Thanks

Hi from Alan & Mary

As we begin to think of our next challenge, Mary and I would like to take the opportunity to say a big THANK YOU.

First of all our heartfelt thanks to those who supported our charity “Doctors Without Borders” (Médecins Sans Frontières). With so many natural and man-made disasters on our planet, their medical expertise and your money are badly needed. MSF, with your help, is truly changing the lives of millions of people around the world. For those of you who would still like to donate (and every pound counts) – just click the “VirginGivingMoney” icon on the right of this page.

Then there are the many who have helped us complete our journey down the length of Europe:-

Dean and Anne who still don’t know how they volunteered to drive our car all the way to the UK from Nordkapp. Without them we would never have got there or back.

Deborah and Brendan and John and Elizabeth  for their encouragement before the trip and keeping our real lives in good order while we were away.

Ev and Sophie and Kate and Tony for taking such good care of the house

All our family who offered words of encouragement, kept the phone topped up and especially those who thought we had lost the plot.

To Kate’s colleagues in the Assembly  (you owe us two Welsh flags).

The grandchildren who collected our postcards and enlightened their friends with tales of Mamgu and Grumps

Those who contacted us on the blog, by email and on the phone.  It was always a boost to hear from you.

Wendy for her valiant efforts to post a comment  and her baggage allowance on the return flight.

Ben and the guys at Up and Under for their advice on kit

All those who made the effort to put their cycling experiences in Europe on the net.

All those from around the world who took the time to read our blog and share our experiences

All the wonderful people that we met on the way who went to extraordinary lengths to help us out of trouble and encourage us to achieve our goal.

 “Merci” to all those talented and dedicated people in our local medical team who “fixed” Mary after her fall from the bike while in training.

To all of you, we are so grateful to have met and known such wonderfully friendly, kind and generous people.

Alan's Boring Bits - The Kit

Comments on the Equipment- For those planning a similar journey

A great part of the fun in preparing for any big trip is researching the kit and convincing yourself that you really must have all the gizmos and latest gear that you’ve secretly been longing for. Listed below is the heavy load that we dragged  from one end of Europe to the other. Most did the job. Where it was particularly good or bad, I’ve made comment.

Bikes

Specialized Vita Sport

Specialized Sirrus Elite  (Both bikes not necessarily designed for the pounding that we gave them but they stood up well to the test)

Shimano A530 Pedals (spd one side and flat on the other)

Schwalbe marathon plus 700 x28   (No punctures in 7000Km!!!)

2 Crud Race Guards mudguards

2 Smart Lunar 35 Lux Front Light  

2 Blackburn Mars 3.0 Rear 7 LED-3 Mode

Trailer rear lights

2 Sigma Cycle computers

1 Garmin 750. (told us exactly where we were lost)

1  bottle cage and bottle. 

Trailer flags (required guy ropes fixed to the trailer to stop them taking a swipe a passing cars. Snapped in 1^st week and held together with Gaffa tape for rest of journey)

Trailers and bags

2 Carry Freedom - Freedom City Trailers (excellent kit which we gave a real hammering with a heavy load sometimes over difficult terrain. 1 polymer hitch failed after 4000km and the second showed wear. No big worry but need to check daily and carry  a spare. They are easy to replace)

2 x Palm River Trek 50 dry bags  (Robust but heavy. Also right size for hand luggage on plane)

Plastic sheeting and elastics to hold it all together (cheapest bit of kit -worked well, keeping kit clean, dry and protected from abrasion)

4 x Exped Fold Dry Bag XL (22l)

2 x Exped Fold Dry Bag M (8l)

1 x Ortlieb A3 map case (Useless – sticks to itself and tore easily -  changed to a clear document wallet at 1/10 of price))

1 x Lowe Alpine Mesa Runner bumbag. (In constant use – on and off the bike)

Total Personal Kit (for both of us)

2 Cycle helmets

2 prs Padded cycling - shorts / longs .

2 x2 Helly Hansen Stripe Crew base layer

Marmot driclime windshirt

2 xRab Vapour-Rise Lite Jacket

Rab women's microlight vest

2 xBuffalo fibre pile shirts (Used  buffalo kit for 20 years: sailing, mountaineering skiing, canoeing and now cycling. Best winter kit ever.)

