’m not on the bike and they’re a set of ke brilliant things smell a bit mine finally I’ve got my flannel and I have two towels so I can sort of dry me down and dry my hair down okay so what’s in the first aid kit well if you’ve ever fallen off your bike what do you do you scrape yourself this stuff jell it it’s fantastic it’s um it’s like a mesh that’s medicated doesn’t stick onto the wound absolutely brilliant so I’ve got some of that I’ve also got some wound covers and a few things to wipe the wound down before we apply it all very sensible but never needed well I did have some saws on my bum once and those covers were great therefore when we have um an upset tum cool these are called Flor flutin and brilliant brilliant and you do get a few upset TS when you’re touring couple of face masks save on the bit of money um I cut Tom’s hair he cuts mine spare toothpaste toothbrush I mean um I had a bit of an eye going on when we were in Cusco so that’s some medication in case it comes back lots and lots of extra tablets Dramamine if I’m D in a car or on a boat um more painkillers um spare antihistamine tick remover there extra pales of TOMS more painkillers um super important this super important this is for when we get hot and sweaty and sore bottoms perfect ditto for lips that’s the first aid one um my personal stuff we share an antiperspirant my daily comb which I I think it’s going to replace that one CU it’s dyeing shaver little treat little bit of um necklace I brought myself um body moisturizer hand sanitizer daily drops for Sore Eyes couple of spare shampoos a mirror spare soap not a very healthy looking nail file if I’m wanting to try and get my hair looking nice a few Clips nail clippers eyebrow tweezers moisturizer okay and over here here his and her tooth braces we really do try and keep on top of our teeth cuz we don’t get them checked very often so those to clean the teeth out Tom’s using lising daily now as well because of his wound in his mouth and a decent sensitive toothpaste okay so one of my jobs is to clean the bags don’t do it that often maybe once a month or so and also tighten up any nuts and bolts really saling key heads on all of these cuz they do come loose um so that’s I’ve just done and here’s one waiting to be done yeah I know this one was AR this a lovely little film with the man repairing that on our Channel he did a great job okay so this is the bag I don’t use so often and the reason I make it this bag is because obviously it’s the weaker bag um in here another liner although that’s doing the trick that’s for getting any water in so what are we got in here so that’s the bag emptied light Tom Everything mainly in these waterproof bags okay what’s in the bag so in this bag there’s like extra stuff Um how my brain works I have a little bag for little things so I’ve got my bra there should be some pants but I think they’re all in the wash I’ve got a little hat socks midet spare pair of cycling gloves buff I love this really really thin big wrap which I Glam up my little black dress or wear as a seron by the pool all of these things and it was a a wedding anniversary present for my beloved so I do like that um another pair of gloves um which I really like I thought would really need them but they were just so cute um got them in Cusco swimsuit yep little things the next bag bit bigger probably the same size to be fair um is my waterproofs and this gets buried at the bottom because I don’t normally use it very often waterproof trials is thick cycling tights probably going to dump after we finished in South America rarely wear them and I could just wear my trousers and my waterproof so I think unnecessary I think they’re going to get dumped waterproof socks do love it when it’s cold and wet so yeah they survive two pairs of gloves which kind of work never really got success Sly warm gloves but yeah they’re all right then these are my spare clothes kind of think I’ve got a bit too much but um first of all I have a separate set of cycling kit so I’ve got a pair of Liv shorts and I’ve got a pair of Endura shorts went for different brands cuz the stitching is different places hopefully to stop saws developing and then I have two different Tops This one from Terry which is an American cycling company and this bright orange one from Montaine she’s a little warmer theory is I wear one one day wash it overnight and then it’s um clean and dry for the day after it dries on the bike in reality just doesn’t work so I tend to wear one outfit and if you’ve watch the films you’ll know it’s this one and if we’ll stay on the bike for 4 days the fourth day I’ll put clean kit on maybe probably clean shorts at the most and so I arrive at Hotel not smelling too badly never never suffered from saddle SES apart from once and that was the poor short I have my Glam little black dress which is just roll up in a ball doesn’t crease bought this in Canada with my lovely friend Jen and just so cool and comfortable to wear and um can go out for dinner and not look like a cycle tourist my warm off the bik kit which is a little shirt Marina walls tank top top and my beloved pair of Patagonia shorts