Equipment List

Equipment List

Eating on the road

Weight Summary and Distribution 

Our Surly LHT

Our Surly's before all the luggage and minus the front rack

Hélène's Surly LHT

Daniel's Surly LHT

The Surly's as they will be during the trip

Daniel's Surly LHT

Hélène's Surly LHT

For our next trips, I will have a Surly with 26 inch wheels (same size as Hélène's). One of the driving factors for that decision is commonality of parts and stronger rims. While we did not have issues with rims, they have caused others problems.

Things we never used 

Bear Spray - Did not use at all and that was a good thing. In bear country it was always in the waist belt immediately available either on or off the bikes. The belt proved to be so comfortable that you completely forget it is there. Make sure you are comfortable using bear spray by giving it a try. When Yogi is coming at you at 35 mph, it might be a tad late!

Sawyer Mini Water Filtration System - Did not use it on this trip but tried it out last year in Gaspésie. We used it to drink water from a slow moving creek and suffered no ill effects.

Things we did not use much

Bicycle Spare Parts - We had many things and used one spoke and Hélène's spare tire. After the trip, I had three spokes break on me so for our next trip, we will bring a good dozen spokes.

Headlamps 

Aerobars - We both had aerobars, purchased on Kijiji, on the bikes. We did not use them as much as anticipated. With fully loaded touring bikes, they do not offer as much control as the regular bars and needed a wide shoulder to feel a modicum of safety. I'll keep mine, but Hélène's are for sale. 

Tea ball - Not much use as we drank a lot more beer than tea.

Silnylon Tarp - Used the tarp a few times to provide cover from the rain (once in BC) and a few more times as a sun shelter in Saskatchewan. Quickly strung up between the bike, it gave us some respite from the prairie sun. Pretty light and multipurpose, so will retain in our kit.

Freeze Dried Meals (4) - Emergency food for our crossing of Ontario, North of Lake Superior. We used one and replaced it. Will retain in our kit.

Bug Jacket and Pants - Used once in Portage La Prairie, Manitoba home of some of the nastiest mosquitoes in Canada. More often than not, it was cool enough that we could use our rain gear against mosquitoes. Bulky but light, will retain in our kit.

Pad lock - Used on our days off. Will retain in our kit.

Things we will not bring on our next trip    

Rain Shoe Covers - If you ride in the summer and wear wool socks, you feet might be wet but will stay warm as long as you are pedaling. Even with shoe covers the feet still get wet eventually. We found that it is just not worth it.

And finally, items on the equipment list with a strike through were sent home.