Wrestlefox

I have decent amount of stuff on my list that I think that I should get. What are things that I should definitely without a doubt have. This way I can get an idea of how much space I have left to fill up with other things I think I should bring after I already pack in the things I know I should bring. I know for a fact I won't have to worry about snow, because I'll be traveling in the lower part of the U.S. and it will be during the summer, most likely.

staehpj1

You are starting with a recipe for failure. Never take stuff that you don't need to fill up space.

My suggestion is to take only what you absolutely need. You will still probably be sending stuff home as soon as you climb a mountain or two.

A good place to start is by reading other folks packing lists. www.crazyguyonabike.com is a good place to start. You can look at my list as a starting point, and you can probably trim it down a good bit. I know I sent lots of stuff home.

BTW having someone at home who knows where all your stuff is can be a big plus. If you decide you really need something they can mail it to you via general delivery. You can send stuff home to them and if later you need it again they can send it back.

My packing list from the TA last year is at:
https://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/p..._id=50850&v=RG
It might even be interesting to read the rest of the journal at:
https://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/staehling2007

Then search the site for other journals and packing lists. You can learn a lot that way. Just err on the side of taking less rather than more.

neilfein

+1. I always take too much stuff myself, but I'm getting better. I think.

Wrestlefox

When you talk about sending it back and forth, do you mean to post offices so that I could pick it up? What is general delivery?

phidauex

Bring some money for postage so you can take all the stuff you realize 5 days in that you don't need, and mail it home. (Actually, not a bad technique for ridding yourself of useless things).

You don't need much stuff, really. Something to stay dry, something to stay warm, something to fix basic things on your bike, something to tell you where you are, and something to eat and drink. If there is something you realize you need, you can buy it somewhere (there are always little outdoorsy shops, even in pretty backwoods places).

Make every item apply to be a part of your bag. Like a job interview.

-Sam

wheel

I suggest doing a short camping trip.
Amazing what you don't need when you need to haul it somewhere.

I found most things I can pick up along the way if I really need them.
Second I found ways to either elimate or use one item for several things.

staehpj1

Yes to a post office. You address it something like:

Joe Blow
GENERAL DELIVERY
Parkville, MD 21234

You have to be careful to pick a place and date where you will be when the post office is open or else you will have to wait around if you are there on a Sunday. Actually you can stop in any post office ant tell them where it was mailed to and ask them to forward it to another place. We did that several times when we mailed stuff ahead to ourselves and decided we didn't need it yet. They never charged extra even when we forwarded it twice.

We found this useful when we were given 20 pounds of dried foods. We broke it down into 5 lots and shipped 4 ahead to various post offices. It was also nice when we needed stuff from home.

Hezz

There are only a few things that you must have on a tour. Bike, water bottles, tools and tire repair, money or credit card, rain jacket, and some emergency calories, small first aid kit.

If your camping you also need sleeping bag and some kind of shelter and a way to start a fire. And some more food. Anything else is some kind of a luxury.

All you need is to stay warm, dry and fed. The lighter you are the more fun you will have and the more of an adventure you will have in surviving.

Camel

Kinda vague, no?

I definitely without a doubt require coffee. Fresh coffee is a plus, but instant will do in a pinch. I really like espresso when touring, so I bring a stovetop espresso maker (and stove, and turkish ground coffee, and powdered whole milk, sugar and a nalgene w/cozie ).

Maybe you like tea?

Wrestlefox

I do indeed like tea, but I like my tea with two cups of sugar per gallon. I'm from Alabama so my tea has to be sweet. I wouldn't be able to carry all the sugar and plus, I heard tea contributes to kidney stones, so I'm trying to stop drinking it.

Should I put up my list since it was vague?

My mother, who's 1st sergeant on active duty, said that her friend had a case of MRE's that I could have. You basically need one maybe two per day, each one has approximately 2,500 calories, and there are twelve in a case. The case all together weighs forty pounds. Should I do the general delivery thing or just carry them. As far as I know, the case is not large at all, but definitely bigger than a bread box.

Would it help the aerodynamics of a trailer if you strapped a tarp over it so the surface was smoother and wind resistance would be cut down? It was just a theory I had while at work today.

Ken Wind

You could also use a large stuff stack, then it would be compressed and protected from rain. A stuff sack is probably lighter than a tarp too.

jpmartineau

Not a good idea to put hot liquid in a polycarbonate container... That's toxic. You better get a metal cup or any other plastic mug. It's fine for cold liquids though.

jpmartineau

One thing that I've found useful in the past is a padded shipping envelope (large ones, around 11x17"). They add very little weight and have multiple uses: cushion for sitting on the ground or on a log, place to keep stuff cool for a couple hours (sandwiches, beer, cheese, etc.).

As much as I love doing multi-day trips, I haven't done all that many but the one thing I've noticed is that I tend to bring too much stuff. Every trip, I take less. As wheel said, "Amazing what you don't need when you need to haul it somewhere".

Usually, I bring too much food.

valygrl

1) sense of adventure
2) positive attitude
3) big smile
4) bike

slowjoe66

+1 on that. You will learn a lot. Go for a weekend bike tour a month before the real tour. You will discover all sorts of useful information (Is your thermarest thick enough, does your camp soap work for shampoo, did you forget an oven mitt..stupid stuff like that).