which have been had for donkeys years and then I’ve got my long length trousers another vest and another shirt the nice thing about that is I I hate my arms and I don’t like too much sun on them but it’s not too warm and when you’re inside a building you can take the shirt off and be cool and then unnecessary I bought this it’s a marina W top it’s probably very nice but I don’t really like it but I’m keeping it for South America when it’s cold and then it’s going home incredibly unetched hat which I occasionally wear and when I’m going out want to look smart I have my little sort of bandana thing go and fit and starts with that one here a completed Diaries ready to pass on when I go home or meet somebody who’s going home I’ve got my down jacket really do I need my down jacket and my big purple hoodie I’m not sure I do wear both but rarely at the same time so after South America that’s probably going home too and then there’s another spares bag I know I know what on Earth I’ll go through those two bags we have together and we may dump some stuff we keep thinking about that bag number [Music] two oh okay so this one here is my kitchen bag and this one with a little pink tag on is my split personality bag I’ll explaining AO about that one okay let what’s in the bag okay so bag number one our kitchen bag in here we have everything we need for lunch and but U so and also what we eat with so we both have a long handle spoon indispensable and to be honest that’s all Tom has I also have a knife and fork Tom be R Fork which no longer gets used and this is our chopping knife and just in case a bottle opener well you never know um that’s my bowl and my plate that’s what I eat out of we also shake things up in it make salads in it this is our chopping board that’s all we need um they last so long and then die on us uh we used to have a wooden chopping board but that does the trick always carry a bit of washing up liquid and a washing up brush which is old toothbrushes we recycle those this I think probably will go it’s the knife sharpener I tend to use a local rock or something or yeah yeah so but that’s a nice sharpener that normally would be with Tom but we just picked it up on the way here so it’s a tomato sauce mix it with pasta or anything and have a nice meal obviously peanut butter can’t go anywhere with without peanut butter little free samples from restaurants little sauces tomato sauce mustard Etc and we always carry a mayonnaise at them in it as well bags of nuts these are quite good we just come across them in Peru um cost about 2 or3 and there’s a really good healthy mix of stuff in there always generally have some tuner as an emergency lunch and a few crackers for an emergency lunch and that’s our kitchen bag so bag number two now this one does change so for example when we went through Bear Country all that went in there was anything that smelt um so all your smellies that I’ve had in other bags in various places um clothes with worn so they didn’t go in the tent and it it happens it just keeps varying which use at the minute we moved these from Tom’s bags and the we keep the repair in case we get a puncture in case we need to do on any maintenance um hot sweaty country we keep a few bait be wipes cuz there’s often nowhere to wash um I keep a top with me in case it gets a bit chilly but I also use it to sit on this type of thing this was a present literally gave me the shirt off the back this lovely family in Mexico then we have this bag which is the puncture repair kit and assortment of TI levers they get broken as we go along pen to make a mark where the hole is that’s to get Tom’s wheel out um puncture kit you know the usual stuff glue Etc spare inner tube we never bother with them but some gloves to keep our hands clean and a fabulous fabulous pump it’s the toe PE morare something or other so your stir up pump so you can stand on it when you pump up mini Trap pump basically very very efficient it’s our second one the first one died but it was already a good few years old when we set off very happy with that piece of Kit and then um I like Tom have a rook sack but mine’s much smaller much lighter cuz he gets used sort of when we stop anywhere it’s my everyday bag but it’s very lightweight um from Montaine no yeah no it’s a mount Bell I don’t think it is from Montaine um not incredibly hard wearing but super light two packs of cards when you play shitthead you need two packs of cards um can’t get our favorite train L but this one I think it’s called squirt it’s working really well very happy with that one oh we started off with about 10 pegs we’re down to two but they’re useful when you’re drying clothes so the main tool kit um highlight individual spanners they’re easier to work with it’s got a big adjustable spanner chain tool spoke key that’s for the brook Saddles to tighten them up found this on the road Road very nice fits quite a few things on our bikes um this is for my um bottom bracket so I can tighten up the bottom bracket shell when I need well when I need to tighten up my chain that’s the tool I need there um this one if we tighten up the chain ring bolts on the Chain