Oh, hey thump, hope you know I was just referring to if he doesn't take rain pants or whatever......(he'll figure out what clothes are needed or not)
And yup, those extremely rare, very sad stories are just that, very sad.
I personally wouldn't have brought it up for someone going on their first bike trip though....
And stae, to me the key thing is that it's easier for those of us who had self supported, ie self propelled, outdoor experience already. That said, on my first big trip I took way too many tools, weighed a ton, but learned quickly. Should have done a smaller first trip, but oh well. C'est la vie.
Yes, they are sad and extremely rare but bringing it up for the first bike trip is very important and I stand by that. I did it when working in shops and selling touring bikes and gear. "Be careful out there" just does not do it for some people. "Bad stuff like X or Y or Z can happen out there and you need to be aware of the possibilities and be prepared to deal with them," is sometimes not enough. I personally knew people who died on bikes. I probably could not have done anything to save them but sound advice taken seriously might do some good for someone and I'm not ashamed to promote that.
Not really a rain pants guy, although I took them on the last tour for off-bike time. It was a wet month. But on that trip in '74 I was using a poncho for rain protection (still prefer a tailored rain cape), which turned out to be only partial rain protection, and I remember sitting in a small park
in the rain installing fenders on my bike so I could continue riding in slightly less discomfort than I had been doing. Been a fender guy ever since.
You can prepare as much or as little as you like. If you're lucky, you overprepare and it winds up being inconvenient. If you underprepare, it could be disastrous. You seldom get it right the first time but the OP is asking the right questions.