Of course you need panniers, a good light-weight tent, sleeping bag, clothing etc for cycling touring, but I think (sure Sari will agree) these three items enhanced our everyday living on the road. They were not expensive items, in fact I found one for free:
- Pull tool when pushing your bike up steep hills ( that sounds weird, but it’s true!)
- Closed-cell foam mat
- Chain cleaner & degreaser
Pull tool for pushing your bike up hills
Pull tool for pushing your bike up hills sounds weird but it works a treat. My cycling buddie Sari taught me this trick when we cycled D’Urville Island and used it many times on my recent South Island adventure.
It’s impossible to push a loaded touring bike for long while walking/struggling up steep inclines. Using this method (described below) makes the climb so much easier, the shoulders don’t get as tired, it’s a refreshing change for the leg muscles to walk, and easier to stop and have a breather. What I also found was that many times on the really steep sections I could walk faster than I couldpeddle.
What is supposed to happen is that when you put your hands on the handle bars and start walking you are actually balancing the bike and pulling it at the same time. Let me explain below and check out the photographs:
- I put the padlock (for my bike) around my waist (you could also use a waist belt).
- Loop the platted bail twine around the bike seat stem and through the padlock.
- Tie a knot. This needs to be tight enough so when you walk you are pulling the bike as you walk. If you aren’t pulling the bike when you walk, you need to make the loop smaller. It does take a few adjustments.
- Your arms are now used to balance the bike as opposed to pushing it hard out.
- Happy balancing/pulling your bike up inclines! 🙂
I would love to have your feedback if you have tried this method or have another technique.
A closed-cell foam mat
Both Sari and my son Rafer knew the value this little mat, I’d only ever used plastic bags before. Sari had her little mat secured on one of her panniers, enabling quite access to it when needed.
After only one day on the road I knew I had to have my own mat. It was quite by accident we found my mat. We were cycling towards Murchison and on the side of the road we noticed a large sheet of yellow foam. It was Sari who suggested “let’s get a piece of that foam for you”. So within minutes we had literally hacked a rectangle piece of foam for me and had it tucked on the top of one of my panniers. It’s proved to be so useful especially for sitting on while having our meals. It will also be useful while tramping.
All-in-one – bike chain cleaner & lubricant
To help prolong the life of your chain and ensure smooth gear changing your bike chain does need regular maintenance. I have found this chain cleaner and lubricator to be the best. It’s easy to use and only takes a few minutes to use.
We all know, prevention is better than cure. Especially true regarding bike chains, as one cycles along our country roads and trails a lot of dirt and dust particles from the road or trail are thrown up onto the chain.
I’ve found this Rock n Roll Gold Chain Lube the answer to a quick chain clean, lube and smoother cycling. At the end of the day It wasn’t an effort to give the bike chain a quick clean. This ensured reduced chain friction, helped resist water wash off to retard rust and corrosion, and ensured smooth gear changing.
How to apply this wonder all-in-one lube:
- Shake the bottle well and apply a stream of lube to the chain at the cassette.
- Do not drip the lube on like you would oil. This is not oil.
- Get the chain really wet, this stuff cleans and lubes all-in-one.
- Freewheel the chain backwards for about 5 seconds … no less
- Wipe off all the excess lube … all of it, wipe the chain as clean as it will get.
- That’s it – go riding!
If you have a great product or gizmo you use on your adventures, I would love to hear about it.
This is it, until next time – happy adventuring! GoldCard Gal 🙂
Steve Gurney (now retired from professional racing) is still an Adventurer, Engineer, Innovator, Keynote Speaker, Motivator and Author. He’s a nine times winner of the Coast to Coast race (it took him five attempts before he won his first Coast to Coast). He has also won many international multi-sport multi-day events under very extreme conditions. He has suffered from extreme depression. His autobiography “Lucky Legs” is a great read, it gives an insight into what motivated him, the continual self-improvement and innovations he explored and applied to his racing career. I could go on and on.
“The blister blitzer”