So... I have been through a few bikes since this first post, and found my ideal.

first up, forget 'ideal travel bike' nonsense. what a daft question 'what is the ideal/perfect travel bike?' I mean, come on, don't you see why it's daft? I guess if you don't see why it's a silly question, you never will.

so, my perfect travel bike is a Surly Long Haul Trucker, 58 cm in olive green. It's steel, it's heavy, it's long. It's not gonna fall apart, bend or crack. it doesn't pretend to be in the dakar, it's not loud, it's not a bike for wannabes. You don't have to wear matching clothing...

what's good? the ride, ooohhhh the ride. think of the best ride you've had, and then think how it would feel to just keep on riding. the LHT understands that your last ride was (maybe) good, and doesn't put it down. but it fills all the gaps and more.

I tried the whole MTB thing. short chain stays (bad for panniers), and you need to upgrade the chainset to make it more long road friendly (£££). and the position is just not 'long haul'.

I also tried another Surly (a Cross-Check), which was sold as 58 cm (you tyke CS!) but was actually a 60 cm. but it sold me on Surly's.

I tried a Raleigh R100, but it was way too racer like.

I tried a Kona Dew, nice enough but aluminium and disc braked. and not as comfortable as the LHT.

I tried (and own) a Thorn (the geeks travel bike), but found it spindly and a bit of a cliché.

I've tried an Orange P7, Marin Muirwoods, etc, etc..

I guess to the 'what is the perfect bike' silly question. try lots, and find what's right for you.

the baggage. oh, man. Carradice. the only option. these bags are fantastic, and made in the UK by some old dears who sign the bags with a biro. they really are the business. waterproof, and superb functionality (especially the courier bag).

I also worked out that I can do my 'work' on the road, while on the bike. I've just done a week of testing up the Highlands, and with laptop in tow I can work from anywhere. cool. trip across the US, and then heading south is on the agenda now.

I picked up a power monkey (adventurer, *puke*) solar charger for the phone. It works great, 40 hours of charge stored in the battery, and it charges of internal lights too.

this is the bike, loaded for non-stop touring. yep, everything is there that I need. and I also have my laptop so I can work. so, light touring we go...

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