Mapping the Route

I've started to map the route. I did this in a few stages, firstly looking at spots where family are, secondly looking at spots where awesome things are (UNESCO world heritage sites for example), and thirdly by looking at flickr and looking at other awesome looking places.

Then I tried to see how whatroute could take me through all these awesome places without doubling the distance. Here is a link to my effort so far (it is incomplete as of posting). It has so many markers that you have to click across at the bottom to actually see all the points (and the route). So far it goes from Rome to about Besancon in South East France.

You may also note that it goes over about twice as many Alps as is really necessary... this is entirely because I want to go to Chur, to see this awesome railway:



Big thanks also to Andrew Sykes whose research and planning formed the basis of my route!

My Surly Long Haul Trucker - Nearly finished

I put on the handlebar tape today, and it's looking mighty fine in my very biased opinion!

Icebreaker Merino Clothing

Anyone who has bothered to look at my list of camping gear might have noticed the huge amounts of 'Icebreaker 100% Merino' clothing that I plan to buy. I cannot recommend their gear enough.

Icebreaker gear is great for a number of reasons.
1) they look great*,
2) you can wear them cycling/camping for multiple days without washing them** and they just smell like wool,
3) the 150 weight is very breatheable and could comfortably be worn on Australian summer days,
4) the merino wool wicks your sweat away so they never become saturated, even if you are wearing a backpack and cycling hard up mountains,
5) you are directed to wash them in cold water with a small amount of soap! (great if that's all you have)
6) it is merino wool, and doesnt give you the brutal 'wool itch' - though for people who are ultra sensitive they may want to try one on at a camping store first. I hate the wool itch, and while these feel like wool when you first put them on I dont notice it after about 2mins.
7) they are sustainably made, carbon neutral, 100% natural, etc. You can even plug in the 'baa code' and check which sheep 'donated' the wool!

I bought my first icebreaker shirt about 3 weeks ago and have barely taken it off while riding. I have even warn it out, as it is nice and warm, and will definitely be replacing many shirts in my wardrobe with these.

UPDATE: I've just re-read this and I feel the need to disclose that I dont actually work for Icebreaker or know anyone that does! I'm also not the only one that loves these shirts, google them or check out these more thorough reviews.

The cheapest place I have found to purchase them is 'mi woolies'. I have been told by Iomandra on the Surly Google forum that Bivouac have discount icebreaker store - not all sizes/styles are discounted, but I'm sure I'll grab a few bargains if I keep my eyes open - thanks for the tip!

* I read an article in the Australian where a guy documented his round the world business trip on just carry-on luggage, he raved about these shirts and said they often got mistaken for Armani. The article is very wanky but interesting to read.

** At the risk of repulsing people, I have actually done this... I dont think they smelt bad, honestly.

My Current Surly Build

My build can be seen here on google documents. I think I will also put up some costings when I can be bothered as Andrew has on his fantastic blog here.

I got the Surly

Well after much over analysis, at one point even considering a Kona Sutra, I bought the LHT (54cm). I live in Brisbane and there is only one shop that actually stocks the LHT (Epic Cycles, great shop with nice people) and they didnt have my size. I ended up purchasing the bike from brunswick street cycles in Melbourne. They stocked it for $1999 and shipped it for free in 4 days! Needless to say I was very happy with their service.

Another option I considered was to purchase the LHT from wiggle (around AU$1550), but I did more calculations and realised that with the $170 postage, GST and customs duty I would have to pay the dollar difference amounted to about $50.

I will post some photos up once I get my upgrades on (and my camera back from my sister). I have already added the SKS Chromoplastic fenders (P55), I intend changing the drop bars (I don't like the curve) and adding a Brooks B17 saddle. I also am getting a Tubus Cargo rack.

I have also got Time ATAC LOC pedals.

All in all I love the look of the bike, it is noticeably heavier than my roady (duhh) but feels solid and not overly 'truck' like. The granny gears are crazy, but I assume will come in handy when I belt up the alps hauling 70kg of gear!

Front Light

I think I'm going to go a flashlight for my front light. Just read this review of the Lenser LED P7. It sounds like an awesome flashlight, though a tad expensive!

It has 130 hours of battery life and 4.45 wats with 167 lumens! That's pretty insane. Going for ebay for about $100.00, when compared to a decent bike light that is very reasonable.

