Originally Posted by
john426
I am planning on taking my first real self-supported bike/camping trip in Ontario this early summer. I have done other bike trips, but they were either credit card or a part of a planned tour with SAG vehicle. I will be going by myself so I will do no cooking (too much to carry). What do I need to pack for clothes, tools and camping gear? How many panniers will I need? In the past I have tended to pack too much. Sorry if this has been asked and answered before.
You can get by with surprisingly little if you pack very carefully. Depending on how little/much you carry you might go with no panniers, two small panniers, or more. I have been happy with just some light weight stuff sacks on my last couple tours including a San Diego to Sarasota tour.
Different strokes, but I would recommend that you still take at least minimal cooking gear. My cooking and eating kit can go as little as 9.4 ounces (plus some fuel). I find it well worth the minimal weight.
The link in my signature will lead to my journals and a couple articles that I wrote. The journals have info on my tours where I started carrying 45 pounds or more and range to recent ones where I carried as little as 11 pounds of gear including cooking and camping stuff. There is an article on ultralight touring and one on frugal touring.