TALES ON TYRES: FRANZI AND JONA 

We’re Franzi and Jona from ‘Tales On Tyres’ and we have been living a nomadic lifestyle since 2012. Our love and passion for the great outdoors simply keeps us moving and constantly wondering where we should head next. We started our long journey with a 3000km hike across New Zealand and although we loved it, we traded our backpacks only a few month later for two cheap hybrid bikes in India. Our first ride took us from the bustling cities of Iran to the vast steppes of Mongolia and the end of it, turned out to be just the beginning of a long lasting relationship. Since then we have crossed whole North America, Mexico and a good portion of South America by bike and we’re still not tired of pushing the pedals. However our approach to cycling has changed along the way dramatically. First we mainly took paved highways, than we felt more and more intrigued by the quiet and dusty backroads. Half-way through the US, we then finally ditched our classic pannier setup for a more agile bikepacking rig, born out of the desire to venture deeper into the woods. Today, we still don’t mind a good gravel road but prefer to find our own routes: following mainly single- and hiking trails. Currently we are in Europe, crossing the Alps and other mountain ranges until we once more might ask ourselves: “Where to next?”

Why we use Katabatic Gear:

To be able to explore the mountainsby bike, we really need to pack as light as possible. This is why we decided to go for the Katabatic Flex15.  Not only is it light and due to its quality a reliable companion for our trips but also flexible enough to be used in all kind of different climates. We tested the quilt-style Flex15 from the hot deserts of Mexico, where we used it as a blanket during the more mild tempered nights to the highplateus in South America where the temperatures at night can easily drop below -17 Celsius.

Tip For Reducing Pack Weight:

When we pack, we usually divide everything we want to bring into three piles. In one we add all the gear we need for camping — our tent, sleeping bags and pads, cooking utensils as well as our camping stove. In the second pile, we place what we think is  necessary for staying safe — rain gear, a set of extra clothes, our first aid kit, spare parts and our toolkit. And in the very last jumble, we toss everything which isn’t crucial to our survival, but rather a luxury like the medium sized travel towel, soap, our beloved camping egg carrier box and those clothes for days spent off the bike. This is a good way to evaluate what you need for your trip and really to re-consider the need vs the weight against each other. One of the biggest advice is to not bring anything “just in case”; obviously apart from the first aid kit.

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