Gear and useful information for planning a cycle tour of your own. From the planning stage to what equipment may be of use and some tips if you plan on flying with your bike.
These days Garry tends to record his videos on the GoPro Hero3+ camera, housed in its own fully waterproof casing so he can just leave it on the bike and not have to worry when it starts to rain!
It is very small and compact measuring 70mm by 40mm in its case. Unfortunately, it has a fixed lens which cannot be zoomed! But it is simple to operate and comes with a huge array of mounts that allow Garry to mount it on almost any part of the bike or himself!
There’s no preview screen on the GoPro Hero3+. So it’s always a surprise to find out what’s been recorded that day! And Garry’s not fully convinced that it’s the right camera for him! But it does shoot some pretty good footage!
Garry’s camera is the Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ8 which he had to buy rather quickly in Munich in 2010.
It was May 2010 and Garry had just started his tour of Italy. He had just cycled along the French coast from Calais to Amsterdam. And it was while he was in Holland his old camera gave up the ghost and decided that it had had enough!
With no camera (phone cameras were nowhere near as good then as they are today.) He had very little choice but to go and buy one. He was now in Munich after catching a train from Amsterdam. And had some time to kill in between getting his next train to Venice. So off he went in search of a camera shop. He soon found one near Munich’s Neues Rathaus, the Neo-Gothic town hall. The shop itself was a general appliance shop. The shop sold everything electrical but it was good enough for Garry. He just wanted a point and shoot camera!
Not having a clue or any idea about cameras! Garry decided to go for same make as his broken camera. A Panasonic, and simply bought the first one he saw!
This turned out to be a rather good choice as apparently it had one of the widest lenses on the market at the time and had a good zoom function too.
It has now sat happily on the front of Garry’s bike for over 40,000 miles! And has never given him any problems! He had to have it serviced once as there were black spots coming out on the photos. But apart from that. The only fault that Garry can find with it is that it doesn’t take very good pictures at night! But that maybe down to operator error!
Garry brought his Thorn Rohloff EXP, now called Passepartout, from SJS cyclesin Bridgewater, Somerset, in May 2008. Why Passepartout? In the Jules Verne novel “Around the World in Eighty Days”, Phileas Fogg’s manservant is Passepartout. And as a manservant, he would have helped carry Phileas Fogg’s bags around the world. And as Garry’s bike had carried his bags across the globe on his world tour, it felt fitting to Garry.
Garry’s Thorn Rohloff EXP
Garry’s original touring bike was his old Marin mountain bike, which he had converted into a hybrid bike by adding front and rear racks. But after deciding to cycle from Spain to England, Garry decided he needed a new bike. And after a little research, decided to buy a Thorn.
Garry’s Thorn Rohloff EXP has now covered more than 40,000 miles. In 30 countries across five continents. As of July 2015.
Bike and Components List
Frame; Thorn Rohloff EXP
Handlebars; Thorn 6061 Straight bars with anatomic grips & zoom alloy ski bar ends
Gears; Rohloff Speadhub 500/14 in black
Wheels; Tungsten black carbide
Tyres; Schwalbe Marathon 26 x 1.75
Brakes; Shimano XTR V-Brakes with Swiss top blue brake pads
Mudguards; SKS chromo plastic in black
Chainring; Thorn 110mm 5 Arm Reversible Single ring – Black 42T
Chainset; Thorn170mm 5 arm cranks (73mm shell)
Saddle; Brooks B17 Standard leather saddle
Front Rack; Thorn MkV low loader in black powder
Racks; Thorn Expedition Steel Rack in black powder
Dynamo; Schmidt 28 dyno hub 32 hole in black
Front Light; Busch & Muller Lumotec
Rear Light; Cateye LD1100
Pedals; MKS mtn-lite with Zefal easy clip mini strapless toe clips
Garry started bicycle touring using his Marin Palisades Trail, mountain bike. Which he brought in 1992. Garry had always been a keen cyclist. But family life and work commitments, prevented Garry from cycling as much as he would have liked.
In 2002, Garry gave up smoking, after being a smoker for much of his life! And being a heavy smoker, smoking 40/60 cigarettes a day, it was a struggle!
Now Garry was riding his bike a lot more, he added a rear rack and some panniers. Making it more of a hybrid bike. After making these modifications, Garry went on his first long-distance cycle ride. An 80-mile bike ride, along the south coast of England.
After this first ride, Garry found he had a real taste for long-distance riding and cycle-touring. And soon added a front rack and panniers to his bike. Now Garry’s Marin was fully converted to a hybrid bike, he would get away as often as possible. Which wasn’t very often!
Garry’s Marin bike, a few years later on the Isle of Wight. Now with a front rack fitted
Unfortunately, in 2007 Garry lost his wife to breast cancer. After his sad lose, Garry decided to go on a long bicycle ride! From Spain to England! Unfortunately, Garry’s Marin Palisades Trail was now 17 years old, and bike technology had moved on. And as much as Garry would have loved to have ridden his Marin from Spain, back home. He decided it was probably better to get a new bike.
Although Garry doesn’t use his Marin for touring anymore, he still rides it every day.
