I am asked many questions about my travels on a daily basis and the majority of them are the same. "Where are you going?" "How far do you travel in a day?" "How did you get so much time off work?" and "If you don't mind me asking a personal question, how can you afford to travel for so long?"
Surprisingly, people rarely ask the obvious questions like, what do you do when the weather turns bad? and, how many flat tyres have you had? The answers being, ride and grumble and none. That's right, zilch in 5000km of touring.
This brings me to the more valid questions posed by fellow cycle tourists, my favourite of which is: "What possessions could you not do without?" and my answer is always the same, my Icebreaker wardrobe.
In the five months I have been on the road I have severely punished the small selection of clothes I carry on tour. Each item is almost worn daily, many items are worn two three or four times before getting a so called wash whilst I'm showering, followed by being rung out by hand and dried over radiators, fence rails or tent rope's then thrown in the bottom of bags or in the corner of my tent. When a laundry can be found and all my clothes are bundled together and washed in hot or cold water using dodgy detergents then dried in a tumble dryer. Not ideal laundering methods for merino garments or any clothing for that matter, but my Icebreaker garments looks as good as new.
So what does my Icebreaker wardrobe consist of? Two pairs of Run Ultralite Micro socks, three pairs of Anatomica Bodyfit Boxers, one Tech T Lite short sleeve shirt and two Tech T Lite long sleeve shirts, all of which still look amazing. They have kept their shape, the colours remain vibrant and there is no pilling which is common with woollen garments.
If you're going travelling, I suggest that you invest in Icebreaker.
Unbelieveable - will have to invest in some icebreaker clothes. Hadn't heard of the brand until now. Where have I been hiding? Thanks Darren.
ReplyDeleteHey there Birthday Boy. Maybe you could just wear your birthday suit today and give the icebreaker clothes a rest!!! Second thoughts I don't think nude cycling is such a good idea especially in Ireland......to be sure, to be sure.
ReplyDeleteHappy days, Pete & Sheryl
Happy birthday! Still a loyal band of us reading every update wishing we were doing what you are. Keep living the dream! I've bought you a new tube for your birthday but I don't expect you'll need it so I will hang on to it until you return to save on postage...
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