Make your own gear (MYOG) Bikepacking...

With the recent purchase and building of my new bike which is intended to be a mountainbike/ bikepacking monster. It was time to get serious about making my own gear. This is how my first frame bag turned out. So, how do you make a bike packing frame bag? Step 1: Google DIY/Homemade/MYOG bikepacking frame bag. See how other people did, get i [...]

Dragons, bicycles and life

When I recently mentioned on a forum that I’d “rescued” the frame for my new bike someone wrote: ” I think most of us are still reeling from the fact such a thing of beauty could in any way be rescued… it’s like the start of a fairy story, we want to know more, were there dragons involved…” So [...]

An unlikely journey : Visiting ”...

I’d booked the Ijmuiden-Newcastle ferry a week earlier and hadn’t been disappointed by the price. After another summer season working more than I’d like to I was ready to hit the road again. Lacking inspiration, funds and interest for a far away or long trip I went for something closer to home and the fact I hadn’t vis [...]

The Vennbahn by Brompton

A year later than planned I once again teamed up with TravellingTwo point 5 and Stijn for an Easter weekend of cycling the VennBahn. The VennBahn is a converted railway line running from Aachen in Germany to Troisvierges in Luxemburg via Belgium. The route is about 125km and apart from a couple of small hills and some detours its almost flat, [...]

Winter Cycling in Canada

December 2013 I took the next step in my winter cycle touring experiment by heading to Canada to attempt to cycle the Trans Labrador highway. The Trans Lab claims to be one of the longest stretches of road in Canada without services. This winter had the coldest December in more than 10 years, bringing with it extreme winds and temperatures [...]

‘The Canadian’ A journey ...

I’ve always found something strangely romantic about long distance train journeys, slowly meandering across continents in a classic form of mass public transport. Trains bring a touch of class, comfort, space and a social aspect long lost in the modern world of cheap, fast, anti-social cattle transport we call aviation. I arrived on t [...]

Bikes : Red

Now that I’ve spent about 1500km touring, Bikepacking and mountain biking with Red I think its fair to make an initial assessment of the choices I made and share my thought processes for this self build. To read about how I originally ” rescued” the frame that would become Red click >here< Aim of the project: After se [...]

Bikes : Brompton

On my return from cycle touring in Africa I didn’t have enough cash lying around to buy a car, and more importantly I didn’t want one. Sadly the public transport where I live is awful and to take Mr Hyde on a train costs €6 per day. So I needed a problem solver. Enter my second hand Brompton Initially it was just meant as a means [...]

Packing list for 10 weeks winter cycl...

So, with the lessons learned during the trip last winter and almost a year to think about this trip, here’s my new and improved gear list for 10 weeks cycling and camping at between -15 and -40. a-d Home made cooking box for efficient snow melting and cooking. Stove: Optimus nova plus incl spare pump + 2x XL fuel bottles MSR Titan p [...]

About growing up – A life in re...

“You have to do your own growing no matter how tall your grandfather was.” Abraham Lincoln At the age of three I’d decided that when a grew up I’d be a soldier. When the fire brigade came to put out a field fire at our country home when I was four , it was obvious that I should grow up to become a fireman. By the [...]

Winter cycle touring basic tips

“Don’t eat yellow snow.” Is the winter tip we all know. I posted lots of info, tips and trip winter trip reports >HERE<, but here is a summary of my tips on winter cycle touring. These tips are aimed as an introduction for people planning to cycle and camp in the extreme cold. I learned most of my lessons the hard way [...]

Brompton hinge repair

At some time during the life of your Brompton you may get some wear on the main folding hinge. Getting this repaired at a bike shop or buying the special Brompton reamer (GBP 200) is an expensive business. Here’s the cheap way to do it . Disclaimer : If you mess this up you could damage your frame which will cost even more money, and a [...]