Packing the essentials

Leading up to Friday, I'm starting to feel as though I may have left packing and planning a little bit to the last minute. But better late than never, right? 

Although I'm still a little undecided on some of my warm-kit, or if I should bring as many kits as I've laid out, I think overall this is what I'm packing during the ride. Take it all in!

I have problems with overheating during long rides, so I'm going with some of my whiter, blander kits. I also have my white sleeves in the top left there. I do find they help during that initial hour of a long ride, but as you warm up they switch from being sunlight deflectors to heat-trappers. I'm also hoping to take my Giant kit, as it's been a staple of many of my touring trips. 

Here's my warm-up and rain gear. I'm a little on the fence about bringing the vest, but the MEC Drench Jacket has been a solid addition to my commuter gear. After looking into the weather recently in the Southeast UK and Northern France, it looks like I may need it! In the top right are some shoe-covers (MEC Cloudburst covers) --also rain proof. We've got the Shimano SH-XC31 cycling shoes. We've also got some MEC Logic sunglasses with clear lenses and and MEC Lift glasses with dark lenses. 

Some additional deluxe items I'm bringing: a simple Giro helmet that I got from Cyclesmith, my super-cool bandana, a couple pairs of gloves, a notebook and some bike lights. I'll also be bringing my iPad (it's really getting old at this point), a portable charger and a crib set. I'm using a simple Specialized speedometer as well. A couple special items will be my Wahoo TICKR heart rate monitor and a silly amount of Gummiland Gummy Bears!

After listening to the Velonews podcast about post-ride binging, watching Peter Sagan devour a bag full of bears after a classics-series race this spring and giving it a try myself (albeit mid-ride), I'm really starting to take a shine to these guys!

No pictures is my iPhone 5S. Although I used to be into Map My Ride for a long time, I've made the conversion and switched to Strava. 

My bike is all packed up. I'm bringing my MEC Cote as a touring bike. It may be a bit hard to see, but I also have a couple front-racks by Axiom (Journey DLX-Lowrider) and a couple small MEC World Tour pannier bags. I'll also be bringing two Camelback 750ml bottles. 

As you can see, I'll be using the biknd Jetpack bike bag that I got from Cyclesmith. It looks good now, and I feel like it'll do well in the hands of some surley baggage handlers, but time will tell. I'll be sure to make a review post about both this bag and the MEC Cote after this trip is over. 

Just a little personal touch from my super-cute girlfriend, a little name tag for my bike bag! It has my contact deets on the back. This was a really cool Birthday present!

Will have another update closer to my departure date. Take care out there!!

Leading up to a new Frank Trek

Looks like it's been a couple years since I've posted to this blog. The past few years have been tumultuous at times. I dropped out of distance cycling for a couple years, only to realize that I was getting fat and depressed and decided to hop back in the saddle for daylong rides of 50, 100 or the rare 150km ride. I'm not going to make a pledge to you that I'm restarting the blog, or make a commitment to post once a week --because frankly, I'll end up breaking those commitments and promises. But at the moment, I'm gearing up for something that I think is special. 

Ten years ago, I was fortunate enough to have a little bit of money in the bank, and a little bit of time on my calendar to travel. After consulting with a couple friends from high school, I decided to visit Europe, and to tour France. Not having a tremendous amount of cash, my friends and I brainstormed cheap and immersive ways to see France. Hiking was always mentioned, but to be honest, I absolutely despise walking! Hitchhiking was the next idea. Again, however, too much walking for my likes. Trains, car rentals, or tour groups seemed really expensive for all of us. Eventually, we settled on cycling. It was certainly faster then walking, and after watching a couple Tour de France videos on YouTube, we figured the French countryside would have better attitudes than Canada or the UK for cycle-touring. 

So cycling it was! The experience was so immersive, so thrilling, that I still define this trip as a turning point in my life. I turned away from the idea that I needed a car when I 'grew up,' to embracing --whole hog-- the bicycle as my main mode of transportation. Although I ain't no supermodel now, I lost a lot of weight, but more importantly lost many inches around my waistline. When I got back to Canada, after having my touring bike nicked in Paris, I bought an ungodly looking commuter (a KHS Westwood with an ape-bar) and started biking to school, to the store, to friend's parties, for small day trips. You get the idea. In time, I salvaged a medium sized frame from the garbage at the apartment building I lived in. I had it looked-over for safety reasons, and was told it was probably hit or run over by a car, but the chain- and seat-stays were pried back into place. I breathed new life into it: a new paint job, new drivetrain and groupset, wheels, cables, seat, grips --all the bells and whistles. Despite being a plain old frame with a straight-bar, it was super responsive and fast! Years later, I would buy a road bike --a Giant OCR3-- and a new commuter --a Jamis Coda. I gave the Frankensteinian bike away to a friend in hopes that she would find that special excitement and freedom that I had discovered in France years before. 

I'm not sure if she ever did or not. 

I got into the cycling advocacy racket and learned a lot about municipal and city planning. I still lend a hand every now and then when I have the time energy. I've also been dabbling in bicycle racing, having completed a couple biathlons in the early 2010s and recently, my first criterium (Cat D). 

Great kit! Great crit! Mediocre performance...

It's been 10 years since my foray into cycling started --all from one trip. At the end of the month, having grown as a cyclist and an adult, I plan to revisit many of those same roads in Northern France with one of those high school friends in tow. With our route planned from Sevenoaks, UK to Paris, France, we'll be staying in many of the same towns and suffering over the same hills and trials from 2007. 

I can't wait. 

Will post again about the bike I'm taking, the gear I've settled on and what little tech I'll be bringing along with me.

This might be a flash in the pan for this blog. I might return to years of silence, but I hope you'll join me for this reunion ride, 10 years in the making!

Join me for France Trek +10!