I took quite a few toiletries at first, shampoo, soap, toothpaste etc. but on the trip I found I just condensed it down to deodorant and toothbrush. This shaved off close to a kg of dead weight. Towel was essential. Backpackers and camp grounds don’t supply linen or towels.

My first aid kit was also quite weighty, and had everything to deal with some pretty severe injuries. I figured if I was really that injured, I would probably not be administering first aid to myself, or would trigger my personal locator beacon. I took one of most things from the kit, but mostly just kept the bandages, emergency blanket, and plasters. This saved a bit of weight. First aid kits are funny things as you wont know if you need something till you need something.

I assume you didn’t pack a towel and toiletries as you would be expecting the accommodation to have those handy, eh?

And I think you missed your personal first aid kit in the list—I remember you mentioning it on one of your tweets.

I would service the bike myself as I went. I oiled the chain every 2-3 days, and if I was near a bike shop I would get them to give my chain a really good clean, especially if I had been on dirt roads for a bit. Usually they would do it for free I got my bike to have a really good once over in a bike shop about halfway. But in general I would tighten every screw nut and bolt every couple of days, oil the chain and replaced the tyres when they were getting bald.

And how frequently did you service your bike?