Wow. Two months and 30,000 words later, my Canadian journey has come to an end. Sleeping inside again after camping leaves me wondering, how many amazing sunrises and sunsets are happening right now around the world with nobody there to photograph them? I think I’m going to keep biking to continue the journey. This trip has given me so many new experiences and so much wisdom. If anyone reading this has ever wanted something but has been too afraid to do it, I urge you to stop making excuses and just do it. You won’t regret it.
So, that being said, what did I learn from this experience? Being my first bike tour, I now realize that I brought too much stuff with me. Next time, I won’t bring a lot of things.
Won’t bring:
– Water filter (unless I’m really in the backwoods roughing it, and then I’ll minimize the weight by not bringing all the unnecessary accessories that come with the filter)
– Full first aid kit (I only needed the bandaids, which could go in a zip-lock bag instead of a red fabric zippered pouch)
– Paper notebooks (I only used them a few times for writing. The rest of the time I wrote on my laptop because it was going straight to my blog anyhow. However, if I don’t bring a laptop, I would bring one notebook)
– Laptop with protective casing (next time, just a netbook should suffice for blogging and editing photos)
I might change this next time:
– Using a hammock (With an ultralight tarp suspended over me, it’s much lighter than a tent)
– Getting a compact, lightweight down sleeping bag (my synthetic bag is big and heavy)
– Bringing an ultralight tarp rather than buying a heavy one on the road (to drape over the bike on rainy nights. I learned this after getting a rusty chain)