The following is a list of items carried on my trip to France. This has changed quite a bit since we started touring - on our travels last year there was no cooking gear, dgym was carrying the tent and I had a much bigger and heavier sleeping bag. We also had laptops on us, and I carried a smaller camera. Somehow, and it still doesn't entirely make sense to me, the weight losses more than outweighed the gains, and the bike felt lighter on this trip than it had done on any other. Most days, anyway...
Clothing - on the bike
What I wear on the bike on a daily basis
3/4 length cycling trousers
Merino t-shirt
Sports bra
Trainer socks, 3 pairs
Fingerless gloves
Sunglasses
Shoes with SPD cleats
Clothing - extras
For when the weather demands a little more
Sweater
Buff
Awesome hat
Thermal base layer
Arm and leg warmers
Woolly gloves
Raincoat
Clothing - off the bike
Pottering around town once I've finished riding for the day
Light cotton trousers
Underwear x 2
Flip flops
Camping
Staying warm, dry and comfortable at night
Terra Nova LaserLarge 1 Tent
Vango Venom 300 sleeping bag
Thermarest inflatable mattress
Mini pillow
Lightweight microfibre towel
Mini torch
Cooking
Trying to survive on my own cooking
Trangia 27-1 UL stove
Bottle of methylated spirits or equivalent
Matches, in mini ziplock bag. Two boxes of spare matches, also in mini ziplock bags and stored in separate panniers.
Plastic box to store kitchen items, lid doubles as chopping board
Light My Fire Spork (it snapped and was replaced with a child's fork)
Sabatier mini knife
Combined tin opener / corkscrew
Vegetable peeler
Small plastic bowl with lid
Small plastic cup for measuring out porridge
Green scratchy pad for washing up
Staple Food
I try to keep these in my panniers at all times.
Porridge oats
Sugar
Garlic
Rice or pasta
Butter
Snacky cakes
Mini ziplock bags of garam masala, mixed herbs, English mustard and dried chillies.
Toiletries
Trying not to smell too bad.
Small block of solid deodorant
Soap - takes care of washing me, clothes and hair.
Razor head - no handle, to save weight.
Toothpaste
Toothbrush
Moisturiser
Highest factor sunblock I can find
Loo roll
Lip balm
Comb
Plasters
Painkillers
Useful bits
Never know when you might need these...
Duct tape
Luggage straps
Cable ties
String
Clothes pegs
Needle & thread
Plastic bags
Pens
Navigation
Old-school on this front, have so far resisted GPS
Maps
Compass
For the bike
It has needs too, you know
Home-made housse + 5 and 6 mm Allen keys for bike disassembly
D-lock
Puncture repair kit
Alien 2 Multitool
Tyre levers
Topeak Roadmorph mini-pump
Spare bulb
Spare inner tube
Oil
Gadgets
Even on the road, I'm still allowed a little bit of geekery.
Panasonic FZ7 camera + spare battery and memory card
Mobile phone
Solar charger for gadgets
Essentials
Don't lose these
Wallet
Passport
Other
Bits n pieces
Reading material
French dictionary
Journal
Grey Mouse
3 comments:
Hey, that list is awesome.
But my question is, you dont actually carry all of that while biking about? You must have some serious saddle bags and a monster pack. Do you? which one do you use? Just curious?
thanks
Eric
the TravelBeggar
www.Travelbeggar.homestead.com
Thanks! Yes I do carry all this around with me, in four panniers and a handlebar bag.
Picture of my bike fully loaded - the weight does make me slower but it's manageable and you soon develop muscles to deal with the load.
Check out the fully loaded touring bike gallery for pictures of lots of loaded bikes, some make mine look light by comparison!
That is amazing! I personally can't even bike for more than an hour throughout New Orleans, LA without issue....of course my issues are generally where to hold my Hurricane Cocktail and my Jambalaya so they don't spill. But truly that's a great way to travel.
Happy Travels
Eric
the TravelBeggar
www.Travelbeggar.homestead.com
Post a Comment