2 Rab goosedown duvet jackets

1 Montane Velo H2O Jacket  (Useless – wet through in 10 minutes)

1 Montane Quattro DT Womens Jacket

2 x Buff s (very versatile protecting neck, ears or head)

2 pr Endura Gridlock waterproof over trousers.( heavy but very functional)

2pr Waterproof cycling enduro overshoes. (Mary wore hers, I preferred wet feet)

1 Pertex top (Callange).

1 x Seal Skinz Mountain Bike Gloves - pair Small

1 x SealSkinz Ultra Grip High Viz Winter Gloves

1 pair fingerless sailing gloves

2 karrimoor  reflective jackets

2 welsh cycling jerseys

4 prs Cycling socks and 2 pairs of thick wooly socks

2 pr Cycling shoes. Shimano & MTB SPD (MTB stank like cat’s pee, very little traction on steep ramps and soles wore through. Shimanos just stank)

Trainers & sandals

 Rab Downpour shell jacket (This long mountain jacket with full wired hood proved invaluable on and off the bike)

1 Endura FS260 Pro Womens Shorts  

1 Endura Firefly SS Ladies Jersey

1 Endura Hummvee Baggy Shorts inc Liner

2 x short sleeve shirts.

Rohan Expedition shirt (built in anti midge!)

2 prs expedition long trousers

Wooly Hats

1 pr Cycling sun glasses. (lost and replaced!)

Underwear (Guess you know what works for you)

Swimming costume

Wash kit

Aids /batteries/glasses/sun glasses

1 x Life Systems Expedition 50 100ml Deet Spray (Dissolves plastic and leaks)

2 x Life Systems Mosquito Head Net

1 x Life Venture All Purpose Soap 200ml

2 x Life Venture Soft Fibre Trek Towel Large (Brilliant)

1 x Life Venture Soft Fibre Trek Towel Small

Watches

1 Deuter Compact EXP 6 SL Backpack

Bike Repair & Maintenance Kit

Schwalbe durano folding tyre

2 Spare inner tubes.

Puncture repair kit

2 Rubena Angled Valve Tube – for trailer

2 Schwalbe city freedom tyres  for trailer

Topeak Alin 3 Multi (Excellent kit)

Gerber suspension multi tool (Essential and excellent))

Adjustable spanner

Spanner to fit trailer wheel and pedals

Topeak Morph turbo mini pump with gauge  (good kit although fold down plastic bits are fragile)

Small plastic bottle of general lube.

Selection of cable ties .

A 3m length of thin strong cord.

1 Clarks Pre-Lube Universal Brake Kit (Remember you need wire cutters)

1 Clarks Gold Pre-Lube Universal Gear Kit

A small selection of nuts and bolts

Gaffa tape

Other kit carried

Kindles loaded with manuals, country guides and good fiction (one of our best buys)

Sony Netbook

Smartphone with skype (rarely used outside Fr –cost!)

cheap mobile phone payg on UK card with Europe travel option activated (Not cheapest option but saved messing about buying sim cards)

Digital Cameras + memory cards and battery charger.

A bag of wires for above (Why can’t we have 1 universal charging wire and 1 connecting wire?)

Small "hotel" type sewing kit.

Notepad and pen.

Passport, travel insurance documents, E111, ATM and credit cards

2 bike cables and locks.

1 First aid kit (plasters, paracetamol, etc.).

 Sudacrem  bum cream (soothes, smooths and ……..)

Panty Liners (I used them for extra padding on the really sore bits)

1 Large lightweight nylon bike cover. (never used)

2 CamelBak Unbottle 2009 - 1.5L (Too fiddly to fill on the road)

1 Stainless Steel 0.5 litre vacuum flask

Sunblock

Camping Equipment

1 x Wild Country Duolite Tourer tent (Fit for purpose and it took the trailers)

1 x Grounsheet protector (footprint ) for above

1 x Primus EtaPower EF (heavy but v efficient)

2 x Petzl Tikka Plus 2 head torches

1 x Snugpak Travelpak Xtreme SB (I hate nylon bags and this one also has a built in self strangulation net.)

1 xRab Ascent SB

1 xExped SynMat Pump 7cm DLX

1 x Exped SynMat Pump 7cm standard (v comfortable but you work up a good sweat pumping them up)

Exped chair kits to fit the Exped Synmat  (innovative and surprisingly comfortable)

1 x Ortlieb Waterbag 4L

KFS

2 Plastic plates.

2 Plastic mugs.

1 Small sharp knife.

Washing up liquid and sponge.

Matches and gas lighter. 

1 x McNett Tenacious Tape

Total weight between two trailers (with food liquid and fuel) was around 55 - 60kilos.