Hotels are all very good but they don’t half spoil you! I’ve just had another slap up breakfast after another extremely good night’s sleep. But I’m desperate to get back on the road again!! Cooped up in a little box is no fun once the novelty has worn off. And it has now worn off.
So back to the cycling and the camping. And back to the Eurovelo route 5 that I am supposed to be following. The last time I was officially on the route was back in Dover but having decided some weeks ago to remove what I called ‘the Belgian kink’ from the route and then deciding to go via Boulogne rather than Calais, I have have not been very faithful to the name of this website. Fear not! From here in Luxembourg to Brindisi I am firmly back on the EV5 starting with today’s cycle which will take me to Metz via Schengen (the eponymous town that will be forever associated with not having to wave your passport as you whiz from country to country here in mainland Europe) and the Moselle valley. My expectation is for a fairly flat ride as I will be following the course of a river for much of the day.
Those of you who have been reading this blog for sometime will remember a discussion that took place a few weeks ago regarding the things that I shouldn’t bother taking with me as they will inevitably be left in a bin in Strasbourg. Well, I’ve done better than that; I’m leaving them for the cleaners here in Luxembourg and they consist mainly of the camping stuff for eating which I haven’t used all week and really don’t think that I will. It should make the bike a little lighter although after my hearty breakfasts over the last two days I think I may have compensated the loss elsewhere. Before you ask, no, I didn’t bring two wine glasses with me ๐ Or a lamp stand….
Categories: Cycling
All I can identify from that is the packet of spaghetti! Really, what were you thinking?!!!!!
Just noticed the electricians tape!
Soooo useful! Sealing bags, stopping panniers chafing, taping broken spokes in till a proper fix is available, holding parts to the bike when a bolt works loose and you loose it. I have even taped a friends saddle back together as a temporary fix when he fell off and the rails popped out, he rode 30 miles with it till we could get a new one!
That and a few cable ties are always in my emergency bodging kit.
Still not irreplaceable. And your first aid kit has probably got a substitute if you need it.
Travelling by bike makes you think hard about what is really necessary for life and I find that after reading many a cycle tourists kit list we are all different in our needs. What is essential for one, another will manage without.
Minimum kit is a toothbrush and a credit card and, it is debatable weather either is necessary.
Hope the weather is kind today, It’s a bit grim up north!
Jim
i’m not sure i’m ready to cross it off the list just yet!?
The only thing I would keep for certain out of that lot is a bout 3 metres of the parachord to aire your shorts after washing themin the camp site. But this is easily replaceable if you find you want it!
I carry a Jetboil stove ( http://www.rvops.co.uk/jetboil-cooking-stove-1150.html?zenid=49835nu17puje54vlq0divcvc2 ) just for brews and emergency cooking but find eating out much more convenient and even in wet scotland only used it to eat twice and to brew 5 times. It only becomes essential if you get a campsite in the middle of nowhere. Traveling light is a joy,
Enjoy
Jim