From New Zealand to the UK: A Bikepacking Adventure Begins

From New Zealand to the UK: A Bikepacking Adventure Begins

Britt Walker and Alan Danby are in the final stages of planning and preparing for their dream bikepacking trip; flying out to New Zealand and riding home. Over the coming months they will be documenting their travels and sharing the adventure with us. 

Before they set off, we were interested find out more about their gear selection for the trip. Over to Alan and Britt...

A LONG-TERM DREAM

When we first met – one and a half years ago – we talked about places we wanted to visit and we were both desperate visit New Zealand.

Those initial dreams escalated more than a little and from November we are going to be leaving our careers behind to take a break and embark on an epic new journey by bike. Our plan is to link up a selection of must-do bikepacking routes, from New Zealand to the UK. Our journey will see us cruising along magical coastlines, climbing big mountain passes and flying down some dream single track.


The route will include many different terrains and climates and we will be aiming to be off road as much as possible, allowing us to fully immerse ourselves in the beauty of each location. We feel very fortunate to have the opportunity to start this trip, but we wanted to make sure that we were fully prepared to be able to enjoy the ride as much as possible. While we ride the bikes will be transporting our entire lives with us; by focussing on gear before we set off, our plan is that we'll be able to forget about it while we are away and simply enjoy the journey.

We loved that we could choose gear that suited our requirements for this trip – carrying much more than a typical overnighter, but in a way that allowed us to spread the load evenly. 

 

BIKE SET UP

We will both be riding Brother Cycles Big Bros for the trip, with a selection of Restrap bags carrying and organising all of our gear throughout. Here is a breakdown of all the bags, gear and extras we’ll be using and some highlights of each bike build.

The bags we’ll be using on both bikes:


Extras:

  • Restrap Adventure Race Musette for all the snacks
  • Restrap hip bag for camera equipment
  • Restrap tyre boot kit
  • Restrap tool roll
  • Restrap travel pouch
  • Restrap bottle cage - mounted on the down tube
  • 1000 x Restrap Fast Straps*
  • Restrap & Quoc sandals for maximum camp and travel comfort

*[Tom from Restrap here – our Fast Straps are extremely useful and take up virtually no space, but we'd suggest bringing one or two fewer than 1000, just to help keep the weight down a smidge] 

CAMPING AND COOKING

The bonus of riding as a pair will allow us to split some gear across both bikes. We will be using a Big Agnes C-bar 2 person tent, that we will break up and pack into our Restrap handlebar bags.



Our cooking set up will be stored in our 5L fork bags and consist of a Primus Express gas stove to start with a Sea to Summit collapsible cooking set, to maximise space, but also allow us to cook some delicious food when we ourselves are cooked. In addition the the cooking equipment, we will use a Sawyer Mini Filter to help keep us hydrated and fill our two 500ml Restrap bottles that will be kept in our cockpit for easy drinking and a 1L Nalgene that will be mounted with a Restrap  cage on the down tube.

Our tool kit will be helpfully organised using the Restrap tool roll and will be kept safe in our frame bags. We will be carrying plenty of spares for this trip as we won’t be able to just pop home and fix any little issues you normally just forget on trips. Here are a few key items we’ll be taking:

  • Restrap tyre boot kit
  • Multi-tool, Pliers, pocket knife, tyre levers & leatherman
  • Lezyne HP Micro Floor Drive Pump
  • 2x spare spokes each
  • Spare valves, pads, bolts, gear cables, lube, chain links & cleats
  • Tyre plugs + tubes
  • Zip ties and tape

BRITT'S SET UP

I was lucky enough to bag my Brother Cycles Big Bro from a fellow bikepacker in North Wales, who already had the rig dialled for a big adventure. Here’s a closer look at how I’ve kitted it out for the journey ahead:

Bike

  • Brother Cycles Big Bro, frame size small
  • Jones H-Bar Loop + ESI Extra Chunky Grips for extra comfort and a variety of hand positions
  • Tumbleweed T-Rack to mount our rear baggage
  • Garmin 830 to keep us on track


Clothing and sleep kit

Even though my frame is a small I will be able to carry a similar capacity to Alan, thanks to the custom frame bag that maximises all of my frame space. As someone who gets super cold, storing my many layers hasn’t been an issue for once. The selection of restrap bags has made packing simple as there is plenty of room. My sleep kit consists of a Rab Down Sleeping Bag, Nemo Tensor Mat and inflatable pillow that will be stored between my bar and rear bag to ensure everything stays dry.

Extras

  • Garmin InReach to keep us safe
  • iPad for editing our images and videos along the road

ALAN'S SET UP

The lovely folks down at Woods Cyclery kindly put my Brother Cycles Big Bro together, to help make this comfy, fun and tough for all terrain. I will be riding a large frame with 29er wheels. Here are some key items from my rig:

Bike

  • Brother Cycles Big Bro, frame size small
  • Stooge moto bars for comfort and extra fun descending
  • SON dynamo hub up front to help us charge our Garmin and electricals en route
  • 12 speed groupset (10-50T cassette & 30T chain ring) to help get over all the mighty mountain passes
  • Ergon GP1 grips + SQlab Inner bar ends to help the hands
  • ERGON SMC Core saddle for a happy bum
  • Tumbleweed T-Rack out the back to rack the rear bags
  • Some spicy Hope wheels, bearings, hubs and headset to keep it rolling smoothly through the toughest terrain

Clothing and sleep kit

I’ll be storing all of my clothing, sleep kit and toiletries across the bar bag, fork bags and rear dry bag. I’m really happy with the selection of bags Restrap have provided us, as it will help to allocate specific spaces for different items and make finding everything super easy.

Camera equipment

I will be packing all of our camera equipment within the Restrap hip bag to keep the camera off the bike for protection, but also for quick and easy access.

READY FOR THE OFF

We couldn’t be more stoked with our set ups and from our trial rides we have gained so much confidence in our kit; we don’t need to worry about anything now. We can’t wait to get out on the trails and see the world from our bikes.

You can follow our stories through Restrap socials and also from our personal profiles. Find them here Britt Walker and Alan Danby.

All photos credits: Alan Danby and Britt Walker

Back to News
Previous Article