Preperation

After deciding that I was going to bike from London to Capetown I thought a little about what was actually required to make it happen.

Bike/Camping Gear/Clothes/Route planning/Visas and Vaccinations were a few of the things that I had come up with. I did some research on all of these things then decided that I needed to get the vaccination's in NZ and that the rest I would worry about when I got to London.

There is a far greater range of the items that I would need available in the UK and it was all significantly cheaper than in NZ.

On my arrival in London I stayed with my brother Damon, his very understanding wife Jo and my nieces Rose (5) and Ella (1). It was excellent to see them all and I am grateful for them putting me up for nearly a month.

After having a few days to settle in I began the task of getting everything that I would need together.

To begin with I started by looking at websites of people who had or were currently biking across Africa or the world and seeing what gear they took.

I put what they were using into a spreadsheet and it became pretty clear the kinds of things I would need to have before I set out.

Bike – Bike, bike racks, panniers, computer, pedals, shoes, tyres, spare parts, various tools, locks

Clothes – Shorts, jacket, shirts, wet weather gear, socks, gloves, hats, helmet

Technology – Camera, laptop, video camera, e-book reader, GPS

Camping – Tent, sleeping bag, sleeping mat, cooker, plates etc

From there it was a more research on exactly I needed, then what make/model would be best and finally where I could get the best price for what I needed.

I got the bike, a Surly Disk Trucker, from Brixton Cycles in London after a test ride and

the rest of the gear came via the Internet from various parts of the England, Scotland and France.

I also spent a few days looking at possible routes/bike paths/ferry dates/plane departures to get to Cape Town. It stopped being fun and became an exercise in logistics so I decided not to do any planning at all and to just deal with the 3 key things.

• Leave from London to somewhere in Europe.
• Get to Cairo to get a visa for Sudan. 
• Arrive in Cape Town

After 3 weeks I had almost all of the gear together and went for a 40k ride with the bike fully loaded. This went reasonably well, nothing fell off, nothing needed serious adjusting and it was remarkably comfortable.

I set the departure date for Saturday May 31.