Touring - Packing list for 2-day tour

I'll be going on a 2-day tour (my first tour) on Octover 6th/7th, a ride to the NJ shore and back, with a stay in a hotel. 90 miles total, two or three people.

Keeping in mind that we'll only be gone for 3 days, and we're not going to the moon, just the Jersey Shore, how does this look? Do I have too much stuff here? I'd like to fit everything into a trunk bag and 2 panniers.

Clothes, etc:

Extra 1 pair cycling shirt/shorts
Leg warmers or Unpadded lycra long pants
Light jacket
Rain poncho replace both with rain jacket or poncho
Civilian clothes
Toothbrush, etc toothpaste, meds, comb
Pack everything non-cycling clothes and such in plastic grocery bags (maybe 2 or 3) so we can use them as garbage bags

Nice to have:
Small, light Towel or large washcloth
Bib shorts (to ride in)
wicking shirt (to ride in)
Food:

Water
Energy bars
Lunch - Single baggy of dried fruit, nuts, etc
Repair kit

Pump (or pick up a CO2 inflator)
Spare tube
Patch kit
Tire lever
Multitool wrapped in a rag
Disposable gloves

Nice to have:
Hex wrenches (bring the 2 "bike" ones only)
Small wrench (to get off rear wheel)
Needlenose pliers (deraileur adjustments) I've been having trouble with the shifters. If I get it fixed before the tour, I'll lose this.
Chain lube Removed. Lube the chain the night before leaving.

Other:

Bike lock
Helmet
Reflective ankle, wrist bands
Knee brace (I'm almost recovered from an injury now, ya never know)
Maps, cue sheets
Bike (it would be nice to have this)
Cycle computer
lights (headlight and rear blinky)
gloves
first aid kit
cell phone
Toilet paper
Tinted sunglasses (the safety sunglasses I use for biking won't work with a mirror)
Mirror moved this to gotta-have stuff

Nice to have:
Camera (moved to nice-to-have)
Paperback Book
A few Baby wipes
Thanks!


Edit: I'm updating this based on the suggestions below. Updated stuff is in blue.

I just did 3 days in the rocky mountains, was very happy with my packing list. Here are my recommendatins on yours:

Remove from your list:
extra cycling shirt/shorts - wash in sink in hotel, dry on rack overnight or in dryer at hotel
light jacket & rain poncho - replace w/ rain jacket
Towel - there will be one at the hotel
Lunch - buy in store along the way, if there is a place, otherwise bring
Needlenose plier - it's only 2 days, and you don't need for der. anyway
Hex wrenches - aren't they on your multitool?
First aid kit
book - tv in hotel or buy a newspaper

Add:
Rain jacket
long finger gloves
toe covers
ear band or hat
do bring the mirror
sunglasses
helmet
long sleeve jersey

Off-bike clothes should be lightweight, not jeans. i brought yoga pants a tank top, a cotton longsleeve shirt, one pair of undies, one pair of wool socks that doubled as extra bike socks.

My friend brought exactly the same stuff as me, and got it all in a large tailrider and a camelback. I put a light rack on my road bike and used 2 ultralight Lone Peak panniers. We had more bike clothes than you, but we were riding over the rocky mountains, over 11000 feet twice.

Hex wrenches - aren't they on your multitool?
Yeah, but the ones on the multitool suck. (I bring just the two hex wrenches I need, anyway.)


Add:
toe covers

What are toe covers for? I can't imagine october winds in NJ being cold enough during the day to get through sneakers. (I use platform pedals and regular sneakers.)

Except for water, I'd dump all the food altogether. You're only doing 45 miles/day, and even at my glacial hill climbing pace, that's worst case, four hours of seat time, and unless you are riding through the pine barrens, you'll find someplace to eat along the way. Dump the TP too. If your panniers are waterproof, dump the trashbags. For clothing, one bike jersey, two pairs of bike shorts, one or two warm civilian shirts(double duty if it gets cold), one pair of warm tights, waterproof jacket, full length gloves, and no undies.(use a pair of bike shorts for undies instead) Again, dump the towel. I'd also get a pair of wool/thermal socks. While it shouldn't get below 40 in the first week of October, doesn't mean it won't.

I'd also dump the first aid kit. You aren't riding out west, dozens of miles between anything. At worst, again, you are about an hour away from medical attention for something minor(bandaid) and twenty minutes for something major(call 911).

For maps, get a laminated, waterproof map if you can.

If you have a handlebar bag, either add it, or use it in place of the trunk bag. You can mount the map to the top of the bag, and use the bag to hold your "irreplaceables" and you take it with you wherever you go.

