It starts with a few days in Vancouver, where else would you start riding across the USA? As I was in Vancouver a few years ago on the Rocky Mountaineer to Banff it seemed reasonable to go south from Vancouver and keep the travel line continuous.

In Vancouver I’ll recover from jetlag, assemble the Wayward ‘Cape York’ touring bike, buy some last minute supplies such as a down puffer jacket, and some waterproof cycling booties.

What I can’t get in Australia (stuff is a lot cheaper here than in Canada or the USA at the moment because of the low Australian dollar) or have to ditch to stay in flight weight limits I’ll get in Vancouver. Once tested on the road I’ll top up in Seattle with the forgotten bits.

The bulk of my gear is as used on the previous rides but updated where necessary;

Updates include;

• a new tent (Big Agnes Mazanares 2) a to replace my 18 year old Oztrail Outer Limits Backpacker tent The Mazanares compared to the Backpacker is longer (53 vs 48 cm when packed), lighter (1.9 kg vs 2.2kg ) ,freestanding instead of needing pegging, doesn’t have failing zips, a leaking tub, flapping rain fly and tendency to lie flat in winds problems of the old tent. I reckon the 18 year life is very good for a cheapie Oztrail tent that has done two crossings of Australia, trips Tasmania to Cape York, Cairns to Darwin and CTAWA OYB tours!
• canister gas stove replacement for my Trangia cook set (some US National Parks apparently won’t allow unthrottled alcohol stoves, so got a $25 gas burner from Bulin (vs $80 from Trangia) made to drop into the windshield of the Trangia
• a new sleeping mat (SeatoSummit ultralite insulated inflatable to replace my Anaconda self-inflating mat that hasn’t held air since it popped in the heat 18 years ago when I left it inflated during the day)
• new sleeping bag liner (current one so thin it tears every time I roll over)
• new rechargeable powerbanks (got two, an Anker PowerCore 13000 mAhr to run my phone and GPS during the day and an Imuto 20000 mAhr to carry me for those times when I find myself 2-3 days between an overnight power point for recharging. My current three year old Lenovo only holds about 1/3 of its rated power so is on the way out.

• new SKS Blumels mudguards, silver to match the chrome fork crowns of the Wayward bike. The SKS Blumels are from Germany (good stuff the Germans have), bought from Wiggle in England and air-freighted to Perth cheaper than buying unsightly black Planet Earth guards in Vancouver.
• The old front guard caught a stick and folded up under the forks causing an instant stop, the rear guard stay fatigue fractured approaching my brother’s farm in central Queensland four years ago and was patched using a huge lump of brazing so time to replace.