And the thing that is a must have for any bike tour is a couple of cold ones in camp at the end of a hard day in the saddle!!

stevage

There's only one "must have": not too much stuff. Regardless of weight, you'll be much more comfortable with plenty of space left in your panniers. Makes it easier to pack each day, makes it easier to rummage around, and makes it easier to carry additional things you pick up, like food.

Steve

niknak

5) ice cream

Mr. Jim

MRE's are freaking heavy. A lot of that weight is packaging and the heating units. If you are going to use these for touring you might want to repackage them and discard extras, you don't need to carry 40 spoons with you or 40 of the heaters, a alcohol stove would be lighter.

On MRE packaging from Wikpedia

"Packaging requirements are strict. MREs must be capable of withstanding parachute drops from 380 m (1,250 feet), and non-parachute drops of 30 m (100 feet). The packaging is required to maintain a minimum shelf life of three and a half years at 27 °C (80 °F) or nine months at 38 °C (100 °F); additionally, short-term temperature extremes of -51 °C (-60 °F) to 49 °C (120 °F) must be sustainable. New forms of packaging are being considered to better meet these requirements including the use of zein to replace the foil, which can be easily punctured, conducts heat, and reflectivity (which may give away a servicemember's position)."

As for the contents of each individual meal, you may want to discard a lot of this, it is designed a solider in the field and a lot of it is redundant for a person not in a combat zone. I have used MREs for backpacking twice now, once full package which I swore i would never do again. The second time I opened the meal packages and took only the main courses and some of the dessert and sides. I judged this was still too heavy and went to using easy to cook commercials side dishes as meals like Lipton Noodles and Sauce made with powdered milk. Very light filling and easy to make in one pot. Contents of an MRE are

"General contents may include:

* main course (entree)
* side dish
* dessert or snack (often a commercial candy or a fortified pastry)
* crackers or bread
* spread of cheese, peanut butter, or jelly
* powdered beverage mix: sport drink, dairy shake, coffee, and/or tea
* Utensils (usually just a plastic spoon)
* flameless ration heater (FRH)
* Accessory pack:
o chewing gum
o water-resistant matches
o napkin / toilet paper
o moist towelette
o seasonings, including salt, pepper, sugar, creamer, and/or Tabasco sauce"

As you can see, you don't need all of that every day and many things would be easier brought with you in larger packages than the individual single serving packages. Things like the matches, drinks seasonings and toilet paper would be better in larger packaging.

MREs are a good option especially if they are free but I have found that a little shopping in the grocery store and a little experimentation at home as to what works and what doesn't. A lot of dried noodle and rice dishes call for butter etc. I make them without and really it doesn't effect them very much. leaving out the milk doesn't work well but a couple of tablespoons of dried milk powder fixes that. I like to eat and have worked a lot on camp food over the years. There is a lot of things you can do. instant mashed potatoes and stove stop stuffing are really useful as fillers and really quick meals.

late

You forgot the map

I think you are right, tho...

I have often taken too much stuff, and we often see stuff and buy it. So we go to
a UPS or Mailboxes Etc and have them box it up and ship it home.

Live and learn.

BigBlueToe

Get a little notebook. Take a tune-up tour. Write down what you're glad you have, what you wish you had, what you absolutely didn't need. The urgency of these things fades quickly when you get home. Having notes you took when you were "out there" really helps. My packing list is constantly evolving.

On two separate tours I stopped at a post office to send home stuff I didn't absolutely need. I think it's kind of a rite of passage for bike tourers.

One advantage bike touring has over backpacking is that you often don't have to carry food at all. Most days' rides will take you past restaurants, sandwich shops, fast food places, and grocery stores. I try to buy food for dinner and breakfast at the last store before the campground. Occasionally my tours have taken me to places where I had to stock up for a couple of days. Then think dehydrated (like rice, mac & cheese, oatmeal, etc.) I confess, I like to buy a loaf of bread, and jars of peanut butter and jelly. P. B. & J. sandwiches work for breakfast, lunch, and dinner!

Machka 

Pack up what you think you should take, and go on a weekend tour. We can all tell you to bring this, that, and the other (and, for example, there's a packing list on my site here, which I need to update a bit: https://www.machka.net/packinglist.htm ) ... but the only way you will be able to tell what you need is if you experiment yourself. That's how the rest of us did it.

Bring everything you think you might need and want, and then at the end of your short weekend tour go through it all and decide if you really needed it, or if it was just dead weight. You'll also determine if you are missing something.

Bekologist

"must haves" on my list-

1)silnylon tarp.
2)sink stopper.
3)metal cup.
4)warm hat.
5)extra stash of toilet paper.
6)big water bladder (MSR) for camp.
7)sharp knife and a spoon.
8)chain lube
9)air pump
10)sense of wonder.

- in addition to all the usual things you're thinking of bringing.

freemti

Must remember sink stopper, must remember sink stopper....

Wrestlefox

I guess it's for just in case you have to go number two really bad and there's nowhere to go.

Machka 

What is**********???