Do you bring a backpack for day hikes along the way? Do you bring hiking shoes or hike in your bike shoes?

https://bicyclehangar.googlepages.com...sbicyclepedals

check this out for the shoe issue, and ditch those ballerina velcros. also, i'm thinking for my next tour, a backpack is worth the space. i didn't even use a quarter of my paniers' worth of junk on my last tour.

I bring a small daypack and hiking shoes. SPD shoes don't cut it for me on rough trails. I'm debating using toe-clips or power-grips and skip the bike shoes altogether. The daypack goes on the rear rack with gear in it It's easier to secure a single pack than a bunch of stuff with bungees.

Yeah I got some better more shoe-like bike shoes:
https://www.nashbar.com/profile.cfm?c...All%20Products
But they're not fun to walk far in either.

I would recommend bringing a separate pair of shoes if you plan on doing a lot of hiking. My last 2 week tour I wore just my shimano spd sandals. They are the most comfortable bike shoe I have for walking. Despite this, I hurt my achilles tendon when I spent a whole day walking around Quebec city. It hurt for the rest of the trip, and was definitely caused by the footwear. Next tour I am bringing stiffer shoes for riding, and separate shoes for walking.

I bring a pair of rugged, waterproof hiking boots on tour. I consider them a necessity as I stealth camp always and hike around a fair bit.

I often bring a tiny nylon backpack which folds up to practically nothing. It's good for hauling laundry or perhaps a bit of a hike or something.

I got it for $1 at my local $$ Store.

Dollar store!! Perfect!! I've been thinking about one like that but all the backpacks at target, even wall mart (), are too fancy. Thanks

It works! It really is nothing fancy ... it's basically a nylon bag with a drawstring closure, and shoulder straps.

Last winter I used it when I went to my spinning class to carry my cycling shoes and a towel. I've also used it when I've gone swimming to carry a bathing suit and towel. And I have used it occasionally on tour.

I figure if it rips or something, I'm only out $1. I actually bought a second one, but I haven't used it yet.

The $ Store has lots of interesting little bits I use on tours.

I have used a Kelty Redwing for many years. I've hiked across the Grand Canyon a half dozen times, the John Muir Trail in Yosemite, deep into the Canadian Rockies, Denali National Park and more. When I'm on my bike I have all my tent, sleeping bag stuff in it across the back rack so I can throw up the tent and essentials in 3 minutes. When I hike, I carefully repack into hiking mode.

As for shoes, I bike with toe clips in lightweight hikers and have some Tevas for foot relief. Actually, Hi-Tecs have done far better than Merrills or Vasques. Again, the shoes have served me well in both biking and hiking modes - thousands of miles of biking and hundreds of miles of hiking.

hey perhaps it does not hold true that you get what you pay for. Maybe later on will see. Good news and great to be aware of.

The thing with Dollar Stores is this ... you take your chances. They don't always stock the same items, so if you go into one store, you are not guaranteed that the same item will be in the next store, or will be in the original store a month from now. Also some items are great ... others not so much ... after all, it's a dollar store.

For car camping, I've picked up plastic bins and buckets for washing dishes and other things. One of the dollar stores in Winnipeg brought in a whole wall full of the camping gear you'd find in Walmart, Canadian Tire or the Army Surplus store ... ground sheets, pegs, waterproof holders for documents, inflatable pillows, collapsable water containers, etc. etc. I stocked up ... each item was $1, and they were the same brand as in the other department stores where they were selling them for much more. One of my local dollar stores sells little LED lights you can clip onto a bag or something. I brought one with me on my European trip and it was like a little night light or reading light. Another one of my local ones stocks all sorts of winter gear - head bands, neck gaiters, gloves, mitts, etc. I pick up some each winter ... $1 each. I like the headbands in particular because they are fairly thin so I can wear a helmet over them. I bring them on all my tours - you never know when it is going to cool off. Those are just some examples of things I've picked up from $$ Stores.

On the TA we hiked either in our SPD cleated bike shoes or either Crocs or Mions (two of us had Crocs and one had Mions). We didn't go more than a few miles. No backpacks, but two of us had handlebar bags that converted to fanny packs and one had a handlebar bag that had a shoulder strap.