greenstork

My wife and I are taking a credit card tour through Europe next month and I'm still grappling with a final gear list. Specifically, I'm trying to narrow down what I bring in terms of dress clothes. Since it's a credit card tour, I imagine we'll be going out to dinner, touring around the sights, and a rare but occasional formal event like a symphony or concert. I'm trying to figure out what to bring that will serve two purposes -- that is, both practical and dressy enough for a night out on the town in Benelux.

I'm touring on MKS Touring pedals and regular shoes and I plan to wear my Vasque light hiking low-top shoes. These are perfect for 95% of the activities we'll be planning but not quite dressy enough (IMO) for dinner out on the town. I'll have a pair of sandals with me too, but again I wonder if this is dressy enough.

The same goes for pants. Should I bring along a pair of dress pants, like something lightweight and wrinkle proof from Ex-Officio or something or can I get away with a pair of convertible pack pants from Mountain Hardware: https://www.mountainhardwear.com/Prod...cat=42&prod=46

Someone please tell me that I'm crazy and that I can get by just fine with convertible pants and my light hiking shoes. I'm happy to bring an additional pair of pants, that's not a big deal, but the shoes thing is killing me, I really don't want to take up additional room and weight in my panniers.

Bacciagalupe

When I CC tour, I bring a pair of bike shoes and a pair of dress shoes. You can pack a fair amount of stuff inside the shoes, so they don't take up as much space as you think.

I bring dress shoes, 1 pair of black jeans, 1 pair of slacks, and 2 dress shirts. Since I'm not lugging camping gear around, it's pretty easy to fit everything you need for a CC tour in two normal-sized panniers.

I also recommend you consider going clipless, and either use bike sandals or, better yet, bike shoes with recessed SPD's and a reasonably stiff sole instead of the hiking shoes.

tacomee

Don't ask me, I'm a bum! No, really, I think you'll be fine....many other tourists will be dressed much, much worse. I do think the non-covertable high tech pants look a little classier, but it's no big deal. Maybe lightweight loafers? Heck, buy a pair in Europe if you want! You have to bring back one expensive thing anyhow.

ThePizzaBandit

greenstork, have you toured in the vasque light hikers before? do you get enough power that way, or do you think you need dedicated cycling shoes? i have mks touring pedals with power grips, and have been considering buying samba milleniums (the black and white pair may look dressy enough for you!) or buying vasque light hikers.

sorry to steal the thread.

acantor

No problem taking dress shoes. Although I don't, I usually haul a pair of lightweight hiking shoes and a pair of sandals. As Bacciagalupe says, you can stuff a lot of stuff into shoes.

Without camping gear, you should have plenty of room. All my stuff, including shoes and sandals, fits into two mid-sized panniers, a small daypack bungied to the rear rack, a fanny pack (with camera bag slung on the strap), a small wedge-shaped pack for tools under my seat, and a map case. (I don't have enough stuff to justify using a handlebar bag).

greenstork

I'm taking a tour through the Benelux with my wife. Most days will be no more than 50 km on extremely flat terrain so I'm not terribly worried about power or shoe flex. After all, the MKS pedals have a pretty wide platform. I commuted on my Vasques for a couple of months before switching over to clipless and they seemed to work fine for my 13 mile RT. They look more like sneakers than hikers: https://www.vasque.com/products/m-kota.cfm I hadn't considered the Adidas but I'll check them out.