Exploration
In this edition of 'hiding in the shadows' we meet bike tourer extraordinaire, Stan Engelbrecht
Stan Engelbrecht is the embodiment of cycling just for the love of pedaling a bicycle and, seeing where it takes you.
Stan is a photographer and publisher by trade who has over the past few years gotten ever more involved in cycling and cycling-related projects. “I’ve always been into riding,” he says. “A bit of BMX when I was a kid, but I really got into mountain biking as a teenager. Through my twenties I always had bikes, but it was when I started commuting by bike that my obsession really started.”
This lead to him doing a book project with good friend Nic Grobler called Bicycle Portraits, where they toured around South Africa by bicycle, photographing everyday people who use bikes for commuting.
Touring by bike soon became something Stan did as often as possible. He founded and now spends much of his time organising the all-gravel vintage road bike race “Tour of Ara”. He is also the director of Eroica South Africa, an Italian event founded in the late 90's, celebrating bicycle racing culture of old. On top of all of this he is also in the process of developing a new race called Karoobaix, but can't say too much about that yet...
Stan talks us through his touring rig
My much-loved and well-used touring bike was built for me by local frame builder David Mercer. It's fully custom, and features many great little personal additions, from the racks also built by David to the mad paint job by artist Black Koki. My Mercer touring bike features S&S couplers, which enables me to split the frame in two for packing, which makes flying, train travel etc. much easier. I carry a propriety c-spanner to undo the couplers. I also carry a quality pump, tubes and patches (in case his tubeless setup fails), a multitool with everything from a chain breaker to a tyre lever, valve inners, some chain links, and a couple of spokes.
I use very simple Ortlieb City pannier bags. They're waterproof, all the little parts are replaceable, and have no superfluous add-ons.
In addition to Sidi cycling shoes, I always carry a pair of lightweight running shoes or flip-flops, depending on the weather, for when I’m off the bike.
I don't always take my helmet touring, but never leave the house without my sunhat or sunblock.
Depending on the weather I take either my lightweight First Ascent bag, or my cold-weather North Face bag. But I always bring my cotton bag liner to protect my sleeping bags. And when it's warm enough the liner is all you need.
When I bought my cotton bag l also picked up a small inflatable camping pillow. I never thought it would be so comfortable.
I have a lightweight MSR 1-man tent, or I take my old North Face 2-man tent if necessary.
I always carry an MSR 10-litre water bladder with when I'm touring. It's great for getting last-minute water for the campsite for cooking, washing, bathing etc.
I hate going to bed without washing, so I always carry my microfibre towel and some biodegradable soap and of course toothpaste, toothbrush and floss. Oh, and bug repellent.
Over the years I've learned to always have a small tube of antibacterial like Bactroban in my toiletry bag. Any little cut or abrasion can easily get infected if you're camping wild and riding daily, so it's a good precaution to have. It also stops a saddle sore dead in it's tracks.
I always carry a small rear red light and a powerful front light, since you never know when you might need them. They are both USB chargeable.
In addition to my 750ml Camelbak water bottle I also carry a 1500ml Nalgene bottle, in a special oversize bottle cage.
I've modified a Manfrotto camera bag to fit on my custom front rack. In there I carry my camera, a lens or two, small tripod and a few accessories, my film (or batteries, depending if I'm using my film or digital setup). Then stuff like my wallet, my multitool, iPhone, headphones and charger, and also my Leatherman goes in there. And my old stuff-able Cape Storm windbreaker.
Recently I mostly carry my compact Contax G1 rangefinder 35mm film camera, with a 45mm and 90mm lens. Fantastic optics, light in weight, and it has autofocus which is great for shooting off the bike.
For work I carry my iPad mini (and sometimes my Bluetooth keyboard) instead of a laptop. I try keep everything I need online so I don't have to bother with external drives and such.
Sometimes I carry my UE Roll portable speaker if I have the space to spare.
I carry very simple clothing, and avoid lycra. I normally have two sets of clothing to ride in, and two for off the bike. I carry biodegradable detergent and hand wash when I need to.
Depending on the weather I'll carry running tights and a compression-style base layer, and my old wool cycling jersey. I never leave my ancient Adidas waterproof jacket behind.
My kitchen comprises of my MSR gas stove, one of those titanium spork things, a lightweight pot and pan set, a plate and chopping board set by Light My Fire, a tiny grater, a titanium MSR pot that doubles as a cup if needed, a compact corkscrew and of course the means to make fire. I never leave home without my old Moka pot and a bag of Deluxe coffee.
I also carry a small grid for the fire, and a sheet of folded tin foil that can be used for anything from a wind shield for my stove to making sweet potatoes in the fire.
Some vital things like olive oil, salt and black pepper, chili flakes or cayenne pepper, and of course a hard cheese like parmesan.
And since I love good food, I always make a big effort with camping meals. Some easy-to-carry staples like polenta, couscous, gnocchi, tinned chickpeas and tomatoes, can be paired up with whatever fresh food I manage to find along the way. This can be spinach, mielies, sweet potatoes, avocados, coriander, good bread, mangoes, apples... anything really, as long as it's fresh. Many people don't believe that it's possible to carry fresh food, so they opt for shitty freeze-dried meals or just tins. But I feel good camping food should be the reward of riding long distances. Your body will thank you.
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