Next Bike tour in the planning stage

We have a week in Tasmania in September. Planning for a cycle tour there has started. At this stage I am looking at equipment updates and what went well with our France tour.

Clothing
Being so fair skinned the art of sun protection was high on my list of importance.

 "Treadley Helmet Hats provide personal sun protection for cyclists. They are a clever, fitted cover that goes over a bike helmet to minimise sun exposure to the face, eyes, ears and back of neck. "
These were great and the peak kept the sun off our faces. Made in Australia, so good quality and really didn't make ones head too hot. Highly recommended.


Although it is traditional to wear Lycra I wore lightweight Prolite shirts made by Earth Sea Sky a New Zealand company making lightweight travel and active clothing. I needed long sleeves for sun protection but didn't want to be too hot. Although they look a little formal for cycling they kept me from the sun and breathed well. They wash easily and dry very quickly and don't need ironing.


I wore mountain bike shorts from Ground Effect which were a little baggy but very comfortable on a bike. Wore padded mesh liners for rear end comfort. Had one pair of shorts and two liners which could easily be washed nightly. This set up is a little hotter to wear than Lycra padded shorts so may review this. The advantage of MTB shorts over Lycra is that when walking round a market or in a cafe you don't feel so self conscious.


Shoes
Always difficult to know what to take and keep things light. Depends a little on the weather of course. We shall definitely use clips on our pedals this time as we are so used to them on our other bikes.(SHIMANO SPD MTB Pedals - PD-M324) So a pair of comfortable MTB bike shoes with SPD clips.(Scott Trail Shoe). The Casual pair for the evenings is much harder. Probably a pair of sandals or even Crocs!


More to follow in the next blog