I finally unpacked my bags from the around the world trip, a sign I finally arrived home. After I laid all my kit on the floor, I had the idea to do a Facebook Live video last night, which was a great move looking at how many people watched and commented. If you haven’t had the chance to watch it live, here is the video on my Facebook Page. And as I was just about to tidy up, I revised my packing list I had posted last December, and here is pretty much all the kit I took to cycle the world on one gear, slightly revised.

As this question came up in the live video, did I regret any gear choices? No, I was happy with the stuff I took, it worked well across the board. Possibly the most important bit of kit was my Spot Tracker, as it gave me the peace of mind I needed to make the right decisions. Most of the kit made it all around the world, but I repacked for the Nullarbor, as I needed extra space for water and food. To get an idea watch this video here, which explains my rationale behind that further, and gives you an idea why I repacked for this stretch.

I am very grateful that Tineli provided me with fresh jerseys and bibs along the way. You can imagine that any bibs will wear out over such a period of time, and the same applies to jerseys. I swapped my jersey and bibs for the first time in New Zealand, then again by the end of Australia, and a final time in Teheran. The thing I loved about the Tineli kit was that it provides protection against the sun, this was also the reason why you saw me cycling with knee warmers at 44 degrees. On the other extreme of the scale, I had just enough to layer up properly in the US, when I returned to New Mexico in December temperatures plummeted to under minus 10 at times.

Enjoy scrolling through the list, it is a good starting point for those that would like to tackle longer journeys. Especially if you’re a photographer or work in a related sector, you may not want to leave out any of your gadgets while traveling since it’s a lot of memories that you might miss from capturing on your camera. My iPhone will definitely be one of those gadgets that will come in handy then! Honestly speaking, the camera on it is not half as bad, and is good enough to take some good on-the-pictures! It sure has come a long way from its advent, and the History of the iPhone stands testament to it. Oh the blessings of compact technology!

However, if you need to travel light, carrying all of your cameras would be difficult. You may, for example, invest in the best memory card reader available in the market so that you have enough space for storage. And voila, you will be perfectly fine with bike-packing bags, trust me.

Which bike did I take?

Surly Ogre with Halo Vapour Rims, SP 8 series dynamo hub in front, Surly Ultra New Hub in back, Halo Clickster 18t freewheel, Schwalbe Marathon Mondial 2.0 tyres with tubes and Doc Blue sealant, Thomson laid back seat post, Brooks Cambium C15 saddle, Jones 710 Loop h-bar aluminium, ESI silicone grips, ESI bar tape, and silicone tape, Avid BB7 brakes, Shimano square taper bottom bracket, Middleburn RS7 cranks, Surly 32t chainring, KMC X1 chain

What did I pack into my bags?

Here’s the content of the various bags I strapped on bars and frame. I used Apidura bags, Spokwerks and Salsa Anything bags. The Salsa bags were fully waterproof and stayed waterproof throughout the journey, for the other bags I used dry bags from Exped and Sea to Summit to keep stuff dry inside. This came with the advantage that I could pull out the dry bag and leave the bags on the bike, at times they were properly covered in dirt. Believe it or not, Australia was a pretty wet place for example, so was the West Coast of New Zealand. Not to mention Turkey when you get hit by a thunderstorm.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uA4INFkNHHA

Apidura Saddle Pack Regular (lined with Exped Dry Bag) & everything I wear on my body

• iPhone 6plus with Lifeproof NÜÜD/FREE case
• Specialized BG Gel Wiretap gloves
• Lifeventure wallet
• Pen
• Nike Free 5.0 Shoes (strapped on top of bag)
• Travel towel
• Lake MX175 MTB shoes (most of the world)
• 45NRTH Japanther Boot (Iceland)
• Surly 5” wool socks
• Halo (Defeet) Aireator socks
• Defeet Woolie Boolie 6” socks (until NZ)
• 2 boxer shorts/Normal and Icebreaker merino
• Tineli Knee Warmers
• Tineli Sun Protectors
• Defeet Merino Arm warmers
• Tineli Aero Gloves
• Tineli Mesh Gloves
• Tineli MTB Trail Shorts
• Skins A200 compression tights (until NZ)
• Tineli Thermal Bibtights (until NZ)
• Tineli Lime/Tangerine Bibs x 2
• Montane Bionic SS base layer
• Montane Bionic LS base Layer (until NZ)
• Short sleeve base layer
• Tineli Lime Intermediate Jacket
• Tineli Lime SS jersey
• Insect and UV proof Buff
• 45NRTH Greazy Merino Hat
• Tineli Winter Cap
• Tineli Team Cap
• Specialized S3 Helmet
• Yeti Passion 3 Sleeping Bag
• Teeth Kit: Tooth brush, floss, interdental brushes, tooth paste
• Wash Kit: Soap, shaving water, ear plugs, hand cream, razor
• Pixo C-USB Charger
• Moleskine diary, vaccination pass, second passport
• Medical Kit: plaster, antibiotics, Ibuprofen, scissors, bandages, gloves and sewing kit
• 6 Sandisk Ultra Fit USB 3.0 Flash Drive 128GB
• Spare Sandisk SD and micro SD memory cards
• Katadyn FIlter Mini
• Sea to Summit 2l Ultra Sil bag
• Spare credit card

