Dirty travel buddies

Here is another ‘How to’ post that will do its best to not be a ‘How to’ post, as I feel that the only ‘How to’ posts that are really valid are those written by Navy SEALS or Pro cyclists. So, with that in mind, think of this as a post about “Now there’s an idea…” instead. Seems that the ‘traveling with your bike‘ post was popular, so I am expanding on that theme here.

So, how about a shout out for my Dirty Travel buddies – Key things that I can’t really leave home without (aside from my Passport, Garmin, iPhone and Go Pro). Here they are lined up like the bad ass travel team that they are:

Let’s get on that MF plane Dirty Mofo

So… Going clockwise from the Macbook pro, here is the low down on a few essentials:

1. Apple MacBook Pro – This thing is epic… Reinforced by trying to use a few of the latest Windows Laptops recently, which really were super shit – it rammed home to me how good this thing really is. Its not only made Dirty Nomad a possibility logistically speaking (imagine trying to do all this on an iPad?), but its so good to use that its now my favourite thing outside of bikes. Why not get the Airbook? Lighter for traveling I hear you say? Yes, but also fragile and you can’t replace its parts – Reliability is king, so is robustness. Think of this as the Santa Cruz Nomad of Laptops.

2. iPod Nano and Bowers & Wilks headphones – The nano’s ability to dominate tunes for its size needs no introduction (and avoids you draining your phone battery on long hauls), but paired with the Bowers & Wilks headphones, they basically make sweet love to your ears, especially if you are playing Lorde’s awesome new album. Important note – The fine precision of the B&W headphones don’t take kindly by being sat on by large German women (like most things), which I found out to my detriment on an SQ flight, thus the above pair are my second.

3. Spoke Magazine – I have the attention span of a hungry rat, so this is the best magazine for looking at pictures and giving me Mountain Biking anxiety with all the places I should be riding on my Nomad, but aren’t!!! Queenstown here we come… Yes, its also available on-line, but I am old skool when it comes to my mags. Did I mention it comes on high quality paper that makes you feel important just by touching it?

4. First class eye shades – Obviously the DN travel budget doesn’t extend to the First Class cabin (Airline sponsor enquiries please e mail me), but if you steal an FC eye shade then you can at least pretend you are up there (ignoring the sleeping upright component). These ones are like the Louis Vuitton of eyeshades and are super comfy. Also means you can avoid the shit ones the airlines dishes out an hour after you really want to be asleep.

5. Airline headphone adaptor thingy – You have your awesome headphones (see point #2), so why be punished with shit airline headphones that only vaguely work in one ear? Get this piece of wizardry for 3 bucks bro and kiss goodbye to shit headphones AND to having to hand back your headphones when there is still 10 mins to go in your movie! Beat it Hostie. As per point #2, if you leave your headphones plugged into it while sitting next to a large German Fraulein then you run a high risk of an expensive international incident.

6. Norminson sleeping pills – Not everyone will approve of this, but if you have many overnight flights then these little guys are your best friend… They are so effective they even laid out Herr Doktor on the way back from France – Given he is 7 foot tall and 130kgs of bike snapping muscle, if they can lay him out like a dead wilderbeast then they are good for anyone. Also massively endorsed by the US Air Force and they have Jet fighters, so a direct link to coolness right there. Best to go to the bathroom before taking one on a plane… Just in case…

7. McGear portable mini speaker – The most important thing to travel with… GOT to have tunes and this little thing has been the buy of the series to be honest. I was sceptical given it was cheap and small (can’t possibly be good with those attributes), but it has amazed me with how good it is. Its allowed me to have tunes no matter where I am in the world and thats a great outcome. Set up, tap the Wifi, get on to George FM and then let the tunes roll, an awesome travel companion. Plugs into any device and is USB chargeable, but easy to carry. Golden.

So, if you’ve read this far you’re probably thinking “he’s bored and just found a whole lot of shit lying around his room to wank on about…”. Pretty much, but still all awesome items to travel with and I promise they won’t let you down if you’re heading out on a bout of traveling. Dirty Nomad approved and tested (if you shit yourself on a plane from the sleeping pills I am not liable).