set this stops the back of the bolt moving uh you can kind of use a knife but that does work better and this one just treated ourselves to this cuz I gave our last one away for some reason but this um helps us open and close the chain when you’re putting a new chain on then Alan Keys again you can get some lovely little sets ratchet sets and things like that but I prefer I think find them easier to use to get in there um what I did before we set off I went through the whole bike and I carry an Al an allen key or a star one in there and is this is um very trendy piece of kit but so every single piece on the bite that uses an allen key or a torque one we have the right ones for um this this was ch’s last birthday present before we set off it was a bit bemused at first but it has a multiple purpose of uses knives gloss scissors the whole lot really really useful bit of weight but very very nice okay so I carry this um which is full of this so what’s in the bag okay well we’re ready soon in the next few months for a new drive chain which is a new chain ring and a new sprocket on the back and my wonderful friend silven his fabulous dad Ben bought those over for us from America um I’ve been carrying this for a while it’s a spare rotor for my Disc break haven’t needed it won’t put it on until I do doesn’t weigh much but it means I’ve got one when we need one probably a bit overkill on this cuz sure we could have picked one up somewhere but pay her and then saw this really good quality heavyduty chain so I grab that for Tom and I’ll buy myself whatever’s available when we need to do it they shouldn’t be in here B the perfume stuff from a lady shade they’ll go in the other bag this is has been a wee bit obsessive but we have a second track pump why well one broke when it breaks and you’re in the middle of nowhere and you can’t blow up your inner tubes you’re stuffed we carry a spare just peace of mind some some grease which is useful that actually wants to be in the front bag don’t know why it’s here um for some reason I have well I have this little packet which has spare very specific spares that will hold the Garmin on spare keys for our or Le bags uh that’s again ging uh that’s to do with the rollof rear hub it’s a little spare backing plate and that’s bolts for the rollof as well so very specific bits of kit that we wouldn’t be able to just pop into a local shop and buy so we keep those with us so they’re useful so here I keep some um spare credit cards and um my UK driving license um some records for my eyes and various things um just in EXT in proof of ID and stuff like that so I keep those that’s as Tom mentioned earlier our backook so that lives in that’s where I keep mine um spare glue spare patches the various things of our kit thanks to my lovely mom-in-law Sue I have a little sewing packet and you’d be amazed how often we use it got some cotton various needles and bits and Bobs thought it was a bit OT but does get a lot of use now here uh I’ve got a little box full of various nuts and bolts and I’ve got bearings for pedals and stuff like that maybe got more than we need but you never know you never know so um they’re bits for the Dynamo as well so thanks that um extra patches we had a period of nightmares with punctures won’t go into that it’s over now um but they weigh nothing yeah you either need them or you don’t but keep those with us I might move those into that front bag with all the other puncture stuff I collect badges somewhere buried somewhere I’ve not got them out today and lots of little Badges of countries we’ve been to um flannel to wipe the chain down tie wraps obviously cannot do without those put myself some lovely Oak and the the lens has just worn away more L instantly um so I’m keeping those until I can find a new lens um one of those escaping um face masks and spokes which again very useful we have used several that’s really useful to have okay and then Tom has quite a bit more um anybody any of our regular readers will know we had such a nightmare back in the States when I put a new Rim tape on Tom’s Tom’s wheel and oh my goodness it wouldn’t stay put so those now are specific Rim tapes for the our rims and um worth their weight in gold Shadows yeah um here um polish for the brook Saddles so we keep a little jar of that probably ready for bin in and new one it does go off after a while um duct tape not the best in the world oh it’s supposed to be 3M but um always useful and yay some new Flags so we might replace them and we that’s our one that my nephew jedy and nice my like myself and Tom created look at that so that might go back on we may we may have a new have a bit of a flag going on the Wind got it one day as you can see um and what do you do with these things you want to keep them uh you can’t just send them home so can have that one it yeah so we’ll either put that back on the bike when we do a bit of repair work or it’ll go home next time we meet somebody who’s popping back to England and there’s our beloved Mayo flag just to with that one then we have a bag here these are all Lea spars now these are these little clips that hold the pan your bags onto