Bikepacking Maximum with the Brompton G Line (Update from the road)

Bikepacking Maximum with the Brompton G Line (Update from the road)

I have an 80 liter bag attached to the grip of the front bag. This bag was necessary for the flight, now it's kind of a joker - an extension for everything that has a lot of volume but little weight. It also has mesh pockets which are great for drying clothes while I cycle.

The cockpit pack that is turned upwards behind the seat tube holds small but heavy stuff, but its main purpose is to push the watertight backpack back - so that I won't touch it with my heels while pedaling. So its function is to be a spacer.

The quick release of the luggage carrier has to be closed in an oblique way so that I don't rub against it with my thighs.

The small food bag on the handlebar really pays off, it is a great way to drink without stopping and without a cage for bottles on the frame.

The back-view mirror is from Decathlon and works better than any mirror I had before. It is a big security plus because you can keep the bike perfectly in line and dead straight while checking the trucks and buses that overtake you - and sometimes cut you off while doing so.

The seat cover is also from Decathlon, it protects the leather of the Brooks saddle against the rain and sometimes against heavy sweating as well, but it won't survive more that a couple thousand kilometers. The saddle needs a special grease that is not easy to come by.

The guitarlele is attached to the elastic band with a tube.

I enclosed the guitarlele, the self-inflating mattress, the sleeping bag and the tent in trash bags, so that I can be sure that they will keep dry in torrential tropical rains. Everything except truck tarpaulin will fail there .

Finally, my "Ortlieb Hip Pack 5 liters" died, and I can't replace it because it is no longer in production, even though it is the best small piece of luggage I've had in my life - watertight, airtight, comfortable, easy to access, lots of space for a fanny pack, and all kinds of attachments to hold bottles and other stuff. I even wrote Ortlieb that they should bring it back, but so far to no avail.

With this setup I'm able to travel 200 kilometers in the lowlands in extreme heat and between 50 and a 100 kilometers in the mountains, with about 2000 meters of elevation per day.

The guitarlele really is great as it is portable enough to pack it on the bike, but still playable like a normal guitar. It just sounds pretty crappy due to the small, ukulele-like resonating body, but that is fine by me. It is tuned to A, but you can tune it to E like a normal guitar if you accept the more sloppy tension of the strings.

If you don't know what a guitarlele is, it's an instrument that usually costs 50 to 150 bucks and combines the neck of a guitar with the resonating body of a big ukulele. I've seen it on display in America, Asia and Europe, though not in Africa.

Once again I have no sponsor and paid for everything myself. This is no advertising.

That's it for today, bon voyage, folks!