Ireland - How do you carry all that stuff (August 6 - August 8)
Drogheda - Newgrange - Slane)
Distance biked so far: (144km)
On a typical day, if there is such a thing, I will arrive in a town in mid to late afternoon and explore the local sites or find out information about the area. Once I am done for the day, I seek out a grocery store to buy food for that night's dinner and the next morning's breakfast and get some extra water for drinking and cooking.
The first thing to do is set up the tent. I start by laying down a ground mat to protect the tent from moisture.
I set up my tent, ideally under trees or behind a hedge to protect against the wind.
In the tent goes an inflatable sleeping pad, sleeping bag and compressible pillow.
A rain sheet fits over the tent.
Once that is set up I take my front panniers to a picnic table or clearing on the ground. One of the front panniers contains my cooking gear and the other my food. I carry a gas stove and light it and boil water for dinner if required. My cooking supplies include a container of olive oil, a few basic spices, a cutting board, gas stove, pots, frying pan and cutlery. I also have cleaning supplies and carry basic food. Today my food supplies are pasta, coffee and a mix of raisins and nuts. The amount of food I carry depends on the availability of stores so in Western Europe this will be minimal. It's not always easy to buy things that I can eat in 1 meal however, so often have to spread it over a few days. Here is my cooking gear laid out with a pot on the gas stove.
The red fuel bottle holds unleaded gas which I fill up with after about 6-8 uses (not sure yet as I haven't had to refill it) at a gas station. I simply go in as if I have a car. I filled this bottle for 0.90€ (approximately $1.30 in $U.S).
Once I clean eat and clean up I put everything back in my panniers and in the vestibule area of my tent, between the main sleeping area and the rain cover. The next day I have to take down the tent, pack up my bags and head off. I get up about 7:00am or so (no alarm clock) and do some light stretching. I then read from the bible for about 20 minutes and then start by lighting the stove and boil water. I use 2 cups of water for my java press and the rest for cooking oatmeal. I add nuts to the oatmeal and have a piece of fruit along with coffee and then drink some water. Here is a picture of this morning's breakfast.