BTW, you also need a bike lock. If you are not going to be far from the bike, a cable lock will do. Otherwise, get a proper lock.

I'd also dump the first aid kit. You aren't riding out west, dozens of miles between anything. At worst, again, you are about an hour away from medical attention for something minor(bandaid) and twenty minutes for something major(call 911).

I'm pretty accident prone, and will be trying out pedal straps soon, so I'm gonna bring it. My first aid kit is pretty small, about 2"x3"x1". Neosporin, bandaids, gauze, and advil.


For maps, get a laminated, waterproof map if you can.

Good idea. I'll either do that or take a long a plastic sleeve. Perspiration and inkjet-printed cue sheets don't mix.


BTW, you also need a bike lock. If you are not going to be far from the bike, a cable lock will do. Otherwise, get a proper lock.

Oops, I forgot the lock. Thanks.

I'm
Good idea. I'll either do that or take a long a plastic sleeve. Perspiration and inkjet-printed cue sheets don't mix.

Don't think that the only thing you have to worry about is perspiration. On the last day of my 5 day tour, in the third week of August, the temperature on Long Island was 59 degrees and raining. If I had had decent rain wear, I would have been comfortable. Instead, I was borderline hypothermic. On the Jersey shore, in October, if it is raining, you will be dealing with the same conditions or worse. I'm not saying it will rain, just be prepared.

Does anyone here use CO2 inflators? I thought they were more a MTB racing thing. Surely a pump would be more useful (and generate less waste).

Pack towels (made of polyester microfibre) - the ones with the terry toweling knit are much better to use than the flat smooth chamois-type ones (which are a little lighter, and pack significantly smaller). I've gone to the toweling ones. However, if you're in a hotel, I'd ditch the towel altogether (unless you're staying 1-star).

Basically you're doing a credit card tour. Aim to take not much more than you would on a long day ride. Pack an extra pair of bike shorts and socks, a light shirt and shorts/pants for off the bike, rain gear, arm and leg warmers (or thermals, which you could also wear off the bike if it is cold), toiletries, repair gear, water, snacks and one or two luxuries and you are set.

You could probably do it with one of those rack-top bags with fold-out panniers (Tioga DMX I think), plus your bike frame (pump, water, lights, lock, snacks in a "bento box" between the stem and top tube) and jersey pockets (rain jacket, wallet, keys, mobile phone).

Put the clothes in a large ziploc, (will be big enough for one pannier pocket), camera etc. in another, and chuck a couple of plastic bags in for emergency waterproofing and emergency booties.

Carry a few muesli bars or energy bars (eat 1 per hour in addition to meals) and drink 1 bottle water per hour (always carry 2) and you should be fine energy-wise if you have a decent breakfast and some lunch along the way.

Your repair kit should be quite light (unless you need spannes of multiple sizes). If only the back wheel and the pedals need a spanner, just take one of the correct size (usu. 15mm) not an adjustable which will easily round off the nuts. If you have lots of different sizes, take a good quality 15cm (6") adjustable and be careful.

Yeah, but the ones on the multitool suck. (I bring just the two hex wrenches I need, anyway.)



What are toe covers for? I can't imagine october winds in NJ being cold enough during the day to get through sneakers. (I use platform pedals and regular sneakers.)

Its like a socks for the shoes, but very short and reach the ball of the foot. It will warm your toes when its cold.

We're leaving tomorrow morming, and I'm finishing up the cue sheets. I'm excited! My first ovenight ride!

Here's my final list:

Clothes, etc:Extra 1 pair cycling shirt/shorts
Leg warmers or Unpadded lycra long pants
Light rain jacket
Civilian clothes- cotton pants, t-shirt, underwear, socks
Toothbrush, etc toothpaste, meds, comb
Tissues (also enough to use as TP if needed)
Energy bars

Tools
Combination Pump/CO2 inflator doohickey + cartridge
Spare tube, patch
(1) Tire lever
Multitool/ rag
Disposable gloves
Small wrench (to get off rear wheel - I may have a minor wheel wobble)
lock
Reflective ankle, wrist bands
Elastic Knee brace (I'm almost recovered from an injury now, ya never know)

Stuff
Compass
Middlesex and Monmouth county maps, cue sheets
first aid kit
cell phone
Camera
A small journal and a pen
paperback book

Carrying on my person/clipped to the bike:
helmet/gloves/glasses
Bike clothes
Sneaks
Cycle computer
lights (headlight and rear blinky)
2 water bottles

Wish me luck!

