A couple other points ...


1) When I pack for a tour, I consider each item and think about how many purposes it has. As much as possible, I want what I carry to have more than one purpose.

So ... I don't carry cycling jerseys anymore. They've got one purpose -- to be worn while cycling. Instead I carry very lightweight wicking T-shirts. They have more than one purpose -- to be worn while cycling, to be worn off the bicycle, to be worn while sleeping. And those T-shirts go through a rotation. I might wear one off the bicycle one evening, and for sleeping that night ... and then for cycling the next morning. And that evening, I start a new T-shirt.

I carry a sarong ... it can be a pillow, a sheet, a towel at the beach, a wrap while I'm washing the rest of my clothing, a dress on a hot day ...

I choose cycling shoes which I can wear on the bicycle, walking around town, hiking up a mountain ...

My main piece of kitchenware is a metal camping mug which could be used for coffee, for collecting water, for a bowl of soup or cereal ...

My sleeping mat doubles as a lounge chair, and my panniers double as the chair back support. I have also used my panniers as part of my pillow system.

Just a few examples.


2) Depending on where you're touring, you can often buy stuff along the way. When I first started touring, I was under the impression that I had to carry everything I thought I might need for the whole tour with me. It didn't take too long to discover that there are shops along the way which sell all sorts of stuff. I don't need to carry everything ... I can pick it up when I need it.

As an extreme example of that, Rowan and I went to Europe in 2007 without a tent. We bought one a few days into the tour when we reached the first Decathlon on our route, and we stayed in that tent for the rest of the tour. We still have that tent and it still works well for us.

Another example are the lightweight wicking T-shirts I bring ... I bring a couple of them with me, and then I've collected more as I've travelled. On a 5-day tour of Vancouver Island in 2011, Rowan and I were wandering around the town we were staying in late one afternoon, and found a shop selling wicking T's for $15. We each bought one. And the Decathlons in Europe are great sources of all sorts of cycling stuff ... I ended up with 4 wicking T's after a shopping excursion in Bordeaux. Fortunately they are as light as can be and fold down to practically nothing.

Even things like pillow ... we brought pillows with us, but found some that pack down to almost nothing in a sporting goods shop in Switzerland, and they weren't a bad price. So we bought them.

And then there are also the toiletries and that sort of thing. I don't need to carry a big bottle of shampoo with me for my long hair, I can carry a small bottle and acquire more along the way.