i've been getting a hankering recently to take a couple days off work and just ride north for a while, sleeping where i can and enjoying that freedom we all crave with the rubber side down and the wind in our faces. i posted this in the long distance cycling thread and got a suggestion to post it here instead.

a bit about me...
i'm an experienced cyclist who's been riding just about every day since i was 7 or 8. (i'm 35.) as i went through my pre-teen and teen years, i was into bmx and street riding. as i got older, i got into road cycling. i experimented for many years on a hybrid road/bmx bike that i built specifically for riding in the city. (i live in san francisco.) then about 7 years ago, i went back to one speed, this time on a fixed-gear. (yes, i run a brake.) i still enjoy long road rides, whether fixed or geared, and i've done many centuries. this past summer i completed the AIDS/lifecycle -- 545 miles, sf to la, 7 days. i build and maintain all my own bikes, and have a couple restorations and lowriders that i've either built or am building currently.

so the physical and mental exertion is not going to be foreign to me, nor is on-the-road maintenance. however, carrying gear will be. i'd really REALLY like to keep my gear down to a minimum, so starting small, i was wondering what you all might recommend for, say, a 3-day trip? day and a half out, day a half back.

i have not mapped this trip yet, so i can't give you terrain details or anything like that, but that's all for later. what would you reco strictly for gear? obviously, a well-rated mummy bag, some dr. bronner's, waterwaterwater, and a toothbrush/paste. ha!

it's likely that i would take this little journey fixed, too, so anyone who's done that before should give me anything you can think of that i should know.

thanks in advance!