Life In The Saddle

Lightweight bicycle touring and bikepacking is a unique way to discover new countries and meet new people. It comes with its own challenges though; a personal challenge I often encounter is the need to find quality 'fuel' in the form of good food and drink. At home, I strive to make the perfect cup of coffee to kick-start my day's adventures. Camping in back-and-beyond locations does make that more of a challenge. It is still possible though, and with my experience of trying to create a good coffee in many wild locations, these are my five top tips… 1. Water Storage Water quality is a key component of good coffee. When you are touring or bikepacking I suggest making at least one of your water bottles a stainless steel carrier. Plastic bicycle bottles are easier to drink from on-the-go, but they will leave water tainted—especially if you are collecting it the night before a camp. I recommend the Elite Deboyo Stainless Steel Vacuum Thermal Bottle —as it can also be...

My JetBoil MiniMo Cooking System has accompanied me on more adventures than I can count—it is a compact and efficient gas cooking set-up. The release of the new super-fast boil JetBoil Flash with integrated Java coffee press looked to be the perfect secondary solution for shorter trips—where I wanted fresh coffee on the go, with a super portable stove. The JetBoil Flash Stove uses JetBoil's patented FluxRing technology to deliver an incredibly fast boil time of less than 100 seconds for a full fill of 500 millilitres. The flux technology works by minimising heat loss from the burner and transmitting the maximum amount of energy into the cup. The FluxRing cup screws directly onto the base burner unit and is insulated by a neoprene jacket with inbuilt heat indicator. The cup cosy also has an integrated webbing handle strap. Each JetBoil Flash comes with a support stand for the propane gas cartridge, and a heatproof plastic lid. The cover that pops onto the base of the unit f...