downtheroad.org

Below is a packing list we are including in our upcoming second book about our travels through South America. We have reviewed the list and feel like we may have left something obvious out. We are looking for feedback on our packing list, did we forget anything?

BICYCLES - Two Touring Bikes: Each with 26-inch wheels, front and rear racks, bike computers, water bottles and cages, taillights and kickstands, touring specific saddles and clipless pedals.

PANNIERS (bike saddlebags) – Both bikes had front and rear waterproof panniers, seat bags, handlebar bags, and pannier repair kit. We used adjustable bungee cords to hold the tent, sleeping bags, and pads on top of our rear racks. After South America, we added a clip on shoulder strap attachment to convert a pannier into day pack for off bike hikes and shopping.

CAMPING
Tent, stakes, ground cloth, and repair kit
Tarp (used in wet climates to cover the bikes when camping)
Sleeping bags and waterproof dry bag stuff sacks
Sleeping pads also fold into camp chairs attachment

WATER PURIFICATION AND STORAGE
10-liter (2.6 gallon) water storage bag that converts to a solar shower with shower head attachment.
Bicycle water bottles (sometimes we carried extra disposable 1.5 liter water bottles for long dry stretches)
Water filter and repair kit
Iodine tablets

STOVE
Gasoline camp stove, wind screen, lighters, and repair kit
The fuel bottle size changed depending on the frequency of gas stations and how much we use the stove.

KITCHEN
Pots and Pans: three cooking pots, a coffee cup for Tim and a coffee cup for Cindie.
Thin plastic flexible cutting board
Utensils: two sporks
Pot scrubber and Liquid dish soap

Items below are also carried when we are camping/cooking a lot

Cooking knife
Can opener
Spices – Salt, Pepper, Garlic, Cinnamon, Ginger,
Olive oil – kept in a sealed plastic container
Resealable bags
Dish drying cloth

FOOD - We always have at least two meals with us but in remote areas, we carry up to two weeks supply of food staples.

Coffee
Sweetener
Powdered Milk
Peanut Butter (when we can find it)
Bread or tortillas
Oatmeal
Pasta and sauce
Rice
Vegetables from the market or dried vegetables
Instant noodles
Canned meat
Powdered soup

ELECTRONICS
Laptop computer and power cord
Microphone
Network cable and coupler
USB thumb drive

CAMERA
Video/Still Camera
Additional high capacity battery
Connector cables
Power cord for charging
Cleaning Kit
Lenses - zoom - wide angle - filter
Mini-tripod
Blank Mini DV Tapes (being phased out)
Flash Memory Stick

POWER AND ELECTRICITY
AA Rechargeable Batteries (the number depends on the remoteness of our route)
AA Battery Charger and cord
US Plug three way splitter extension cord
International plug adaptors
Light socket adaptor (T)

OTHER ELECTRONICS
Flash Light/headlamps
Altimeter/Compass watch someday we will change to a GPS.

HEALTH
Lip Balm
Sunscreen
Insect repellant and mosquito coils
Toilet paper
Multivitamins
Earplugs
Eye Mask (Blindfold) for Sleeping,

FIRST AID KIT
International health and first aid manual
Adhesive bandages, various sizes
Elastic-wrap bandage
Gauge, pads and roll,
Antiseptic wipe
Safety Pins
Medical tape
Scissors
Tweezers
Antibacterial cream
Burn/first aid cream
Antifungal cream
Eye drop antibiotic
Aspirin/Ibuprofen, which ever was available
Antihistamine
Moleskin
Antacid tablets
Thermometer

TOILETRY/SHOWER BAG
Toothbrush and toothpaste
Quick drying towel
Brush/Comb
Shampoo and conditioner
Soap
Razor
Fingernail clippers
Small mirror

CYCLING CLOTHING
2 cycling shorts
2 short sleeve jerseys
1 wool long sleeve jerseys with rear pockets
1 Cycling tights
1 pair Cycling gloves
Helmet
Sunglasses
Bandanna

OFF BIKE CLOTHING
2 Short sleeve shirt
2 Convertible shorts/pants
4 pairs lightweight wool socks
Swimsuit
Sun hat
Underwear
Laundry bags used to separate clothing in our panniers
Sewing repair kit

COLD WEATHER GEAR
Fleece jacket
Long underwear top
Long underwear bottom
Mid-layer/wool long-sleeved top
Cold weather hat
Long fingered gloves

RAIN GEAR
Wind/rain jacket
Waterproof booties
Helmet covers

SHOES
Bike shoes
Walking shoes
Sandals

DOCUMENTS and MONEY
Credit card
ATM debit card
Travelers checks – we don’t use these as often anymore and are being phased out.
Local currency
Maps
Travel/Guide Books
Passports
Tourist visas and travel permits when applicable
Copies of important documents, (stashed in a separate area)
Driver’s licenses
Small notepad and pens

SECURITY
Combination lock for hostel lockers
Cable locks for bikes
Emergency Stash of US Currency

TOOLS
Patch kit
Tire levers
Tire pump
Tire pressure gauge
Chain Tool
Allen Key Set
Cassette Cracker (remover)
chain ring bolt wrench
17-18 mm Cone wrench if not using sealed cartridge hubs
Chain Lube/Rag
Drive train cleaning brush
Spoke Wrench
Cable Cutter (for bike cables)
8 and 10 mm Wrenches
Cone wrenches
Pedal - 32 mm Headset Wrench if not using threadless system
Crank Puller - Bottom Bracket Tool
Multi Tool/knife - (Blade, Pliers, screwdrivers, needle nose pliers, file, Etc.)

