Things that have been indispensable!

There are some items which I
have proven their worth on this trip.

Sleeping cocoon by " coolmax"- this thing is better than my sleeping bag! I use it every night and it's perfect for warm weather camping. And it weighs next to nothing!

My new snack pack named "Snacky Cracky" is totally sweet! Yes, I have graduated to full bike dork for sporting one of these food boxes that hangs off the handle bars of the bike, but it is a really fantastic appliance. It can accommodate a map in waterproof housing and all my snacks, sunscreen, repair kit, even a sweater. It is shiny silver with a reflector on the front. The only real drawback is that with some weight on the front of the bike, the steering can have a mind of it's own at the most inconvenient of times usually encouraging the bike to tip over. This has resulted in me receiving all kinds of bruises, scrapes and chain gunk "scars." Most recently i fell over at a standstill when the front wheel decided to start rolling. This happened while waiting to catch the ferry to Pag and of course I had loads of witnesses of my performance. Other than that, Snacky Cracky is great!


The French press. If you know me, I shouldn't need to explain that.

The black truffle olive oil we bought our first day in Croatia. It really spices up every dish!

My MSR dragonfly stove. We only need to get new fuel at the gas station every week or so. Very efficient.

Nutella. There is really little hope of making it anywhere without this condiment. It has saved me more than once from bonking out.

Diva saddle/chamois combo. I have not had one saddle sore this whole trip! It's an amazing first.

The blueblockers have really been my only eye protection the whole trip and have performed wonderfully. Who knew that they would be my only point of fashion on this trip! Nothin says cool like a pair of white rimmed blueblockers!



My camp knife. This thing is still sharp after 3 years of use and cuts tomatoes like butter!

My cheesy hydration system. It holds 3 liters of water and the tube is long enough to reach from inside my saddle bag to my thirsty mouth. It might be a bit safer (say if a big truck passes you while you are reaching down to grab a bottle and you get the swerves from the draft). And it beats having a camelback on your back all day.



- Posted from somewhere with my iPod!

Location:Europe bike tour