Three boxes. A total of 158 liters of storage space. #minimalism
With only so much space, we had to narrow it down to the barest of essentials. We are talking three pairs of clothes each, two types of shoes and not enough food for more than two days.
While some people might be a little worried about forgetting something - where we're going there isn't likely to be a lot of stores - we are excited at the task of paring down our life to the smallest amount of things.
And the funny thing is, this isn't even our first time going #minimal. We currently live in a van - and not even the big Sprinter type. No it's a 1995 Dodge camper van. Neither of us can stand up straight, our feet hang off the folding bed that came with it, and all of our clothes have to fit in two small bins that slide underneath. And we love it.
But a motorcycle? That is a whole other ball game, a whole other league.
After some hard decisions, below is what we decided to bring with us on this wild adventure, starting with our clothing:
Madalyne
- 1 black, thick Nike long sleeved shirt (with the awesome thumb holes) for when it gets reaaaal cold
- 1 gray, slightly thinner REI Co-op long sleeved shirt
- 2 short sleeved wicking shirts, one for riding and one for running
- 2 jackets (1 poppy rain jacket and 1 maroon puffy)
- 1 pair of green, United by Blue utility pant for hiking and days off the bike
- 2 pairs of tights, one extra thick and one relatively thin (you never know the temp you're gonna get in the desert)
- 2 pairs of shorts, again one for riding and one for running
- 4 pairs of socks (two wool, 2 normal)
- 3 bras (2 sports bras, 1 bralette)
- 7 pairs of underwear
- 1 wind buff for when riding the bike
- 2 pairs of gloves (1 heavy duty winter pair, 1 light pair)
- 2 shoes (a pair of hiking boots which will be worn while riding and my running shoes)
- 2 hats, 1 baklava and 1 normal yellow beanie (which I LOVE)
Luke
- 1 gray thermal long sleeved shirt
- 1 light, wicking blue long sleeved shirt
- 1 wicking Prana short sleeved shirt
- 1 thick flannel for days off
- 2 jackets, 1 orange rain jacket and 1 green puffy
- 1 pair of black sweatpants
- 1 pair of dark blue-gray utility pants
- 1 pair of board shorts used for running (and riding on really hot days)
- 1 pair of black, thick Nike tights
- 5 pairs of socks (1 being a nice thick wool pair)
- 8 pairs of underwear
- 2 shoes (1 pair of hiking boots for riding, 1 pair of Keen's for running (yes he is a bit odd) and for normal day-to-day stuff)
- 2 pairs of gloves (1 thick leather North Face winter pair that he wears a lot while riding and a thin black pair)
- 2 hats, 1 baklava and 1 blue skull cap that fits great under a helmet
Now for all the other stuff
For Cooking
- 1 normal sized Jetboil (with an added coffee press) and 1 Jetboil pot that we use for curries, Ramen and soups
- 1 can of fuel
- 2 bowls and 2 mugs
- 2 forks, 2 spoons, 1 wooden butter knife and 1 Leatherman knife
- 1 LARGE insulated water bottle (we also use it to make soup throughout the day)
- 1 wine bottle opener (priorities...)
For Camping
- 2 generic blue sleeping pads (we bought from Walmart after our original two started to deflate)
- 1 down sleeping bag
- 1 2-person, thin sleeping bag
- 2 pillowcases that we use to cover our clothes with and use as pillows (#ingenuity)
- 2 headlamps
- 1 lantern
For Staying Clean
- 1 set of travel size shampoo and conditioner
- 1 travel sized bottle of Method body wash
- 1 bottle of Burt's Bee's face wash
- Aveeno face and body wipes
For Filming Our Trip
- 1 DJI Mavic Pro drone, with extra batteries
- 1 Canon EOS 4000D camera
- 2 GoPros, 1 HERO8 Black and 1 HERO4
- 1 Polaroid camera with 3 packets of extra film
- 2 laptops, 1 Surface Pro and 1 Google Chrome
- 1 set of binoculars for our birding (because we really are secretly 80 years old)
- Waaaay too many chargers
This is by no means a COMPLETE list of everything we stuffed into our three Givi Outback boxes. We also hauled around climbing gear, folders full of postcards, a couple books and notebooks and food - lots of food.
But this should be a good reference when thinking about what to pack. I think the one of the most important things to remember is that even when it looks like you are going to be out in the middle of nowhere, you can still probably find what you are looking for. So do NOT over pack, because nothing brings weighs on you more (literally and figuratively) than an overly heavy bike.
When planning this trip we had to do a lot of pairing down, and even along the way we donated some things or gave them to friends. And we are sure not everyone needs all these things or will need totally different items depending on what they want to get out of the trip.