Hi All!
A little update...
Luggage and packingSince I can't go truly bare on my bike (I always love a pun, Matt), I have to take stuff with me. Luggage requirements for international air travel are now for "less", smaller and lighter than I flew with in 2008, so I've downsized accordingly. I had thought about simply lashing my filled Ortliebs together, but as a unit they were too large to meet requirements and individually, they were too many to avoid incurring a hefty overage charge. The solution was a polycarbonate suitcase from the big-box membership-discount warehouse store, Costco.
All my cycle-touring gear for the trip including SPD shoes and pedals fits in the suitcase to stow in the cargo hold. All my clothing -- cycling and off-bike casual -- fits in the wee wheeled backpack as carry-on luggage. My handlebar bag holds all electronics and is my allowable "man-bag"/personal item to fit under my seat. I'll buy a stove on arrival, but except for food, I'm good to go for four months on what I'm taking.
For those wanting details, I've attached photos below: There's space left over, but things are looking good for what's left to fit. The car-wash towel will be cut down and hemmed to serve as towels and washcloths to be stored in zip-top bags. These are just as effective and *much* less expensive than backpacking-specific versions and made from the same material.
I have learned to use little tissue packets as packing 'cos it is perfect toilet paper when I start a tour and something that is not always available in restrooms or when wild camping.
(Clockwise on right suitcase-half): Sub-kilo down sleeping bag at top (good to freezing temps alone or a bit lower by adding clothing), 1-person tent at top-right, pad at lower-right. 10l MSR Dromedary, Ortlieb underseat bag, cookpots (will buy stove on arrival), miscellaneous including riding/eye glasses and towel and pedals beneath.
I'll add disposable contact lenses when they arrive. No cleaning/storage supplies needed and a fresh pair everyday. They're a true monovision setup (left eye=near, right eye=far) instead of my usual modified-monovision multifocal contacts that last 1mo/each. For backup, I'll be taking my regular multifocal eyeglasses and the eyeglass insert for my cycling glasses; it has a near-distance stick-on bifocal on the left.
There's more vertical space (thickness) available in the suitcase than it appears, so I can still add a layer of stuff.
On the left, it is mostly just the four panniers and the cycling shoes.
Stuff is tucked everywhere -- there's my pillow and silk liner inside the shoes, for example.
On the flight, I'll be wearing my helmet and flight clothing -- underpants, 3/4 cycling tights, cargo pants with zip-off legs, air-weave t-shirt, longsleeve cycling sun jersey, wind jacket, \quarter-socks and Merrell nylon-mesh clogs. This saves space and I can "shed" clothes once I'm seated.
I bought my helmet in San Diego and wore it on the flight home so it wouldn't get crushed/cracked in cargo. I grew a bit weary of people pointing at the helmet and asking if I knew something they didn't, but it worked out. I did the same going to Amsterdam in 2008 and will wear it again on the plane. Andy will be able to spot me easily enough -- how many passengers will be wearing red helmets?
AAA: Unexpected Ally for travel credit and debitCREDIT:As an American, I'm finding an unexpected ally in the AAA (American Automobile Association) in terms of needed travel items (each outlet has a small store of reasonably priced goodies, discounted further for members) and services that make a year's basic single membership well worth it at ~USD$55.
I then signed up for their AAA travel VISA credit card with chip-and-signature and 2% conversion fee. It is issued by Bank of America and has no annual fee, but looks to be valid only with an AAA membership so that could be considered the fee. On activating the card, BofA advised I would also qualify for their own travel VISA credit card with no annual fee and 0% overseas transaction fee and chip-and sig, so I signed on for that as well. This gives me two cards that are not tied to any of my others and I will use them exclusively for travel, the one with 2% fee as a backup. This is important because I have some of my other cards tied to autopay of utilities services and such so I can "invisibly" earn rewards each month. My favorites are for air miles (BofA AlaskaAir VISA) and camping equipment (US Bank REI VISA). Both of these travel cards are issued by BofA. BofA's fraud protection covers all three and I can manage the cards at one bank. My home autopay cards will stay home so I won't have a hassle with unpaid utilities/garbage service, etc. if a travel card is cancelled for loss, fraud, or me changing my itinerary without notice.
