Category Archives: Epic Journey 3

Gear

Some words about gear. Key words are lightweight, minimal and digital. And more specifically:

  • Nishiki Bushwacker XC mountain bike modded to be a more paved road friendly. Continental tyres, cleat pedals, full-length mudguards, a helmet (my first one ever!), head and rear lights and a cheapo bike computer
  • A bicycle tool set, a can of chain oil, a pump, a spare inner tube and a saddle tool bag, which broke even before starting the journey. Plus assorted stuff like superglue, duct tape etc.
  • Chrome Kursk Pro cleat shoes and a pair of hiking sandals.
  • Deuter Speedlight 30L backpack. Granted all my stuff does not fit there with e.g. a clothes bag attached to the top of the backpack. Plus a shoulder bag for valuable stuff and immediate food
  • An ethanol burner, half a liter of fuel, a MSR titanium 0,75l pot, an Orikaso plastic bowl, a titanium fork and a spoon
  • Kuksa
  • Leatherman Skeletool and a cheap Chinese folding knife
  • A Ticket To The Moon double hammock, a 3x3m tarp (never tested before!), an old sleeping bag (comfy temperature +12), a silk inner bag. Thermal clothes and a space blanket in case it gets chilly.
  • My trusty Haglöfs Oz outer jacket and some crappy cycling rain pants, which never managed to stop the rain. No shoes rain protection, I will improvise with plastic bags.
  • Padded cycling underwear. One pair of woollen socks. A bunch of regular socks and underwear. Sarong as a multifunctional towel.
  • All things hygiene.
  • Moleskine notebook for the hipster cred.
  • Two t-shirts, one shirt, a long-sleeved shirt, a fleece, proper trousers for special occassions, fisherman pants, soft shell shirts (for cycling), a scarf and a pair of leather gloves.
  • IPad 2, Nexus One (calling is broken on this one, good for Google Maps and music) and even older Ericsson phone (for emergency calling).
  • Galileo iOS app for offline cycling maps. Maps are courtesy of OpenCycleMaps. Google Maps for support. No dead trees maps.
  • Sony NEX-C3 camera with a pancake lens. A camera connection kit for unloading pictures to iPad. Two 4gb memory cards.
  • The camera connection kit doubles as a device for loading/unloading contraband from/to iPad. A bunch of movies on an USB stick and all my music on an external hard drive.
  • Sennheiser HD212 pro headphones. Very old and battered, a cord has been replaced several times, but they still work.
  • A pair of X-Mini Max portable speakers.
  • 1kg of buckwheat, plus some oatmeal.

A hippy way

Last weekend me and a couple of friends went to Adams to see Legowelt. The only problem was Legowelt had played the day before, something we had not realised until asking the bouncer about the lineup change. “It was an awesome party” was the comment of the bouncer.

I approached the organisation of this trip in a more or less same fashion. Moved out of and cleaned the apartment, signed a new apartment contract, took care of the bureaucratic necessary evils, went to a party and an urban festival, packed for the journey, serviced the bicycle, took care of bicycle maps and organised digital entertainment, all in the matter of one week-end. Today I went to a wrong terminal and was almost late for the boat too. Why bother taking a look at the ticket indeed? Very stressful, but survived from it with minimal casualties so far.

The next stop is Stockholm, from where I will cycle to Ödeshög for ten days of meditation, silence and early wake ups. The longest I’ve ever cycled was from Helsinki to Porvoo and back. Roughly 100km in total, after which I felt very sorry for myself. Now I have 280km to pedal in the span of two and half days. Hammock for sleeping, buckwheat for energy, iPad for entertainment.

Epic Journey 3 starts here. The future is so bright that you have to wear shades.

Over and out.