I have also a disposable gloves ;) which I really don't use. I always find myself need to feel the tools, and if its a puncture, I'll need to feel the inside of the tire.
As for the book, hehe, I think you will have time to skim the magazine but no more.
Its not much, but tell me if I was right.
Have fun and post some photos for all of us to enjoy.

Have fun and let us know how it goes.

The tour went very well! We rode 110 miles in 2 days, Edison to Monmouth Beach and back, and mostly stuck to the route I plotted, except for the last half of the trip home. Both Hagstrom Maps and Google maps have their inaccuracies, and we leaned to deal with this as well as badly signed streets, streets that change their names, etc.

The best thing I brought was probably the compass. it saved us a lot of time!

I did get a flat tire- my first ever. It wasn't from a nail, or a piece of glass, and it wasn't even when I was riding. When I was loading the bike Sunday morning in the hotel room, I noticed that the front tire was empty. When I changed the tire, I inspected the tire and tube carefully, and there was nothing that would explain the flat. I can only guess that it was a pinch flat.

kikibenkipod, I didn't get all that many pictures, but we did pass by this on somebody's front lawn:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2163/1508401889_02b25b125e.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/neilfein/1508401889/)
I'm tired, and have biker butt. However, I'm less tired than I expected. I think I must do this again sometime.

The tour went very well! We rode 110 miles in 2 days, Edison to Monmouth Beach and back, and mostly stuck to the route I plotted, except for the last half of the trip home. Both Hagstrom Maps and Google maps have their inaccuracies, and we leaned to deal with this as well as badly signed streets, streets that change their names, etc.

The best thing I brought was probably the compass. it saved us a lot of time!

I did get a flat tire- my first ever. It wasn't from a nail, or a piece of glass, and it wasn't even when I was riding. When I was loading the bike Sunday morning in the hotel room, I noticed that the front tire was empty. When I changed the tire, I inspected the tire and tube carefully, and there was nothing that would explain the flat. I can only guess that it was a pinch flat.

kikibenkipod, I didn't get all that many pictures, but we did pass by this on somebody's front lawn:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2163/1508401889_02b25b125e.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/neilfein/1508401889/)
I'm tired, and have biker butt. However, I'm less tired than I expected. I think I must do this again sometime.

I rode with Neil on this trip, and while we learned to deal with routing problems, I need to learn patience. I didn't have enough of it this weekend, and lost my temper at my friend several times. Touring, even on a small scale, isn't a perfect process.

But we did it. We rode 108 miles on a 90 mile tour, and dipped our water bottles into the Atlantic. Like Neil F, I'm both tired and saddle-sore, but I'm glad Neils on Wheels completed our first tour.

Neil B.

I rode with Neil on this trip, and while we learned to deal with routing problems, I need to learn patience. I didn't have enough of it this weekend, and lost my temper at my friend several times. Touring, even on a small scale, isn't a perfect process.

But we did it. We rode 108 miles on a 90 mile tour, and dipped our water bottles into the Atlantic. Like Neil F, I'm both tired and saddle-sore, but I'm glad Neils on Wheels completed our first tour.

Neil B.

The report on the ride, as posted to my blog:

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times..."

So it seemed on the first official Neils on Wheels overnight tour. I and Neil Fein rode from New Brunswick to the New Jersey shore, and back the following day. Ninety miles were on the route. We were blessed with near perfect weather for much of the trip, with only a little light rain on the last half of the return. Aside from Neil getting a flat in the hotel room Sunday morning, it was as close to an incident-free trip as we could wish for. And for the first time I rode more than 30 miles without back pain! So in many ways it was the best of times.

But if it was the best of times, why are neither of us smiling in the photograph, taken on the bridge to Red Bank? That's a more difficult question to answer.

Familiarity breeds content or contempt as you wish. Neil and I have two different views of touring. I enjoy going from point A to point B with as few distractions as possible. Neil enjoys getting lost and the impulsiveness that goes with it. He might object to that description, but it seems accurate to me. So while we started out in good spirits, as the day wore on so did my temper. First it was Waterworks Road that turned out to be largely sand and largely unridable. Then it was the bike trails in Cheesequake Park that became sand and loose gravel, or led into a salt marsh and ended there. Add in a large number of wrong turns, corrections, and other changes that required a cue sheet, two maps, a compass, endless recalculations of mileage, and a lot of daylight, and my frustration became obvious. It took eight and a half hours to ride 50 miles, and we were unable to ride to the beach that day. And I had some swelling in my left knee from all the off-bike hiking.

