Yet another set of old serratus panniers still living.

Too much lube is just going to make a greasy mess and wear your drivetrain out quickly. Every 2-3 days is much too often. You are frankly better off waiting until the chain starts to squeak. The drier you keep it the less dirt it will attract. I used to lube mine maybe every 1000-1200 miles when I was riding every day. You should be able to do that whole tour with no lube, though it'd be prudent of course to bring some anyway, and oil maybe once. Getting caught in the rain or riding through a stream will generally necessitate additional oiling.

Changing your chain halfway through is just silly. Chains usually last around 5000 miles or longer - depends on how dirty they are.

As others have said, rub off the excess oil with a rag. You don't need it on the outside. Some oils attract more dirt than others. I use good old triflo, it works well enough and doesn't attract much dirt if you wipe it off.

Sala, while I agree with the other stuff you say, going 1600 to 2000km before lubing a chain certainly doesnt reflect my real world riding experience, certainly not with triflow.
On paved road trips I have done in the past, I have more or less lubed about every 5, 6, 7 days depending on rain and whatever, at perhaps 100km per day tops--but the nice thing with Triflow is that it isnt overly gloopy, and excess is easy to wipe off (even with a paper rag) in the day and days after a lubing.

again, respectfully, whatever works for you, but that seems a heck of a long time to go without some lube--perhaps on really clean roads (California) and no rain ever.

on the view of not lubing until you hear your chain squeak, I have the view that that is like drinking long after you have started to be thirsty. That more regular lubing, especially with inbetween thickness lubes like Triflow, means that stuff gets flushed out a bit by the new lube going onto each roller area, and it assures that the crucial area that needs proper lubing (the inside of each link) always has clean and sufficient lube there.

but then here we get into God vs Allah vs Buddha etc etc etc.......

As a general guide for average conditions, sure, every 5-7 days is reasonable.

For sure it depends on conditions. Yours are probably different than mine. Every 1000+ miles was when I was racing jrs and riding lots of miles, and yeah, it was on clean roads with no rain. If I got rained on, the chain would get wiped and lubed. Rain and wet conditions will necessitate immediate re-lubrication. FWIW I do recall riding one ~2000 mile tour without lubing at all.

Anyhow, the "wait till it squeaks" suggestion was just to make a point. I was a mechanic for quite a few years, and saw many, many more drivetrains destroyed by too much oil than by too little.

OT: FWIW the latest scientific studies seem to indicate that the best time to drink in hot weather is when you are thirsty. The common advice of the last 30+ years: if you wait till you are thirsty it is too late, is now thought to be false.

This surprises me, how does one ascertain "death by too much oil"?

sala, my comment about the drinking thing was just to make a point, or an analogy, also. I figure we are probably on the same page more or less on chain maintenance.

Dont forget, we are answering the question of a newer rider who puts oil on and ends up with a gloopy, hard to clean mess and is contemplating getting a bike shop to clean his drivetrain partway through a trip, and or replace the chain, cassette etc.

Robow, I have friends bikes that end up with a 5mm thick old thick lube combined with dirt sludge all over their entire drivetrain that has certainly made a very effective sanding paste, and then they put more chain oil on top of this mess--off course this example is an extreme one, but the oopey goopey messes that I have helped clean on some of these bikes can't be helping the wear of stuff. Does keep rust off the chain though from rain--this is one of the advantages of thick stuff like Phils Tenac or Chain-L, if you use it and keep the excess down to a reasonable amount, I imagine it works pretty good in wet crappy conditions, just cuz they are so thick.
The issue here is that so many riders just dont care or think of wiping down stuff with a rag once in a while, they just ignore it, and then it becomes such a burden to clean properly, so then it tends to get ignored even longer.

the number of times I have used flathead screwdrivers to pry off thick, gooey or hardened/gooey gunk off pully wheels and chainrings and cassettes of bikes has shown me that a lot of people just arent interested in caring for their bike--or just dont get the common sense concept of using a rag on excess when needed.

If I can hear my chain, I know it needs oil regardless of what anybody says. I try not to let it get to that point with a habit of oiling every two-three touring days using tri-flow.

I have my doubts that too much oil will harm a chain if you mean too frequently oiling. If you mean applying heavily and not wiping off, allowing dirt to collect and gunk everything up then yeah I can see that.

Excessive oil mixes with dirt and grit from the road and creates an abrasive paste. This wears out the teeth of your cogs prematurely, as well as the chainrings and the chain itself. Chain 'stretch' can be measured; increased length indicates wear. Worn cassette/freewheel cogs will make the chain skip when you are sprinting or going up a hill, etc.

I agree but if one takes just a moment to lube properly (meaning a quick wipe down afterwards), not sure how it can kill a chain?

Edit: Yea, I'm almost sure he means allowing gunk to build up and one kept piling on a thick lube

Yeah, I think we're on the same page. I'm also concerned about the "sanding paste". I've seen it too many times. Newer riders have a tendency to overdo the chain lube.

On my '85 and '88 Florida tours I traveled with a can of Johnson's Paste Wax to lube my chain about every 5 days. Made a good fire starter as well. That was NOT touring lite, Army surplus tent, camping gear from the hardware store, I didn't carry much because my gear ate up all the room. But I was young and dumb and my knees were good so it all worked out.