Kit Essentials

First of all, I would like to add my concerns to Sunny's regarding bad Treks recent sorry state of affairs. I give it 4, maybe 5 days before some major structural component of that bike is held together with string and/or duct tape.

In other news, my debit card has been taking a significant battering from the volume of kit I've been buying recently. I would add it all up to work out a total but I think the final figure would scare me too much. It looks like I've got pretty much everything from posh merino wool tops (to keep us warm and reduce the smell after several days of not washing) to enough chlorine tablets to disinfect a medium sized swimming pool. Rather than bore you with details of endless bits of kit I will just give the selected highlights:

Novelty Bike Horn

This fine specimen was found in the local second hand bike shop. Emits a surprisingly loud comedy tooting sound. Far far better than a boring bell and much more effective for waking up slumbering teammates.

Tartan Hip Flask

Essential for coping with the company of Andy and Sunny for eight long weeks. Plain silver and tartan flasks were the same price so choosing tartan was a bit of a no brainer.

Extremely Pro Name Stickers

Minimises the risk of cycling off on someone else's bike by mistake. No matter what my teammates say, these are most definitely NOT tacky and were worth every penny I paid for them. Bradley Wiggins has them on his bike so why shouldn't I?

Portable Clothes Line

A birthday present from my mother. Whether I maintain a regular laundry schedule or just stop caring and slip into horrible smelly clothes oblivion remains to be seen.

Toby