I have been considering the taking of a laptop. I don't really know why, well the convenience of a rainyday and a WIFI cafe along the way, so I can update, catch up and all that. In the tech age, I've read of a 'bent rider with an old IBM that he used on his cross country tour, offering interviews and updating articles for local paper. I don't recall if he was using a generator on the bike, but I believe he was pedaling and writing as he went.