UPDATE: Ebay is actually more expensive than bike lights which sells them for $98. Additionally, they seem to work well in a combo with the Two-Fish cyclo-block velcro attach system which is available for about $13.

These two-fish cyclo-block thingys look kinda handy for strapping things to your bike, anything from torches, u-locks to pumps etc.

Touring Shoes

Ideally I want shoes that I can wear on and off the bike. I have gone for Time ATAC cleats/pedals for this reason (they are small and low profile, no clipety clop!). At the moment I am thinking the Exustar Stelvio SPD commuter/touring shoe. They are leather, look like fairly normal (click the pic for a full view) and are walkable!

If possible I don't want to have to bring a spare pair of shoes... so these would have to get me into restaurants and wherever else I want to go. They also need to be stiff for long rides... a bit much to ask for just a pair of shoes?

Sleeping Bag

I think I've found the perfect sleeping bag! 640 grams!

It fits the temperature range nicely and is rated to an extreme of -4 degrees...but I would be hoping not to be anywhere that cold.

The Vango Venom 150:

Specification:
Suggested Usage: +7 to +25oC
Performance: 2 season
Maximum User Height: 185 cm
Dimensions: Length 210/ Chest Width 75/ Foot Width 50 cm
Total Weight: 640g (Excl sac 575g)
Fill Weight: 1x90 top/ 1x60 base g/m2
Pack Size: 20x12 cm
Zip: Left-hand



Prices:
ebay has them on buy it now for about $169 + $10PH
UK shops have them for about 50-65 pounds which would be cheaper but postage tends to be hefty...

Jackson online (a UK store) have it for about 160 including postage.

Outdoor Action have it for about $130 including postage from the UK...

Custom Surly LHT vs Dawes Ultra Galaxy

While money isn't the biggest issue on my mind when looking at potential touring bikes, it is certainly a major factor. Ideally I think i'd like a Surly LHT frame due to the quality, tyre distance and it's long, sturdy, work-horse frame that is built for hauling lots of gear. I'm not, however, willing to spend rediculous amounts just to get a Surly over another similar touring bike.

Apart from the frame I want decent running gear, probably Deore XT or at least LX with a brooks saddle and quality tyres, racks etc... The stock LHT is not equipped with great running gear (solid, but not great) and does not come with fenders, racks or pedals. It also has bar-end shifters, which I would prefer not to have. Basically, a stock LHT would need some work to get it to the standard I would like. The other option is a LHT frame, built up with custom parts.

I did up a spreadsheet to figure how much it would cost to build up a Surly LHT frame to the same specs as the Dawes Ultra Galaxy. It would cost about $3150, and that was with a fair bit of stuff on special. The Dawes Ultra Galaxy, on the other hand, comes with great running gear, pedals, racks, fenders and nice schwalbe tyres for $2675 + $100 PH.

Quite a saving...plus I would not have to build it! (or more likely pay someone else to build it, which would cost another few hungy!).

I will therefore go for the Dawes Ultra Galaxy..... I have decided! (unless a great Surly LHT comes up for sale second hand)

UPDATE

Okay so I didnt get the Dawes Ultra Galaxy. Why? Well I realised there is such a thing as GST and import duty that must be paid! (thanks Howard). That would add about 15% to the cost, making it around $3k too.... too much IMHO.

After reading the surly google group threads for hours on end, I settled on the idea of the stock surly LHT. While some parts will probably require upgrading, others definitely, upgrades allow you to spread the cost out! Also the LHT can be sourced in Australia, if not Qld, for around $2000.

I discuss my decision a bit more in a more recent post here.

Pannier Bags

Well it would seem that ortlieb are the best easily accessible pannier bags on the market. They cost a bit, but I'm yet to read a bad review of them. Furthermore, it is probably worth splurging a bit on pannier bags because they hold all your stuff and can basically make or break a trip...

Having said that, these ostrich ones look very cool...

Dawes Galaxy

Dawes Galaxy
Originally uploaded by angliatv

This also looks incredibly good.... now I'm confused again.

Surly LHT

IMG_1827
Originally uploaded by birkenspank

This is sex on two wheels... I am totally getting a LHT with brown leather Brooks bar tape and saddle... and maybe some stainless steel mudguards... would that be too much?

What bike?

I have decided to buy a bike before I leave, so I now have time to make an informed choice. Something I would not have had had I been forced to buy one in Rome in a few days!

