Four days to go and starting to panic about food, money and wet wipes

Less than four days to go and yesterday my brand new panniers split when I forced a final (one too many) can of chain cleaner into them. Bugger - not much hope that they will last the trip intact especially now that I have had to sew them up with cotton thread designed to hold my trouser turn ups in place.

What's killing my luggage is the twenty days rations from Expedition foods. This stuff is a good as it gets, designed for events like the Iron Man or proper mountain climbers, it packs 800 calories into a small pack that you bring back to life by adding hot water - nice and simple. My problem is that acceptable fresh food will be easily available for the first half of my trip, but is not expected in the Siberian mountains or the middle of the Gobi desert etc,  so I have to lug this lot nearly 10,000 miles before I get to eat it.



Looking on the bright side when I find other teams marooned at a Russian border crossing that's not playing ball, I could be the next best thing to a Domino Pizza Delivery.....

Final item today weighing in at a couple of pounds was the month's supply of wet wipes, essential in Eastern Europe where the concept of toilet paper has yet to be understood!

Toady I invested in a Post Office Travel Money Card Plus - it allows you to pre-load Dollars or Euros and use them anywhere in the world without involving your bank (ie avoid fraud). If it gets lost or stolen you call a control center and they courier a new card to you complete with your remaining balance. Charges are very low and it works like a debit card/ cash machine card and can be topped up from someone at home or by using their mobile phone app - all very sensible but probably wont work in the really off track places where a few American dollars still rule.