Hello all,
I am going touring through the Florida Keys with my lovely lady at the end of this month. We have already made all the reservations and planned the itinerary. I am in charge of gear list
meaning a little leeway in the way we pack. The plan is to do a 6 day bike trip up and down the Keys.
Currently we have 2 bikes, a Schwinn Varsity with a rock solid rear rack, and a Salsa Vaya with a busted cheapo Sunlite rear rack. We will be cooking and camping every day. The plan is to carry water, food, and alcohol on the bikes. Both bikes have adequate lighting systems. One is battery driven and the other is dynamo driven. Gearing has already been chosen. I'm taking the following:
2 sleeping pads
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...01_i00_details
1 Alps 5 lb tent
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...00_i00_details
softpack cooler
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...00_i00_details
Tarp/footprint for tent
Thin cotton sheets for sleeping (this is FL in late march, it WILL be warm at night, we will be skipping sleeping bags)
Small folding propane/butane cooking torch
2x 8oz Propane/butane mixed fuel
Clothes for 6 days of beaching and boozing (1 day of slightly nicer clothes for a beachside date)
2x Bathing suits (girl might pack more
)
Cookware
Cutlery
Coffee cooking cup (small thermos bottle with a french press built in... pretty swag gift my gf got last year)
2x Flip flops
2x 24oz bottles each, 1x 20oz bottle each all mounted in bottle cages
2x small luggage locks for our tent doors
6x mini carbiners (to mount solar panel)
7 watt solar panel
2x AA/AAA charger, each can charge 4 at a time via USB/solar power
12x rechargeable NiMH AA
2x 36"x60" lightload towels (extremely small packed, 5 oz each)
3x 12"x24" lightload towels (even smaller)
2x Delta rack webbing
4x biking outfits, 2 each (shorts, shirt, shoes)
Sunscreen!
Trail mix / Clif bars / Gatorade powder
Small med kit
2x spare shift cable, 2x spare brake cable
1x spare chain and small chain parts
2x Topeak Alien II bike tools
6" adjustable wrench
18mm cone wrench for my Surly Singleator tensioner (necessary for rear wheel removal)
6oz bottle of Rock N' Roll Gold lube
Zip ties
2x Droid phones (battery hogs)
Decently nice point n' shoot camera
We plan on buying ice, beer, and food when we make camp in Key West for a few days. Both of us are vegetarian. One night each way we will have access to power for electronics. 4 nights are without power. I need to replace the rear rack on my bike. I'm looking at the Tubus line for both front & rear. My gf is concerned that we do not need front & panniers on my bike. Her bike is incompatible with all traditional front racks on the market. It is simply not worth the trouble at this time to outfit her bike with a front rack.
Question is: do I need front rack & panniers? We both will have rear Ortlieb Rear Roller Classic panniers (already own 1 set) & suitable racks. The lady friend thinks instead of buying her rear panniers and buying front rack & panniers for me we can just get a bike trailer. The cost is equivalent for most units, except for the Aosom trailer, which is also well rated. Also, if you see anything in the gear list I forgot, please let me know. If you think I need to take something out of the list, I feel as I've cut down as much as possible while still getting the 'vacation' feeling. Luxury is a consideration as well.
I am also considering getting a Busch & Muller E-Werk for power for our gadgets, which aren't many. We hope solar power will be enough to meet our demands but we both seriously doubt its ability to keep everything going. Our last short tour we ran out of power on day 3, albeit it was cloudy the entire trip. Seems a bit pricey if it's not something I need. Thanks for reading my long post.