your frame they’re the spacing clips and gray gray gray nightmare color bright orange please orle um but we do drop and lose those occasionally um I do keep one handy in my handlebar bag and then there’s another half dozen or more just here into the lights yeah okay um these were probably really could do with throwing out but just in case of emergency if what’s on gets smashed we have kept the old ones we’ got two sets of those got a couple of spare brackets um in case they get you know if it falls off and get smashed well we’ve got a spare one they don’t weigh anything they’re just a little bit of bulky and there’s a bag full of various bits and bobs for the Ole bags as well um glue another bag box load of nuts and bolts so I really do need to go through those some probably lose a few bit too much here we’ve got a bit carried away um we had an issue I think it was wet and gri grimy and we were going through a breake box like nobody’s business um so we ended up buying quite a lot we bought some cheap ones and then we bought some better quality ones and then my disc brake pad got a few too many so they’ll probably last us for a whole of South America most people carry a pair yeah we maybe got a bit carried away but um hey ho that’s from my previous water bottle which I love because you could pop it open and you got a clean top to put in your mouth but it doesn’t fit my current one but I’ve kept it in case I find one it does does fit again regular readers viewers will know Tom has a nightmare with pedals so we’ve bought a spare pair in case a peir dies I mean we had to literally get a bus to AR keeper cuz his pedal died so that would prevent that happening couple of brake cables now these are Shimano pre-stretched really nice quality ones um you virtually can’t buy them I’ve seen one shop in the entire trip selling genuine Shimano cables uh well two one when we set off Richardson in scarra and russos in Cusco B of spar for the tent so they’re the bits if the poles breaks they go on either side of the brake and some spare uh cabling for and some patches again weighs nothing little bit of bulk I mentioned with the rollof hubs that um every 5,000k um we do an oil change so that’s the cleaner and the oil there’s another setting there and the syringe to work it again bit of Bolt but weighs absolutely nothing um here we got some matches and a lighter just in case the um the uh cooker fails and then this lovely man back in America gave was kind of these in case we needed them I refused a few again I keep looking and think do we need them but we have used one or two so we’ll hang on to those again no weight just a bit of bulk most people um don’t carry anything light we’ve got here I think um I think it’s partly somebody did say to me you know too much this was having the bite shop I know what can go wrong and so I think oh maybe we should have that you’d be amazed what we’ve already got rid [Music] of girls got to have a handbag and this is mine I keep it quite tidy which is pretty unusual for me but it’s useful my garin’s in here obviously cuz I’m not cycling at the moment moment at one end I have my phone and my glasses together and they sit neatly at the end uh toilet roll there’s never often no toilet rolls in South America when you go to the L so we carry our own little packet in the middle is small bits let’s get these out that’s probably easier um I’ve got a little pair of gloves um just sometimes when you suddenly start going down a big hill even if it’s quite warm my hands get cold so I pop them those on keep them handy uh Tom’s sunglasses my sunglasses both broken at the moment some nuts always handed to have a little bit to snack on some pretty na binoculars i l my old ones which I bought for my 60th birthday back in late Louise but hey ho not late Louise um somewhere diary current diary PIR for the current diary purse took neatly at this end and then there’s a little zip bag what’s in the bag here um bag of money for Peru in case we meet somebody going that way who wants to do a bit of a trade and oh I have a weird habit let’s confess some of my weird habits what’s going on in here I pick things up well first of all I keep a little gray bit because we’re always well not always but we do occasionally lose them so instead of having to go into the big bags there one handy to grab so gra it um key that locks this bag up to my onto my handlebars and then um some money that’s fallen out of there and then I just want kind of pick little bits up I think there was there’s a little engraving on there I saw that and I have an idea that when I get home I’ve got various bits and Bobs dotted about that I’ll maybe um make a keying or something so I use them every day to remember the trip yeah there you go weirdo well folks that was the Kit list video a bit of an epic one but hope you enjoyed it let us know what you think in the comments w’t you and we’re planning to do a couple of short videos on more specific things like the accentric bottom bracket how to adjust that rollof oil change and if there’s anything you’re interested in let us know and we can hopefully cover that too see you next time bye