A Break From Tradition.

I’m breaking from tradition when I cycle across Canada. I intend this trip to take a handle bar bag. I had the thought a couple of years ago to use one of these and ordered one from the UK. But when it arrived, and I had had a chance to test it, I decided that if this was what cycle tourists had to put up with I didn’t want any part of it.

I’m not easily deterred though and have purchased another bag from a different outfit and am putting it through its paces for the next 6 weeks until we go.

Testing the New Handle Bar Bag.

The reason I need one of these is because my vintage kerosene cooker ‘Ken’ tends to fart and burp fumes to such an extent that I can’t possibly keep him inside my main bags. So whereas Gen Y probably keep their I phones , hair styler and sponsors pledges in their H/Bag I will be keeping my map, distance reader ,real money (saved myself) , and coffee making paraphanalia in mine.

For a short time when I was about 13yrs old I owned a H/Bar bag that had come as part of a set when I bought my touring bag combo. However before I had a chance to use it a school mate asked if he could borrow it for his tour and I never saw it again. He returned but my bag didn’t. Early lesson to ‘Niel the Wheel’ never to loan his cycle kit. He reckoned he had lost it. The H/Bar bag is suppose to hold your most valuable items, so how he could have lost it I don’t know. Later I heard that it had flown off the bars and he was too embarrassed to give me back what was left of it! It was a bit tricky to put on and Rex was a bit mechanically inept.

For those Born After 1980. A Map Reader Looks like this. (No You don't Need Batteries).

It is now the first day of May. Winter is officially here. It’s certainly not painting weather so work on the outside of the house has slowed. Slowed to a stop would describe it better. Cool evenings and rising electricity costs have prompted us to put an inbuilt gas heater into the South Wing. Since I can’t find a good spot for the Gas cylinder station I have decided to build a little shelter for them in the garden. A couple of bags of ready mix cement and some timber would do the job. As usual I thought one load with the BOB trailer would be sufficient. After purchasing it all at the hardware, and having got them to cut the timber to a manageable length I realised that the whole load would weigh close to 80kgs! The BOB trailer’s only rated to 35kgs. I figured it would handle 50kgs if I avoided all rough sections of road ( a tough ask in NZ ).  I ended up leaving 25kgs at store. The ride home with the rest was a ride I won’t want to repeat for some time. The trailer was difficult to control and it was rush hour on the roads.

Got Home Just on Dark.Can You See the Trailer Wheel?

Tomorrow I get to go back for the rest of it and build the cylinder shelter. What I really want to do is to get on line and register our Across Canada ride on the ‘Ride Across Canada’ website.