Not the most interesting of subjects, but an important one for the world traveller. What to take in terms of shaving kit and a wash bag. My home stuff generally comprises of a can of ‘Smelly’underarm stuff, a packet of disposable razors and a can of shaving cream. These tend to last a month or so and are quite bulky, but that’s no problem when the shops are at the end of the road and the bathroom cupboard has plenty of space. What I need for travel though is something a lot smaller that lasts a lot longer, which is more of a challenge.

Of course, being a biker and not likely to bump into anyone I know means I can stand the odd day minging like a stinker, or even grow a beard. The reality however is that I don’t suit a beard, and for my own sense of wellbeing I like to be semi-fresh at least. I looked at lots of ‘travel’ soaps etc., but these are basically a smaller can of the bulky stuff with less in for more money. Ok for a weekend in Paris and travel by fast jet, but not suitable for my purposes. I did some research and have come down on the following.

Roll on deoderant lasts a hell of a lot longer than the spray on stuff. I’m starting a new, er, tube? Pack? Thing? tomorrow and I’ll see how long it lasts. It’s certainly a lot smaller than a can of spray. The other item is a genuine straight razor, AKA the “cut throat” razor. I haven’t used one before, but if I can get used to it I’ll never need to buy another razor again. I like the eco-friendly idea of that, plus the convenience of never running our of razors combined with the lack of hassle with finding replacements. A small tube or razor oil is good for 100 shaves, or 6 months in my case!

Shaving in the bike mirrors with a cut-throat would also look uber-cool, but it’s got nothing to do with that. Oh no, of course not!

Not much round the world planning going on lately. My travel buddy has been busy at wor kand so have I, but I managed to break it all up with a day at the races recently. I’ve been joining a sidecar team to help out while the regular passenger takes a break, but mechanical and time issues have prevented much actual racing. After missing a couple of events we actually managed to go racing!

It was massive fun and I highly recommend it! We didn’t have high hopes as we missed the practice and qualifying, starting at the back of the grid. That was ace as we passed quite a few and no-one passed us. The radiator cap sprung a leak but we finished the race, and considering we were held up on every lap the lap times were coming down all the time. Roll on the next event!