Planning on doing any travelling or bicycle touring? Do you feel yourself going down the massive discounted outdoor equipment and clothing industry rabbit hole, spending hours on end debating the pros and cons of cotton socks versus wool?
To help, here’s a quick packing list of what I took while travelling in Europe, divided into two categories: the stuff I had with me at all times, and the stupid crap I got rid of. The second part is probably the most helpful.
Stuff I Had with Me at All Times
Total weight: 50 lb, not including the bike and its fixtures. With a pannier half filled with groceries (including canned soup), the total weight on my bike was about 60 lb the very last day I rode it fully loaded. On my first day riding, the total weight was upwards of 80 lb, with hardly any food.
Bicycle & Equipment
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- Torker EM50 steel bicycle with disc brakes: (AKA Samantha) They don’t make this anymore. Everything functioned extremely well, and these are well made bikes. The only downside was I had to replace all spokes on the rear tire. What came with it could not withstand touring weight.
- Schwalbe Marathon Tires: 700x38C. I’m not anywhere near an expert on tires, but I can say these worked incredibly well for me (though I did get three thorns).
- Plastic fenders – 45mm
- Brooks leather saddle
- Brooks seat cover
- Gerber Suspension Multi-tool
- Bicycle multi-tool
- Silicone bicycle lights: Unsuitable for illuminating the road ahead, but great for nighttime reading and rear red lights to warn traffic of my existence.
- Small bag with tools:
- Several wrenches
- Small bungees: I tied these to the wheel and the frame to keep the wheel from turning when I laid it against a lamp post.
- Emergency tire boots: Used three times, worked well twice, failed the third. Would buy again just to see if the score got even.
- String: I never travel without extra.
- 2 screwdrivers: the ones on the Gerber were too small for some jobs, and the size made them generally uncomfortable to use.
- Leather conditioner
- Tire changers
- Spoke tool
- Bungee assortment: Glad I had them, but I will never cheap out on them again. Several snapped at the carabiner and could have caused some bad injuries or thrown equipment into moving traffic (and also caused bad injuries).
- U-lock: Heavy, but I would do it again. I always felt secure leaving my bike outside, even in seedy areas.
- Phone mount and waterproof cover
- Air pump
- Saddle bag with spare tires another patch kit and more tire changers: Totally unnecessary. Should have done without it.
- Helmet
Bags
- HIKPRO 25-L Lightweight Travel Backpack: If I were being paid to do it, this would be something I would recommend. But I’m not, so I won’t.
- Front panniers: Ortlieb Sport-Packer Plus: Another one I would recommend, were I being paid to do so.
- Rear Panniers: Ortlieb Bike-Packer Plus
- REI Co-op Pack Duffel Bag
- Vaude Front Bag
- 35L Dry bags: These are usually thin and I packed pokey equipment in them, so I doubled up.
Camping Equipment
- Vengo Zenith 200: This became my cozy shelter for a goodly lot of rainy, windy nights in the cold fall in Scotland and Northern England. The inner material started to tear after probably 20 uses, but was still usable.
- Self inflating pad: Comfortable, but bad idea for bicycle touring. Should have gotten the kind you have to inflate yourself to save space and weight.
- Compressible pillow: I would never not bring one.
- Down sleeping bag with synthetic insulation at the bottom: Definitely a great investment. Never spent a night cold, even when I awoke to frost a few mornings. The synthetic insulation made the bag cheaper than a full down by nearly 50%, even though it only made up about 20% of the total bag.
- Medium size camping towel: I lost or greased up a ton of these, so sizes varied. My favorite size was about 3 ft x 5 ft.
- Squeeze water filter system: Definitely did its job and was a lot more convenient than the pump kind. All I had to do was fill a bag with water and squeeze through a filter.
- 2.5 Gal collapsible water jug: So amazing. Whoever came up with this ought to be a millionaire.
- Small camping stove: Folded to the size of three fingers.
- Gas canister
- Enameled steel camping cup: It’s a classic. Though it’s heavy, it’s crazy durable, and I used it for everything from soup to pancakes (they were small pancakes).
- 1 camping pot with a removeable handle
- Spoon/fork/serrated edge utensil: Never needed nothing more. Even for flipping eggs and pancakes.
- Wal-Mart flashlight: Never even had to replace the batteries!
- Midge/mosquito face net: A must, especially in the Scottish Highlands: they are, as a Scottish camp host understated, “…a bit midgey.”
- Compass: Just a small keychain size one really helped me out of a few jams.
Clothes
- Lightweight cycling rain jacket: Kept the rain out and even kept me warm despite the holes I tore in the pockets.
- Down vest: Worked for me. I got a cheaper kind, and there are definitely better, warmer, more compact versions made.
- 3 convertible trail pants
- 3 collared, breathable, long-sleeved shirts
- 5 pairs of socks
- 2 bicycle shorts
- Waterproof boots
- Sandals
- Sunglasses
- Bicycle gloves
Other Stuff
- MacBook Pro 13 inch
- Small plastic binder: Had transparent sleeves to organize paperwork. Lightweight, though all my stuff made it bulky.
- Proknot Outdoor Knots: Small laminated book with some great knots. It mostly kept me occupied when I was bored. I only used a couple of the knots in reality, but was glad to have learned them.