Mounted on bars and frame

• Exposure MaXx-D Mk4 Front Light
• Garmin eTrex20 with 16GB MicroSD and Energizer AA 2300 mAh rechargeable batteries
• GoPro Hero3 in casing with K-Edge bar mount
• Specialized Cage with Optimus 0.6l Fuel Bottle
• MuckyNutz fender
• Spot Gen3 Satellite Tracker with Energizer AAA 800 mAh rechargeable batteries

Salsa Anything Cage HD with Salsa Anything (Bag 1)

• Alpkit titanium pot and lid 800 ml
• Primus Omni Fuel stove and fuel pump, plus tool
• Sea to Sumit X-Cup fFoldable cup
• Matches & lighter
• Tea bags in plastic bag
• Windshield and ground shield for stove
• Olive oil in Nalgene container
• Leatherman Sidekick tool

Salsa Anything Cage HD with Salsa Anything (Bag 2)

• 2 spare Schwalbe tubes
• Spoke wrenches
• Tyre levers
• Brooks MT 21 multi tool
• workshop gloves
• Ice Tools chain checker
• 2 bottles of Schwalbe DocBlue sealant
• Freewheel tool
• Purple Extreme Lube and 1 cloths
• Diverse nuts and bolts, spare cleats, chain link, brake cable
• Park Tool/Lezyne Patches & park Tool tyre boot
• TipTop puncture repair kit
• ESI silicone tape
• Electrical tape
• 2 sets of Avid brake pads, sintered
• Cable ties
• 1 small tube of grease
• alcohol cloth to clean rotors
• Halo 18t Clickster freewheel
• Vaseline
• Chainring bolt tool
• Strapped outside on bag
  • Schwalbe Thunder Burt/Rocket Ron foldable tyre (swapped in Australia)
  • Lezyne Micro Floor Drive Pump with pressure gauge
  • Oakley Racing Jacket glasses with black, yellow and clear lenses in Swiss Eye protective case

Spokwerks Jones Loop Bar Bag

• Xtorn Powerbank Air 6000 (in Sea to Summit 1l UltraSil dry bag)
• PDW Aether Demon USB backlight
• Pepper spray (USA only)
• Sinewave Cycles Revolution (USB charger)
• Montane Featherlite Jacket
• Sea to Summit UltraSil Day pack
• Sophie (little bear that travelled with me from Iran)
• Rex (finger puppet)

Apidura Frame Bag (Prototype)

• 6 spare spokes and nipples, cable ties
• Camelbak 3l reservoir
• Manfrotto Pixi Mini Tripod
• Shoulderpod tripod clamp for iPhone
• Plastic bottle with instant coffee
• Cable and combination lock

Apidura Handlebar Pack Compact (lined with Exped Dry Bag)

• Nordisk Telemark 1 UL tent (aluminium poles)
• Yeti Purity Down Jacket
• Exped Synmat Hyperlite M sleeping mat
• Exped Schnoozel Pumpbag UL M
• Montane Extreme Mitts
• Tineli Thermal Gloves
• Tineli Thermal Booties
• Gore Bike Wear Element GT Paclite Jacket

Apidura Accesory Pocket

• Sea to Summit X-Pot expandable 2.8l pot
• Sea to Summit X Bowl (fits into pot)
• 1 tube alcohol gel
• 1 tube SPF 100 sunscreen
• Insect repellent
• Opinel knife
• Snowpeak titanium spork
• Logitech Keys To Go portable keyboard (in Sea to Summit 4l UltraSil dry sack)
• Toilet paper
• Diverse family photos and Point It picture book in Sea to Summit 4l UltraSil dry bag

Spokwerks Cookie Jar 1 (lined with Sea to Summit UltraSil 2l Dry Sack)

• 2 spare Duracell batteries for Canon S120 camera
• 4 Energiser AAA batteries (2300 mAh)
• 2 Energiser AA batteries (800 mAh)
• Charging cable for portable keyboard
• 2 USB charging cables for GoPro, GPS and back light
• Tripod mount for GoPro
• Apple USB charger
• Apple iPhone cable
• Petzl Tikka Plus head torch
• Bottle opener (!)
• Buff mobile phone cleaner
• UK power cable
• Europe power cable
• Apple headphones

Spokwerks Cookie Jar 2 (lined with Sea to Summit UltraSil 2l Dry Sack)

• Canon S120 camera in Hama Case, cloth to clean lenses

Apidura Top Tube Pack Extended

• Torx T25 key
• mainly used for food only

To buy the kit, my first recommendation would be Charlie the Bikemonger, who has been super supportive while I was on the road. He also sells a very special sticker, have a look here. Ghyllside Cycles in the Lakes have kindly helped me out with the Sinewave charger, so pay them a visit as well.