We love our gear

If you are like me, you love gear — camping gear, bicycling gear, ski gear, paddling gear — you name it.  If you are curious about what we will packing on our trip to NZ, have a look at our Gear page. On it I have inserted a link to our master list of items that we are taking with us to New Zealand, as well as descriptions of some of the items we have purchased or will be using.

Knowing what to take with you on a three month trip is tough, especially when camping in a climate with which we are unfamiliar. To add to the problem is the lack of space and the weight limitations of cycle touring. My daughter, Anique, who is 15, was appalled at the limited number of clothing items she would be able to take with her. Normally, her suitcase for a weekend trip to her grandparents’ weighs in at roughly 200lbs. We gave her ample warning and she is getting used to the idea. She understands that she has to carry it up and over those Kiwi hills herself…that’s a big motivator to pack light.

Speaking of packing light….my favourite kit list of all time is the one described in the journals of Thomas Stevens, the first person to ride around the world. He left England on a penny-farthing in 1884. Here is what he kept in his handlebar bag: socks, a spare shirt, a raincoat which doubled as a tent, a bedroll and a revolver. That’s it. We will be significantly better equipped.

We know that anything we need or have forgotten we can find in New Zealand. This isn’t the Empty Quarter, after all. Whatever we don’t need, or don’t wish to carry, we can give away or mail home.

I want to acknowledge Andrew and Friedel of TravellingTwo for their fabulous website and resources. Our kit list has also been inspired by lightweight cyclists and around-the-world cyclists like Mark Beaumont.

 

 

A month to go

In  four weeks, my family and I will be lifting off runway 32 at the Macdonald-Cartier International Airport in Ottawa, Canada. We’ll be headed for Vancouver, where we’ll spend the better part of the day. In the evening, we’ll board an Air New Zealand Boeing 777 headed for Auckland. It’s a long flight.

So long, in fact, that we will miss September 17th entirely. It will not exist for us. We depart Vancouver on the evening of the 16th and land in Auckland in the early morning light of the 18th!

Where does the time go?

Apart from steeling our nerves for this long flight, we are making reservations (apartment in Auckland, rental car to visit a few non-bike-friendly bits), and making lists, lots of lists. Anique is compiling the adventure sports lists: zip-lining, Zorbing, bungee-jumping, paragliding, jet-boating, whitewater rafting…in caves (known as blackwater rafting!), sea kayaking, snorkeling, and on, New Zealand is really a sports paradise. Owen is preparing our itinerary in Vancouver: SkyTrain to downtown, a walk through Stanley Park, lunch on Granville Island…that kind of thing.

Shannon and I are mapping our bike route and highlighting all the places we want to see and the campgrounds we are aiming for.  Luckily for us, New Zealand is awash in campgrounds. There are private campgrounds or holiday parks everywhere tourists are likely to visit, which means virtually everywhere. In more remote areas, the Kiwi government runs Department of Conservation (DOC) campgrounds. These sites are inexpensive ($30 for a family of four) but basic…which suits us fine. These DOC sites are often in spectacular areas off the beaten path, exactly where we hope to be. Many towns and villages have a green space known as a domain. Often travelers can pitch a tent in the domain for free or for a minimal fee.

Of course, we are also making plans for life here at home. Making a house-sitter’s guide, buying enough cat food to last three months, putting the snow tires on the car so that it’s ready when we return, fixing that annoying kitchen faucet leak (maybe tomorrow), arranging finances and bill payments. This part is less fun, of course, but offers peace of mind while we are pedaling down the road in Hobbit country.

As summer twindles (it’s only 10C here!), we are feeling the excitement of our upcoming adventure. Only a month to go!

Balderson and beyond

Today is the Monday of a holiday long weekend in Ontario (and much of Canada). It’s been a beautiful hot summer weekend, somewhat rare this summer. Three quarters of our family headed out for a bike ride to train for our trip, to try out our new tires (cyclocross tires by Continental and Schwalbe), and to eat ice cream in Balderson! Anique was conspicuously absent…she was at her grandparent’s place by the lake, poor girl.

We rode 48 km in 28C heat at a comfortable average of 22 km/h. The ride was a combination of busy and quiet country roads, gravel roads, and a short section in town. We didn’t even have to wait at the one and only traffic light on this route. It was a great way to cap off the long weekend.

Let’s ride!

Which way to ice cream?

Owen enjoying his (and his sister’s) ice cream!