Originally Posted by
Happy Feet
Describe the average bicycle tourist...
+1.
Me, SO and our kid did some light touring with a trailer (a Nordic Cab). He was 2 years old back then, so we needed the trailer in any case. I'm the faster rider, so I towed the trailer with the bulk of stuff packed in. The weight balanced out our ride speed differences nicely. Carrying groceries was easier with the trailer than with panniers. We took a bus for one leg of the trip, and the trailer collapsed down sufficiently to fit in the bus cargo hold.
We still had several panniers between the two bikes, as the amount of stuff you need when you're travelling with a 2-year old is impressive. If we had 4 large panniers each, plus handlebar bags, plus stuff sacks on top of rear panniers, we could have carried all that gear on bikes. We would've been forced to leave the kid home though.
--J