- Amazon Kindle Paperwhite: Not normally a fan of technology over traditional books, but this was awesome to have.
- Varying amounts of books that I traded or was given. If it’s free, why not? Oh it weighs 8 lb’s…right…well throw it in and I’ll decide later.
- Medicine bag with electric toothbrush, allergy pills, tylenol, first aid kit, razor, toilet paper, etc.: Even had a small mirror and a hook to hang in bathrooms (or on trees).
- Collapsible nightstick: I never had to use it except to hammer stakes. But I definitely had it hidden under a sleeve a few times just in case.
Stupid Crap I Got Rid of
Bicycle & Equipment
- Kickstand: Did not fit well with my bicycle and rubbed against some cabling. I eventually found I could just rest my bike against anything or even lay it down on its side.
- Mount clip for flashlights: Did not fit on with my front bag attached, so threw away after a couple of uses. Could have been very useful if I didn’t need the bag.
- Garmin Edge Touring Plus GPS with SRAM mount: Mounts well, never could get the unit to work outside the US though I tried several different websites to download maps. Garmin forces you to choose which area of the world you wish to have a map for at purchase. Any additional areas cost hundreds. I hope Garmin can catch up with a world where I can download these on my phone for free.
Bags
- Bike bag: Wised up and got rid of it. Was helpful on the high speed trains in France. You can just ask any local bike shop for a box and they’ll probably have one. The time spent doing that outweighs the hassle of carrying a bulky bag around.
Camping Equipment
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- Coleman canister camping stove: Replaced with small foldable one. American stoves have larger fittings than those in Europe or Britain so you cannot find canisters
- Tarp: If you have a tent, you don’t need a tarp. If you’re planning on tarp camping, more power to you.
- Bivy shelter: I did not technically get rid of this, but carried it with me after I replaced it with an actual tent. Like all bivies, it is claustrophobic, and unlike other bivies, the condensation is unreal–I can only recommend if you plan on camping in a totally dry climate only under the mosquito net and if your body does not emit moisture of any kind. Otherwise, stick with a bivy sack or just stop trying to be the cool guy who “doesn’t need all that extra space” a tent provides.
- Beach towel: This is one of the stupidest things I brought. Camping towels are a must.
Clothes
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- Regular Rain Jacket: Heavy and did not fold well. Accidentally left on a train, but did not miss it. I much preferred my lighter weight cycling jacket I bought later on. Worth the extra money.
- 7 pairs of underwear: Commando is just freeing. Underwear is also unnecessary in bike touring. And did I mention how freeing commando is?
- Any short socks or dress socks: Longer thicker socks are better all around for protection, comfort, and warmth. Though a bit of a problem when it is hot, they also breath better and absorb sweat quite well, so it can balance out.
- 2 padded bicycle shorts: Bicycle shorts are going to get disgusting. Hold your nose, and carry as little as you can. Carrying around extra weight to avoid that fact is silly.
- 1 pair of shorts: With convertible pants that unzip to become shorts, there is just no need for this.
- 1 t-shirt: I just could not justify keeping it. It was nice to not always look like I was on safari with my collared shirts, but in the end it took up extra space for no functional reason.
- Crappy Wal-Mart brand non-waterproof shoes: They got torn up from all the rain and use. I could have saved myself many a soggy-footed evening by spending an extra $30. I will never cheap out on shoes again.
- 3 convertible trail pants and 3 collared, breathable, long-sleeved shirts: I realized in bike touring, I was going to be sweaty and stinky and ugly, so wearing the same thing a few extra times was not going to kill me.
Other Stuff
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- Small soft cover notebook: Harder cover was a must, especially when I was camping.
- Large binder with extra pockets: I really did not need this. I’m an organized person, but this was ridiculous.
- Michelin Europe 2016 Atlas: Almost completely useless for bicycle travel, and did not help much with planning when I rented cars.
- Lonely Planet: Europe on a Shoestring: Probably should have looked at this more, but most information was out of date as they’re only updated every few years, and their style of “budget travel” paled in comparison to mine anyways.
- DSLR Camera: This eventually broke, so I shipped it back home. Still torn on whether I should have brought it though. I took some really great pictures an iPhone is just not capable of.
Conclusion
I made up tons of imaginary scenarios to justify packing extra stuff: I have to keep this tarp because what happens if it’s raining and my tent lights on fire? I have to wear underwear because…because it’s indecent not to!
Being completely inexperienced in bicycle touring, I had no idea what all I needed. When I purchased (or begged) equipment, I went down a rabbit hole. Consequently, I started throwing things out after the first month of my adventure, and I did not stop until I was a week away from the end. Even on the flight back, I was making lists of things I could have done without. For example, I could have gone down another pair of pants and a shirt, and my electric toothbrush might have been a little overkill.
The reality is that most of what we own and even take with us on short trips is completely unnecessary. In bicycle touring, you learn very quickly what can be thrown away. Even an extra couple of pounds feels severe up 15% alpine grades.
If you are planning on bicycle touring, travelling, or even hiking, I hope this helps.
I am working as fast as I can on the newest chapter to the blog, but for many reasons, it is taking longer than usual.