Kit notes

Out of laziness I won't put together a full kit list, but here's a few notes on what's in/out since my last (Austrian) tour 3 years ago.

Some equipment has served me well and I'll stick to it:

Bike (the "Blue Shift") is largely the same, albeit with enhanced bits of drivetrain and refreshed parts (see previous mechanical interlude).
I'll continue to use 4 Ortlieb panniers front/back. I am contemplating cutting it down to just two, but suspect I'll appreciate the extra space for stove/food. On the front will be my new Carradice C bar bag.
I'll be taking my very light Terra Nova 2-man tent with footprint and my trusty Thermarest. I actually have a new 4-season down bag, but it's too warm for a trip in high summer so will take my old one.
My stove setup is basic but foolproof. I use foldable stove with solid-fuel (hexamine) since I can transport it on the ferry no problem. While they're intended to be disposable I use them again and again. Then I'll take the smaller bits of my slightly oversized (but light) aluminium cookset.
My clothing is nothing special. I don't have cleats so just wear normal shoes. The only particular kit I have is merino wool t-shirts, just because they're excellent at not becoming disgusting over many days use. And padded shorts.
I always buy and take paper maps if I can obtain them. No electronic solution can replace them for planning and overview (and they can't run out of battery/signal). In Spain, IGN's 1:200K series are perfect. Since getting them I've already found 3 more off-road cuts through mountain passes.
One of our point-and-shoot cameras is now fixed!

What's in and out? So, the main thing to go is the smartphone. While it had its uses in covid-struck Austria, I soon found in everyday life that it was a distracting pain in the arse. The constraints and top-down control imposed by tech companies make them a poor replacement for a computer, the touch interface is pretty horrible for creating anything, and I spend enough of my time staring at a screen anyway to continuously carry a device for which the raison d'etre is bothering me as much as possible.

Surely there was a better way? I'm not a Luddite - I just want tech that works for me, rather than the other way around. I won't go into tedious detail (read about it here on my website if you're interested!) but I've come up with a collection of gadgets that gives me way more flexibility, power and control than a phone - and is mobile too.

The first part is a communication device (y'know, an actual phone). Basically this is to act as a phone and 4G modem to provide mobile internet. For this, the tiny Xiomi Qin F21 works brilliantly. It's an Android phone, but has button interface. With some hacking I have rooted it and taken control of the operating system. If I really need to I can install any apps on this phone - but I keep them on a tight leash.
Next is a navigation device. I took the plunge and bought the Garmin Fenix 6X (solar model) last autumn. It is an absolute revelation! Imagine having GPS and good maps for the entire continent on your wrist, in a device with battery life of over a month, and which functions 100% offline. I can add a (huge) database of points of interest from OpenStreetMap, which allows me to find nearby restaurants, campsites etc all totally offline. It records temperature, air pressure and altitude, very helpful when climbing mountains on the bike. It also measures lots of fitness parameters, and Garmin make it easy to opt-out of data collection (and indeed I now never connect to their servers) - in a format I can analyse and pull apart locally. I've recently discovered I can even make my own maps out of images (for example from OS in the UK, or IGN in Spain) and they are perfectly readable! The killer refinement Garmin have is massive battery life (it even charges in the sun), tactile control with buttons and making all this available from the wrist - meaning it is totally unobtrusive when you don't need or want it and immediately available when you do. I even refer to it when driving. It doesn't glow to hurt your eyes at night, and becomes easier to read in bright sunlight. Trying to work a touchscreen phone when cycling is horrible in comparison. Finally, a combination of this tech that doesn't crack the tubes! This will replace my previous Garmin GPS which put in good service.
The final piece is a proper computing device. Key features here is very good battery life, a good human interface for creating things (i.e. not passively consuming content) and complete control over the OS. An old Macbook Air 11" from 2015, reformatted to run linux, fits my purposes nicely. It's so dinky it's much the same size/weight as a big tablet, but has a (lovely) proper keyboard. With some tweaks the battery can last 7-8 hours which should be plenty of time between charges (the last thing I want is to be chained to device charging when I could be bike riding).

Finally, a phone that works on my terms!

The Garmin Fenix 6 watch, just incredibly rich features that it provides to you, while not taking any of your data in return. The only downside - the cost! This set me back £600 (and that was a great deal on ebay). For context that's as fifth as much as my car. It's a one time spend though, there are zero other costs for running it.

Detailed Ordnance Survey maps running on the Fenix.

A tiny, powerful laptop - Macbook Air 11" now running Linux (penguin decal from Ukraine)

Since this will be a reasonably short trip - just under two weeks - I'm in two minds about whether to take the laptop. I really don't want to find myself staring at a screen, when I could be looking at the stars/a glass of wine in a local bodega. On the other hand it will be nice to have it on the ferry, it'll be far more useful to research routes/make bookings on that the phone

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