At present, chip-equipped credit cards are hard to come by here in the States, and often command a premium price when available. They are not expected to be common until required by law in 2020, and neither my bank or credit union have any to issue. Unfortunately, the chip-equipped cards available here are only the chip-and-signature kind, *not* the far more secure chip-and-PIN. The only chip-and-PIN credit cards I have found to date is issued by the United Nations Credit Union in New York City and requires membership. Reading up on the matter in financial and banking forums, it appears unlikely the PIN versions will ever become widely available here. Despite recent massive security breaches, there's not much of a push toward greater security in financial sectors Stateside.
DEBIT:AAA also is providing my VISA Travel Money debit cards. At time of purchase, I chose to pay another small fee (USD$3.50 as I recall) for a companion card. This draws on the same pool of money, but has its own PIN and ID number. It can be canceled separately and serves as an instant backup in case the other card is stolen (I'll store them separately from each other). There is a transaction fee but it isn't too bad, and I can reload the debit cards by a variety of means. I will reload mine from either of the two BofA credit cards, so no separate bank account is needed here; transloading will take care of it all and still limit my liability if the debit cards are compromised. I will setup each debit card with its own pin, and -- though labeled "Debit" as required by US law -- each can be used as a "check", "credit" or "debit" card as needed to get money from an ATM, from a teller, or to purchase things.Total for the two cards was about USD$16. These cards are available from AAA and from the Safeway grocery store chain in the gift card section of each store.
The International Driver's Permit: Belt 'n' braces backupAAA also provided me with an International Driver's Permit for ~USD$21 complete with two passport-sized photos, and it is valid only outside the US for one year and only when used with my state-issued driver's license; I can always drive if needed. Apart from driving, the IDP serves a number of backup purposes, all of which could be very handy. First, it is another ready form of identification. Second, it allows vehicle rental more quickly with less hassle -- or at all -- than with only a US state-issued D/L. This includes one-way rentals, which are *much* more difficult if not impossible without. This provides another means to make a return to Andy with the bike if I get caught short for some reason -- illness, overstaying my itinerary, whatever, if I'm in an area without ready access to train service. Third, there's more than one use for a rental car. I've made short rentals before as a means for a) portable on-street lodging when no other is available due to festivals and conventions, b) portable secure storage -- a Citröen Berlingo-class minivan with tinted windows is a lockable bicycle storage facility, and c) a means to quickly move to another area for touring, independent of trains. I found a rental car to be an ideal means for sleeping in the rest areas (aires, see:
http://www.abelard.org/france/motorway-aires1.php ) of French toll roads while transiting parts of Upper and Lower Normandy on my way to Bretagne. The aires typically include a petrol filling station, toilets, the occasional shower, and frequent nighttime security patrols that don't bother sleeping drivers so long as they're not tenting. If you don't mind sleeping in the vehicle (harder but still possible if it is a Seat Leon), it can add a lot of versatility to a time-limited tour. It can also be surprisingly inexpensive. A round-trip week's rental of a Rotterdam-based diesel Leon in 2008 cost me only ~USD$300 when booked in advance and worked well in every respect.
Other matters...Still putting in distance on the bike. Between work and Life obligations, I managed a 435mi week-before-last, tempered only by some posterior tibial tendonitis, caused when I stepped backward into a hole while taking a photo. I rode the rest of the 200km on the rando bike to get home and found it badly bruised, then did a couple more 200km rides on the Nomad, since it didn't bother on the bike. Though the doctor agreed it wasn't cycling-related, I backed off last week and instead did the exercises he prescribed. They're doing their job and it feels much better now.
I got the first of my Hepatitis A/B Twinrix jabs, and will soon be due for my second of three, conferring ~90+% immunity after a month. I'll complete the series when I return for full immunity. A good idea, as water-borne hepatitis is present in the Calapooya Mountains watershed where I mountain-tour SE of here. Pre-bite rabies vaccines aren't available in the US, nor is the vaccine for tick-borne encephalitis, but I've done everything I can otherwise in terms of making sure my immunizations are up to date. I'm only going to Eastern and Western Europe, but these are worthwhile when touring anywhere and the Hepatitis vaccines fill a gap in my record, so all's good.
Best,
Dan.