After a carb-heavy dinner and a good night's sleep, we rode ten miles to Long Branch for breakfast, then to the shore. Rather than remove the front wheel of the bikes, we took our water bottles and dipped them into the Atlantic. Neil then wrote "Neils on Wheels" into the sand to mark the occasion. We rode around Long Branch for a few minutes, then headed back to Red Bank and home.

So far the ride this sunny Sunday morning had been near-flawless. Neil's route was both interesting and very clear. We made excellent time there and back.

However, in Red Bank the problems returned. I had to 'intervene at one point and prevent Neil from leading us in the wrong direction. My frustration was coming out again, and just before the halfway point words were exchanged. Riding with a saddle sore didn't help my mood. My friend is a much more patient man than I am, so he calmed me down and we went onward. We finished with nine hours and 58 miles for the return trip, and a reconciliation once I apologized for my remarks.

And the dispute with my touring partner underlines what I need to learn about touring. It's not going to be perfect. There will always be problems with routes, equipment, riders, and traffic, and while most trips won't have the problems this one did - even Neil admitted his routing through Chessquake Park was a "disaster" - missed turns and roads not taken are in the future. The skill of dealing with the frustrations of touring I need to develop as much as any other aspect of my riding. If I develop that, I'll truly make all tours "the best of times."

At times during the tour I affirmed to myself I would never tour with Neil again. By the end of it I'd tour anywhere with him, if he'd invite me. I have a lot to learn from him. And I hope I have the opportunity to do so again soon.

What way did you guys go?

I went to school at Rutgers (New Brunswick and Lived in Highland Park) and used to ride to my parents house in Middletown (Red Bank area) and back occasionally, think the ride was about 25 or 30 miles. I live up in Morristown now and did the ride to Middletown and back a few times too, which is about 55 miles.

Here are the routes. We deviated from them a bit, but the basic route is there. (Bikely is very slow when routes get to be more than 50 miles or so, so I split it up.)

Part 1 (http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/Neils-on-Wheels-October-Tour-part-1-of-4), Edison to Keyport
Part 2 (http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/Neils-on-Wheels-October-Tour-part-2-of-4), Keyport to Monmouth Beach
Part 3 (http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/Neils-on-Wheels-October-Tour-Day-1-part-3-of-3), Monmouth Beach to Redbank
Part 4 (http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/Neils-on-Wheels-October-tour-Day-2-Part-1-of-2), Redbank to Old Bridge
Part 5 (http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/Neils-on-Wheels-October-tour-Day-2-Part-2-of-2), Old Bridge to Edison

Okay, I took a little more direct route, Ryders Lanes to CR 516 to Church St to Rt 35. Google Map Link (http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&hl=en&geocode=15894166309647532842,40.485320,-74.436910%3B10962756653050423501,40.432530,-74.423260%3B3594818297315931376,40.419840,-74.404380%3B17905431928141288806,40.418760,-74.369690%3B3557135313455876952,40.406520,-74.220660&time=&date=&ttype=&saddr=highland+park,+nj&daddr=40.493046,-74.443531+to:CR-617%2FRyders+Ln+%4040.432530,+-74.423260+to:CR-617+S%2FRyders+Ln+%4040.419840,+-74.404380+to:CR-527%2FOld+Bridge+Turnpike+%4040.418760,+-74.369690+to:Church+St+%4040.406520,+-74.220660+to:marvin+road,+middletown,+nj&mrcr=0,1&mrsp=1&sz=13&mra=dme&dirflg=h&sll=40.479598,-74.412289&sspn=0.061761,0.11673&ie=UTF8&ll=40.45792,-74.281998&spn=0.247121,0.466919&z=11&om=0)

Ryders lane is a little scaring at a few spots when its four lanes, which I'm sure you noticed. As was 516 when it went under Route 9, and a little bit of Rt 35, but for the most part, its a pleasant ride. When I ride down from Morristown, I take pretty much the same route.

We ended up on route 35 more than I had counted on. It's pretty busy, but not as scary as it gets north of Holmdel. Ryder... yeah, when you get near Nww Brunswick, it's pretty scary. Particularly going over the bridges, when you lose the shoulder. I'm glad we were only on that for half a mile or so. We took it further south on the way down, and there's a bike path for several miles next to the road. And traffic slows south of that, for the last few miles before it intersects route 18.

On the way home, we couldn't find a particular unnamed street in East Brunswick that would have let us bypass route 18 completely. That's where I draw the line -- we rode very slowly on the sidewalk next to the highway for a block, then got off the highway to make our way to Eggers Street.