Moin

I know, I know, it is weird not to get an adventure-preparation-post this Sunday. 😉 Instead, you get the list, what was in my second back pannier. With my personal opinions about the gear, what I will take again and what I might change next time. By the way, I bought all my gear for the price anyone would have paid, and I do not get paid to say anything of the following.

First, you can watch me unpack and see how I had everything organized:

So what did I have in my pannier?

• My puffy jacket by Esmara. I really like it. It is light and easy to pack. And also warm. I wore it often in the colder evenings and mornings on the campground and one night for sleeping in the old sleeping bag. On rainy days I also put it on while taking a break, so I would not get cold. I will definitely bring this again.
• My camp light by ThorFire. I always had it in the pocket in the roof of the tent, just in case I needed it. I did not use it every night, but it was great to have!
• My sleeping pad by Hikenture. Very light, small-sized when rolled up, and easy to inflate. I will probably have this until it is broken and I have to replace it.
• Camping Pillow by Cocoon. It has the right size to fit into the hood of the sleeping bag and stays in place because of that. Easy to inflate and I like that you can take the cover of the plastic air-core and wash it. I have to be careful not to fill it up completely because then it is a little too hard for me. So if I ever come across a pillow that is also so small and light, but has some softness to it, I might change it. Until then, I am happy with this.

And the Sort-your-bag by Vaude that fits right into my back pannier and keeps things organised. Here is what I had in there:

• My sock-shoes by skinners. I only started wearing them after a few days already on tour, and as soon as I did, I wondered why. It is so great to get out of the stiff bicycle shoes and wear something light and flexible on your feet when you are done pedalling for the day. They are also a lot warmer than I thought and easy to wear with socks. I thought I would have to be barefoot to use them. They work barefoot and with socks. I will definitely take them on every tour!
• Bathing suit and goggles. I did not use them this time, I will bring the bathing suit again and probably leave the glasses at home.
• My clothesline by Tchibo and the washbag by Scrubba for my laundry. Sadly I only had space to put the line up under a roof one night, and the other night I used it outside everything got wet again by dew. I will still pack it again. I am not so sure about the washbag. I really love the idea, but after using it once, I rather used the bathroom sinks. So I would only pack it if there were many nights without a bathroom to expect.
• 2 microfiber towels from Decathlon. Light, small, and they dry me off. 😉 Of course, I will retake them.
•  Folding hanger by Søstrenes Greenes. I thought this would work good for drying my T-Shirts, but I never used it, so I will not pack this again.
• A lot of toothpaste by Elmex and OralB. I took the small Elmex tube inside the box with my toothbrush and was not sure if there was enough toothpaste inside for the whole trip. I had the OralB tube laying around, so I packed this just in case. When I was in the pharmacy in Göttingen I got the second Elmex toothpaste as a gift… so I had 3 in the end, because the first never got empty. I will replace the toothbrush on my next trip, just because it needs replacing 😉
• Nose-spray against my hayfever. Looking sick because of hayfever is never a good look and at the moment even worse, because people are scared. So best do something against it. I will pack this every time I tour in the spring/early summer.
• Pumice stone. I packed because I had this small one, never used it.
• Tweezers, nail clippers and nail file for obvious reasons
• Wet wipes, just to feel a little cleaner 😉
• Soventol. I bought this in Göttingen in the pharmacy because a tick bite got infected. Luckily it helped, and I did not have to go to a doctor about it.
• Deodorant
• Shampoo, which I also used for washing my clothes
• Shower gel
• Pferdesalbe for my muscles and Traumeel in case my thumbs get bad.
• insect repellent spray and a mirror

On the other side of the sort-your-bag I had my clothes:

• Neck/shoulder-warmer (self-sewn), capri pants (self-sewn) and T-Shirt for sleeping
• bra, dress (self-sewn) and cardigan for the rest-day and the evenings if I wanted to wear something different then my bicycle clothes

Ok, this was not all packed, because I was wearing one bicycle T-Shirt, one bra top, the cap and my pants, but I added it here to show you all the clothing I took:

• 3 pairs of socks
• 3 underpants
• 3 shammies (the 2 black ones are by Gonso, the white by Craft)
• 2 self-sewn bicycle T-Shirts
• 2 Bra Tops. Last year I wore a normal Bra for my tour, and even though it is very comfy for everyday life, for cycling I prefer those bra tops without an underwire
• Self-sewn hat/cap for under the helmet. For one, it keeps the sun off my scalp and second it covers my helmet hair when taking the helmet off.
• Knitted hat to keep my hat warm
• outdoor pants by Bergson with zip-off-legs

I would definitely pack all this again. Soon I will have to sew myself new T-Shirts though. Wearing the lock and my fanny pack around my waist left some marks.

Last but not least, what I had in the small bag on the pannier:

My emergency stuff:

• rain cover for my helmet. It does not keep me from getting wet, but it keeps the drops from falling in my face.
• Waterproof socks by Otter – duh.
• First aid kit by Outdoor Panda. Luckily I never needed it, but I feel saver by having it. Hopefully, I never need it, but maybe I will be able to help somebody one day.
• Shammie cream by Ilon. Used this every day. And my butt stayed in an ok-condition for the whole tour. Feels weird to put lotion on your butt every day though 😉

 

Do you have any questions about the things I carried around in this pannier? Do you have any questions about my tour in general? Do not hesitate to ask!

Next week I will show you what is in the first front pannier.

keep exploring and smiling

your Fairy