Dear blog reader!
This is a bit of a different update. I promised you at the beginning of our trip that I will publish a list of what we carry along. I have to admit – at the beginning we had way too much stuff – like most people. So over time we gave things away, send stuff home or just dumped stuff. For example our sleeping mats. We used them in Patagonia but when they became perforrated by the cactuse’s in the north of Argentina we decided to bin them. Other items were clothes that ended up as cleaning rugs for the bike before they got trashed. However – I took a picture of all our gear nicely laid out in front of our bike. The description of what is what can be found beneath the image:
1. Hiking backpacks around 50 liter each for 2-3 day hikes
2. Drybag with sleeping bags, warm clothes, spare gloves and rain gear
3. Camera gear: Nikon D5 digital fullframe SLR, 14-24mm f/2.8, 24-70mm f/2.8, 70-200mm f/2.8, SB911 flash with ProPhoto radio remote control and cable release for long exposure. I decided to skip a tripod for this trip because of weight reasons
4. Semi waterproof duffel bag (next trip I would take a proper waterproof duffle)
5. Tankbag to keep the camera during the day with a map pocket on top
6. First aid kit – it sits usually on the outside of our boxes forquick access
7. Transport boxes from Givi. NOT a good choice! After 6 months these boxes are falling apart and the aftersales service from Givi is tragic. I send them an email (through their official website) about where I can get spareparts since the boxes are falling apart and the reply was that they usually don’t deal with inqueries from the general public!!!! What a joke... For the next trip I will possibly be using soft luggage from Ortlieb or Kriega
8. 2 litres of spare fuel – came in handy in Bolivia where it can be difficult to get fuel. With the extra 2 litres we have a range of 450 km per filling
9. Our shoe collection: Siri is wearing her hiking boots on the bike, I have some waterproof touring boots, 2 pair of flip flops and each of us has a pair of trainers
10. Our lightweight MSR tent – not the best for bad weather but REALLY light
11. Clothes – here we haven taken it to the minimum. I carry next to our protective bike clothes 5 x T-shirts, 2 long pants 1 pair of shorts, 1 fleece, 1 shirt, swim stuff and obviously socks and underwear. Siri has additional a dress, a couple of extra warm layers and some leggings.
12. Our field kitchen: 2 titanium cups, titanium saucepan, non stick frying pan, titanium cutlery, 2 plates, a superlight weight titanium gas burner and some spices and teabags.
13. Hydration pack which also holds credit cards. lip balm and other small items
14. Well – you need to ask Siri about this. It is make up and a woman handbag – short a mystery to the male population of the world
15. Office stuff: all important documents for the bike as original and copies, 1 Mac book pro laptop with 500GB for image post production, 1 Mac book air and a small bag for receipts
16. Our tool and spare part shed – usually stored in the tube at the back of the bike. These are all the important tools to change the tyres, adjust the chain slag and what ever else I can repair on the go. For spareparts we carry wheel bearings, clutchcable, brake pads, spark plug, puncture kit and last not least duct tape, WD40 and chain lubrication
17. Small daypack for trips to the market – folds neadly into itself
18. 4 litre waterpack – weighs nothing and is very handy for camping
19. chargers for the camera and laptops plus extra USB cables
20. 2x USB back up drives with 2 GB each. I use rugged ones from ADATA
21. medicine pouch. We carry some antibiotics, ibuprofen (the only stuff we needed to use so far), eyedrops, Buscopan (for cramps) and Imodium.
To the bike we are using (in case you haven’t noticed): We opted for a 2011 Yamaha XT660Z Tenere which we lovingly call the Penguin. It has done a great job on this trip and handles really well. It is realtivly light (wet only 206 Kg) and has loads of suspension travel. In case you wonder about the white can attached above the foot rests: This is out chain lubrication. It always gets dirty and out there I dont have to worry that it greases up the inside of the rest of our luggage. For tyres we are using Heidenau K-60’s in the back and Metzler Sahara in the front. They are 60/40 off road / on road tyres and the Heidenau last’s forever. We get about 12.000 Km out of the back tyre, which is impressive giving the weight of 2 people on the bike plus all the luggage.
For Helmets we are using touring helmets with a motocross look. They have a fullt closing visir and drop-down sun shades - well my helmet lost those a while ago in the winds of Patagonia. They also have a beek (just like a motocross helmet) which is handy when the sun is low. The yellow duct tape on my helmet replaces a missing screw from the beek – not beautiful but practical.
That is all for this blog update – the next update will be about Ecuador so stay tuned. Please feel free to share this blog or contact us if you have questions – stay safe.