Preparation

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Of course we did some necessary preparation before we left. In addition to reading lots of great books and travel literature, we have done the following:

Arjette:

• Attended a multi-day first aid course
• TEFL certificate achieved (eg, to be able to work as an English teacher)

Bike Arjette:

• New tires with reinforced inner tube
• New oil filter
• Windshield
• Usb port
• Case set H & amp; B
• New chains and sprockets < / li>

Erik:

• Attended a bike maintenance course
• Attended a photocourse

Motor Erik:

• New tires with reinforced inner tube
• Valve cover tightened
• New oil filter
• Suitcase set H & amp; B
• New chains and sprockets
• added a USB port

Together:

• A day course off-road motorcycle followed by Arjan Brouwer.
• Multiple camping trips made to the Ardennes & all equipment tests.
• Spanish for half a year every week attended classes at the Volksuniversiteit.
• Vaccinations completed, DTP, Hep. A, Hep. B, yellow fever and Rabies.

Preparation time

About 2 years. Not full time but small steps every now and then. Not only because of limited time but also since we needed the time to save money.

Bikes

We both ride a Yamaha XT 600 Enduro, 1 cylinder. The bikes are still fairly light (160 kg unloaded) and maneuverable. They can also withstand some poundings. There is little electronics on it which makes repairs easier. The maximum speed is around 140 km / h but that isn’t comfortable anymore. Up to 110 km / h is a nice cruse speed.

Luggage

We both added panniers on the bike from H & B. We chose hard case instead of bags because of hard cases seems less theft sensitive to us. The cases can be locked and are also locked onto the frame. Another advantage is that they are waterproof and can take a beating. As a bonus you can take them off and use as a stool. They are made of aluminum, if there a dent or crack comes in, this can still be repaired as this is harder with plastic cases.

In addition, we opted for an Ortlieb waterproof bag of 89L on top of the panniers. In yellow for some extra visibility.

Camping equipment

Tent:

We wanted a tent of good quality, could withstand quite a bit of wind, is spacious enough for us and all our luggage and big enough to spend a day for when it rains. Not too heavy, quick to use and in a natural color.

We choose a Robens Fairbanks tipi tent. The tent is made of cotton and therefore costs a little more than the average tent. Yet for a cotton tent, it is still fairly light (9 kg), this is partly because it has no separate inner tent and only 1 aluminum pole. Because of the design, it can handle wind speeds of up to 168km. The tent is really spacious on the inside. It is a 3 person tent and therefore has enough space for our stuff and we even can stand upright next to the pole, which makes dressing easier. There is a small awning so we can cook when it rains, and with nice weather you can put it away completely so only the mosquito netting separates you from the stars until you fall asleep. We have tested the tent several times, also for longer periods and it feels really good.

Sleeping mats:

We have exped mats with built-in hand pump (although we often inflate them by mouth as this is quicker) 9 cm thick. First we had mats from another brand, they were thinner. That wasn’t quite as comfy. That is not so bad for a night but also after several nights we suffered from it and since we will have to sleep on it for a longer period of time … That shows the importance of testing your material before you travel. We sold them at home and bought others. The mats are tied together with so that you still have a cozy double bed. That system works very well, no sliding of mats and no problems with ropes sticking in your back, whatsoever.

Sleeping bags:

Finding good sleeping bags is difficult if you want to sleep together comfortably but also can handle some cold temperatures. You would need a mummy, but they cannot be zipped together and, in addition, are not particularly animal-friendly (filled with geese / duck feathers). Eventually we found a good compromise, the Nomad triple s-xl sleeping bags. Suitable for three seasons and can be zipped together. Quite small to store and can be tightened on several places, so that you still have the mummy effect. With a sheet in it, we slept in it when it was below 0 degrees at night. We weren’t cold, but after a few nights you still catch a cold, despite beanies and a hood attached to the sleeping bag, you simply cannot protect your face against the cold. Next time a balaclava?

Chairs

After a day of driving it is important that you can sit and relax. Most comfortable seats take up a lot of space. The smaller seats often do not have a long backrest. The Robens Observer is one of the few seats in a small package with a good backrest. We found the version with armrests just a tad too expensive. We finally bought a cheaper copy of this one.

Cooking set:

We opted for a multi-fuel burner, because we thought it would be useful to be able to cook on gasoline as we always carry that with us in the tank. and wherever we can ride, we can cook

Motorcycle clothing:

We both have an alpine star Andean suit in a light color. Furthermore, we both have waterproof boots with gore-tex and Arjette even has winter gloves with goretex, thinsulate and wrist pockets to put in heated gel cushions. Arjette also has an extra back protector in her jacket. For the warmer days we have summer gloves.