The Kit

My bike is a giant Escape Disc 2 bought in September 2020 from Banjo Cycles in Newbury under the Inland revenue cycle to work scheme. My previous bike was a giant Boulder Colorado which I found in a rubbish skip and renovated myself. I'd had it for about 16 years and was seriously thinking of making the trip to Algeria with it. So I took it in to Banjo's for a complete rebuild. Danny the mechanic in there showed me the new Escape and I am so glad he did. I had no idea how much even the simplest touring bikes( I think they call them Hybrids now) have progressed in the last 20 years. Not only was it lighter and more comfortable, but it appears to be stronger than the old bike. It would have cost me more to rebuild the old bike so I bought the new one instead. I've been belting around on and off road fully loaded for the last two years and it feels to me like it will be up to the job.

There are a couple of things I've changed, I put butterfly handlebars on, not cos the original ones were uncomfortable, they were actually great, but I wanted to have a variety of hand positions for long distance cycling and several other riders had recommended them.

I put a Blackburn panier rack on the front forks for extra carrying capacity and I've recently put on a rear view mirror.

I discovered that my chain was badly worn (How come, having been a cyclist all my life, I never have owned a chain wear guage before?!?)
So in the last few weeks I've learned how to change the chain, the cassette (or block in oldman speak) and the chain rings. It's running like a top now with some rather expensive ceramic chain lube. Other small jobs before departure include new handlebar tape and a new front tyre.

I found a great little UK company selling power packs and solar chargers, www.mobilesolarchargers.co.uk

all made in china of course but a very agreeable firm to deal with and had exactly the gear i was looking for 



which will hopefully keep me connected on my journey.

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