All packed to go

Imagine leaving home for a trip of at least 18 months. You’re going to be facing many extremes, snow and desert heat, sun, wind and rain. You’re going to be independently camping and carrying basics like water, fuel and medicines. You’re packing for travel on a motorcycle, so space and weight is of a premium. Plus you need to carry essential items for the bike, like tools and spares. You want to document your journey, so photography and computer equipment is a must…

Packing for any holiday has its challenges. So many “what ifs” and “maybes” to consider. Imagine the logistics of packing for a trip on a bike!

We did 2 exploratory trips in 2016, to experience packing for and traveling by bike. The main thing we learnt was that we packed way too much, didn’t use half the items we had originally taken. There were also one or two learnings about items we should have packed and didn’t.

Today we packed our bikes for the final time before leaving Australia for our trip across the Americas. It was an exciting day, yet still fraught with decisions and debates…We have lost count of the number of times we have packed, re-packed and re-packed again. Weighing items, trying to decide the best way and place to pack each item.

Paul is carrying the heavy items at 53kg: kitchen, toiletries, tools, tent, computer, drone and sleeping mats. Paul’s bike has 2 panniers, 1 top box, 1 tank bag, 1 tent and 1 (red) Ortlieb waterproof luggage bag. I’m carrying 47kg which is our clothes, shoes, first aid, medications, sleeping bags, pillows, fly fishing rod and cameras. My bike has 2 panniers, 1 tank bag, 2 saddle bags and 1 (yellow) Ortlieb waterproof luggage bag. We’re good to go…

Tomorrow we ride the motorcycles to the airport, where we will crate them for their flight to Vancouver Canada.