I’m going bikepacking in Cebu, a southern island of the Philippines the Visayan region come early May. I’m still finalizing where to go and where to stay so I’ll be posting details on that later on.

Aside from planning the route and itinerary, I’ve also begun planning my Tikit’s gear. I’ve never rode a bike in Cebu before so I’m not sure of how the roads and terrain is over there but I’ll be expecting the worst and pretend it’s like Metro Manila. Whenever I’m in Manila, I always feel like I’m off-roading on the road. Hahaha! Anyway, someone did mention that parts of the route I’m going through was affected by an earthquake earlier this year… so perhaps by May, the streets will still be cracked.

One of the things I aim to do is install something that will make the Tikit’s Kojak tires less prone to flats. Initially, I wanted to change out the tires themselves to something thicker — like Marathons or Marathon Plus, but there’s little clearance between the caliper brakes so that idea’s out. A new solution is in order! Panaracer Flataways come to mind. They are an anti-puncture Kevlar layer designed to be placed between the tire and the tube. I’m adding them to an MO from Chain Reaction Cycles and will need to follow Gear Inches own installation when I do them on my own. Hopefully, they’ll make the thinner Kojaks more durable.