There are quite a few different touring bikes on the market, ranging from ‘kinda expensive’ to ‘bloody ridiculously expensive’. I guess it isn’t surprising given they are meant to take punishing terrain, while hauling large loads for long distances – apparently something that can do that isn’t cheap. Anyway, from reading books and looking at my own situation I have come up with a list of things I want in my touring bike:

• steel chrome-moly frame: sturdy, easier to fix if it breaks but heavy
• road-style with drop bars: I’m not planning any off-road escapades and I like road bikes a lot more. Plus it will be nicer to cover ground and I don’t mind sweating the hard stuff going up epic hills…though I have never done this with 60kg of packs strapped to my bike…..
• capacity for fat tyres: I hate flat tyres, and I assume I would hate them a lot more if I was miles from nowhere – so I want impregnable tyres, and these are generally quite fat (wont fit in a normal road bike fork). Schwalbe seem to have some nice tyres – the marathon plus tourers seem pretty much what I want (they are minimum 32 wide though…which is wiiiiiiiiide).
• decent components: I don’t need top of the range, but I don’t want crap, good brakes I think will be a must if I’m planning on tackling some large climbs.
• lots of pannier lugs: Given that I’m basically buying this to carry stuff, I want it to be able to do that well. That means a sturdy long frame with lots of lugs!

So far, the bike that seems to fit the bill best for me is the Surly Long-Haul Trucker (LHT). It costs about $2000.00 new with a standard kit (not too bad, not too great) or you can just get the frame and do what you want with it for about $800 or so. I like the idea of just getting a frame and building it up…but realistically that will never happen. A cool shop in Sydney seems to be able to build up a custom LHT for up to $3000 – this looks pretty ideal but is quite expensive.

I won’t jump into buying a $3000 surly LHT… I think I will trawl eBay, classifieds and bike shop sales first. If I could pick up a stock LHT for about $1000-$1500 that would be perfect and then spend a bit on upgrading certain components. One component I will definitely be getting (other than awesome fat tyres) is a Brooks Saddle; they are awesome.

Other touring bikes I’m looking for……………will come when I find any….

Checked luggage limits on different carriers

I have decided to buy the bike here and take it over with me, as opposed to buying a bike in Rome. This poses a problem - weight! If I exceed the checked baggage allowance for a flight from Australia to Rome I face paying $50 or $60 per kg...

So! Which flight carrier has the biggest limit?

1. QANTAS has a new limit of 23 kilograms (previously 20kg) of checked luggage for an economy class ticket. plus 7 kilograms of carry on luggage (one piece). Bikes must be packed in a box ($16 from QANTAS terminal) but:
   

• Tyres must be deflated
• Pedals must be removed
• Handle bars must be fixed parallel to the frame
• If the bicycles length exceeds 140cm (55in), the front wheel should be removed and fixed beside the rear wheel, inside the bike box
• excess baggage is charged at $50/kg

1. BRITISH AIRWAYS has a limit of 23 kilograms of checked luggage for economy passengers. No weight limit for hand luggage, but there is a size limit (56cm x 45cm x 25cm). Bikes can be brought on as part of checked luggage (and are exempt from size restrictions) but must comply with the following restrictions:

• Bicycle pedals must be removed (or fixed inwards).
• Handlebars must be fixed sideways.
• The bicycle must be contained in a protective case or bag.
• You may wish to deflate the tyres to reduce risk of damage.
• over weight seems to cost you by the bag (90 pounds?) - it is quite confusing.
  

1. SINGAPORE AIRLINES has a limit of 20 kilograms for checked luggage. 7 kilogram limit for carry on luggage. Bicycles will be charged as 6kg additional luggage if they (plus normal luggage) exceed the 20kg limit. This applies up to a maxiumu of 35kg. Excess luggage costs US$60/Kg (Youch!).
2. ETIHAD AIRWAYS has a limit of 20 kilograms for checked luggage, with one piece of carry on luggage up to 7 Kiograms. There is no specific mention of bicycle luggage but they state that you should contact their offices for all queries regarding sporting equipment. Excess luggage is charged at 1.5% of the fare per kilogram!
   

After trawling through countless websites I found this awesome site - which has a huge table compiling all the info needed... Though I think some of it is slightly out of date (either that or my info is wrong!).

Another site I've found lists the experiences different people have had on different carriers. Some are very old (date back to mid 90's!) but many are more recent. It seems that most carriers are not too narky on the weight limit - providing you dont push it too much.