This weekend was spent working through our gear checklists getting everything ready and packed for the big adventure. The idea was to make sure that everything we wanted to take with us would actually fit on the bikes and pretty much get everything packed away ready to go. We know it might seem a bit early doing this two weeks in advance but we wanted to make sure that we had everything right and that if we came across any major problems we’d at least have a couple of weeks to get them ironed out. By the close of the weekend and after a fair few shopping trips I believe we’re pretty much ready with only a few small things left to buy, we’ve actually been quite productive!
Over the last few months we have both been working on a checklist that contains the things we want to take, the things we own and the things we need to buy. We took these lists as a base, found and dumped everything on them in the middle of our rooms and started sorting all the gear out into the various luggage we have on our bikes. When I was packing my bike for my trip to Scafel earlier this year I pretty much just chucked everything in anywhere and I seemed to have very little room for manoeuvre not to mention not actually knowing where anything was! Taking this new approach I was actually shocked to see how well everything seemed to fit and how much space I actually had left over because of it, I guess there might be something to this planning malarkey after all…
Below you’ll find a complete list of everything I’m taking on my bike.
Documentation
Passport, full driving licence, E111 card, ferry tickets, bike insurance certificate, travel insurance certificate, V5 photocopy (vehicle ownership document), budget log sheet, mileage log sheet.
Camping and sleeping
Coleman Avior X3 tent, Therm-A-Rest Prolite 3 mattress, Ayacucho Solar 300 3-season sleeping bag, Coleman Exponent stool, Silverpoint Extreme Pro LED torch, Black Diamond Apollo lantern.
Cooking
Coleman Sportster II Dual Fuel 533 camping stove, fuel syphon (home-made solution from Kev), tea towel, 2x pan scrubbers, 2x dishcloths, washing up liquid, 2x camping saucepans, mug, bowl, mini chopping board, serving strainer, wooden spoon, 2x lighters, box of matches, Swedish FireSteel, salt & pepper sachets, Swiss Army Knife, Spyderco Delica 4 FRN knife 2x Light My Fire Sporks.
Toiletries
Giant Lifeventure Soft Fibre trek towel, Lifeventure all-purpose soap, flannel, toothbrush, toothpaste, sun tan lotion, skin moisturiser, insect repellent, Vaseline, shampoo, conditioner, deodorant, nail clippers, visor cleaning spray.
First-aid Kit
20 assorted plasters, hygienic cleansing wipes, 5cm wound pad, 10cm wound pad, Cetrimide cream (antiseptic), microporus plaster tape, 5cm x 4m conforming bandage, 7.5cm x 4m latex cohesive bandage, tweezers, scissors, safety pins, sewing kit, paracetamol, ibuprofen, 4x Steri-Strips, triangular bandage, bite cream.
Navigation and Orientation
Michelin red 713 – Great Britain & Ireland 2009, Michelin red 721 - France 2009, Michelin red 734 – Spain & Portugal 2009, The Best Rides Motorcycle Atlas France, Garmin GPS Map 60 CSx, Powerlet Garmin charger, Smellybiker’s Wanderlust GPS Worldmap, compass.
Clothing
Nolan N103 N-Com crash helmet, leather riding jacket, Draggin’ Jeans (Kevlar), Alt-Berg Hogg All-Weather Original motorcycle boots, 1x wicking t-shirt 2x Buffs, motorcycle gloves, high visibility jacket, Merrell Chameleon II Kahuna sandals, 5x boxer shorts, 7x socks (yes, I have more socks than pants), 2x shorts, trousers, 4x t-shirts, short-sleeve shirt, swimming shorts, micro-fleece, waterproof trousers, North Face waterproof walking jacket.
Bike Spares and Tools
Puncture repair-kit, Ductape, chain lube, WD40, ROK Adjustable Motorcycle Stretch Straps, spare bungees and straps, spanners, sockets, wrench, allen keys, cross and flat-bladed screwdrivers, magnetic foot stand.
Miscellaneous
iPhone, iPhone charger, Powerlet iPhone charger cable, Apple iPod, Panasonic Lumix TZ7 camera, Panasonic Lumix charger, pens, A5 notebook, French, Spanish and Portuguese language phrasecards, 4x spare AA batteries, waterproof bags & drysacks, string, 2x universal plug adapters, Midland BT-2 Bluetooth Motorcycle Intercom.
Right that’s everything going on my bike with me, I’ll get Gen to post her list soon and you’ll notice how much smaller it is and why she was quite happy for me to get the Strom! 
