“Let the dream devour your life so that the life does not devour your dream.”
Kevin and I are currently sitting at the airport in Sydney waiting for our final flight of the day which will bring us to Auckland, New Zealand, where we will begin our three month cycle touring honeymoon. We left straight from our two-day wedding campout – which took place around a huge campfire in a ranch at Silver Falls State Park – and can’t wait to begin life as a married couple on our bikes enjoying the absolute freedom that cycle touring brings.
I got the snow I had been dreaming of, and though the recent ice storm made it impossible for some of our guests to arrive, for those who made it it was absolutely beautiful! There will be more photos in the coming weeks once our photographer has a chance to go through them all.
Our plan these next three months is to cycle through the mountains partially using New Zealand’s new bikepacking “Great Divide” route – Aotearoa – and partially following whatever mountains and rivers seem most appealing as we make our way south. We are setting out with our typical overarching goals as well; to find beautiful small rivers to fish, peaceful and breathtaking places to camp, and small rough mountains roads to climb.
Though I still have a comprehensive gear post from our last big trip, I figured I would give an update for this one-season summer trip as we have been able to reduce our gear to just our back panniers. For information about packing for a multi-season world tour or for more about our bikes feel free to check out our previous post about gear.
Clothes (for one person)
1 light down jacket
1 rainpants + rainjacket
1 warm hat
1 sunglasses
1 buff
1 cycling gloves
1 neoprene gloves (going downhill in the rain = very unhappy frozen hands)
1 neoprene socks (so that I can wear Keens when it’s raining)
3 small bags (to sort and hold clothes)
1 thin fleece jacket
1 pair track-pants
1 Icebreaker 200 merino wool base layer
1 thin (silk/merino wool) leggings base layer
1 pair keens (I wear these in all seasons with different layers of socks)
1 running shoes
2 cycling shirts (not cotton)
1 spandex shorts
1 knee length shorts (cycling or around town)
2 thin socks/ 1 longer thing sock/ 1 big socks
2 sports bras/ 8 underwear
1 dress (for around town and rest days)
1 running shorts (swimming/sleeping/hanging out)
1 tanktop (swimming/sleeping/hanging out)
Electronics (for both of us)
1 Garmin GPS etrek 30 – open source maps of New Zealand
2 back lights (small rechargable)
2 headlamps
1 solar powered lantern (if you haven’t seen these, check them out they are under 20$ and awesome!)
1 Go pro (thanks to Kevin’s brother for letting us borrow his)
1 camera (both my old cameras broke so now I have a canon G5X)
1 Gorilla pod
1 Ipad
1 Kindle
1 power bank
Bike stuff (for both of us)
1 Pump
1 knipex (extra small) channel locks
1 leatherman
1 hub wrench
1 bicycle multi-tool
1 cassette remover
1 break cable
1 shifting cable
1 Patch kit
10+ zip ties
Assortment of bolts/ miscellaneous small parts
4 BB7 brake pads
1 roll electrical tape
Chain oil
Cooking/Water stuff (for both of us)
1 Katadyn water filter
2 Fuel bottles
4 water bottles on the bike
2 nalgene water bottles (1L)
1 Primus stove
1 flint lighter (no more running out of lighter fluid)
1 six liter MSR bladder
1 pot/ handle
2 bowls
2 long spoon
1 Victorinox knife (we love these, they are very sharp)
1 can opener (p38)
1 small cheese grater
Other (for both of us)
50 feet p-core
1 first aid kid (plus waterproof matches)
1 sewing kit (needle, dental floss, patch kit for Thermarest/tent/waders)
soap
toothbrushes
Contact solution/mirror
1 quick-dry towel
Down sleeping bags, sleeping pads (Therm-a-Rest Neoair), and our three person Big Agnes tent.
We are trying out a waterproof backpack this time around which will sit on our back rack and be used for day trips without our bikes.
One additional thing I’ve brought with me this time around is a small handheld running water bottle, my running shoes, and my running watch in the hopes that I will find some time (and energy) to run semi-regularly along this trip.
Photo taken just before my first 50km trail race a few weeks ago!
Feel free to follow us on Facebook and Instagram (@awanderingphoto) for photos and stories throughout our journey!
