As we were cycling a vast distance we had to make sure that our bikes were up to it. This meant that we had several maintenance meetings at KWC with Major Turner to go through the different problems that could arise and how to deal with them. Some of the ‘solutions’ to the problems could only be temporary but most would be permanent. After our bikes had been checked and problems sorted, we had to cycle on them to work the oil in and to make sure no further problems would arise. Our two major maintenance times were before our Training Cycle and before our Main Expedition.

We then had to prepare a Cycling Maintenance Kit. This needed to be compact but with enough tools to get us through any problems that could arise. This consisted of:

1 Pump 1 Spare Tyre 2 Inner Tubes Brake and Gear Cables Tire Levers 1 Spoke Tightener Spare Spokes 1 WD 40 Allan Keys Puncture Repair Kit 1 Toothbrush 1 Pliers Screwdrivers Brake Blocks Ty Raps Jay Cloths Jockey Wheels Bungees

These tools were placed in a secure box and labelled ‘Maintenance Kit’.

Despite all our work we still had some problems on our expedition, but we were told that there would be problems! The whole team helped overcome these and we were able to carry on with the least loss of time. Bungees turned out to be the most useful tool. Although we had a lot of tools to deal with problems, when James’ gear cog got bent we straightened it using a massive rock! We learnt a lot from these maintenance meetings and actually quite enjoyed them.