SPARE PARTS AND REPAIR KITS
One folding spare tire
Spare Tubes, at least three
Shift/Brake Cables and housing
Spare Brake Pads
Spare Spokes
Bike Grease
Frame Bolts
Short Chain replacement section with extra joining links
Hose clamps
Electrical. Tape
Zip Ties
Duct Tape

MUSIC/NEWS
Shortwave radio used in North and South America, (phased out for an MP3 player with music and podcast
Headphones

OTHER
Laundry cord and detergent
Pillow
Binoculars
Recreational reading books

kpfeif

You're making my legs hurt just reading that thing.

thePig

Wow quite a list...You sure like to take a lot of stuff.
I think you forgot your bike socks. Also a couple of extra things I take:
- pegs to hang my washing
- several zip lock plastic bags to waterproof electricals and documents

Good luck with the book.

downtheroad.org

Thanks for reminding us, we forgot to mention that everything on the list is carried between two people on two bikes while we were in South America and we don't carry everything on the list all the time.

mev

Looks pretty complete.

Similar to what I took on my trip across Russia, though you have a number of things I didn't bother to carry. See https://www.bikerussia.com/equipment

I found extra nylon line to be helpful (clothesline, etc), and would remember to bring SD cards for the camera and found a cell phone that took SIM cards also to be helpful. I would also have an electronic copy/scan of those important documents (in a gmail account as well as in my person). I also found it helpful to bring some electronic photos of my home and family since it sometimes comes up in conversations when I meet people for a while.

For people are reading your book, it is important to remember that in most parts of the world, you can buy most of this stuff if you have forgotten it. Hence, the difficulty is more in bringing too much than too little. You can also send things home, though depending on the country this is sometimes easier or more difficult.

p.s. I enjoyed your first book...

downtheroad.org

We use the same wool socks for off the bike and while riding. Wool is great you can wear them 10 times without washing them (kidding). We use a laundry cord that doesn't require pegs, two cords twisted together, it works well too. I called the zip lock bags resealable bags, they are wonderful for keeping things organized.
Thanks for the encouragement on our second book we are in the final stretch.
Cindie

mev

Did you carry a small English/Spanish dictionary?

downtheroad.org

Oh yeah we did carry a dictionary with us. BTW your web site on Russia looks great, the only problem is Tim wants to go across Russia now, hmm, that looks like a tough one. A business Visa is a great way to go, we had a business visa for China and it made things a lot easier.

niknak

You have plenty of touring experience, but since you asked, here's what I would change:

You're carrying too much clothing. Is each person really carrying 9 tops (3 jerseys, 2 tshirts, 2 long sleeve shirts, 1 fleece and one rain jacket)? I try to abide to the minimalist rule: If it doesn't have two uses, don't bring it. There are exceptions of course. I would just bring two light tshirts (merino wool is best) a long sleeve mid-layer, a fleece and a rain jacket. That's 5 tops. You can use a combo of those tops to meet most on or off bike conditions.

Three cook pots seem excessive. I also dislike sporks but that's a personal preference. You can get by using dish soap as regular body soap too.

Seems like your list is thorough. I wouldn't change a thing unless you're looking to lighten your load.

monocarpic

It looks like you guys have a ton of experience, buy my impression is that you've been riding heavy...

I'd cut out the spare tire, brake pads, only one cable, carry just one tube a piece. Pick one tape, cut the zipties, frame bolts? hose clamps? cable cutter... (serious?)
Batteries are heavy and by now LEDs are efficient enough that you'll make it to the next place that sells double AA's...easily.

I understand you'll be biking in remote areas, but I would weigh the risk of mechanical breakdown with available resources. Any car mechanic shop will have things like cable cutters. Hell, any pliers will do, so will a good knife. I'd rather accept the risk than carry a 1/2 pound tool for thousands of miles.

Binoculars, Music player? Woah, that's like 1/2 pound right there!
As for the digital gear, it sounds awfully complicated. Why the laptop and the camcorder? MiniDVs suck juice like no other, so I'm guessing you'll only get 2 hours and then have to wait days for recharge.

If the computer is a must for writing, consider the Asus EeePC which is dumb, simple, very light, and cheap ($400) for writing and emailing. As for the camera setup, is it an SLR (you mentioned lenses)? There are some excellent offerings in the high-end compacts which offer good lenses/image quality and weigh a fraction of the SLRs. Some can also record massive videos at decent quality, as long as you have big SD cards which are ridiculously cheap and a fraction of miniDV weight. If you guys shoot Canon L glass @12 megapixels, my apologies.

I agree with the clothing responses. I bet you guys could trim 10-13 pounds easily per person on this setup. Also, I wonder why you guys are still riding heavy mountain bikes with big tires after all these miles? Trimming weight and getting skinnier tires would makes you guys way faster...

Clarenza

Tim and Cindie, congratulations on a great list for expedition touring! My view is that the comments that the list is too heavy fail to make the distinction between short tours (say four months or less) in a western nation, and long tours (especially four seasons or longer) through less developed countries. The other distinction is whether you want to be reasonably self-sufficient vs a credit card tourer, couch surfer or similar. Anne Mustoe for example, something of a legend in expedition touring through all types of countries, travels very light, seemingly by always managing to find someone to take her in for the night or else staying in hotels etc.

Almost the only point made by monocarpic ("cut out the spare tire"?!!) that I agree with is the binoculars, I do wonder whether they're worth the weight -- but I could be persuaded, depending on destination (maybe the Bolivian altiplano?). I'd be interested in your comments on this.

Apologies if I've included any items already on your list but here are a few things you might want to consider:

Bike headlight (early starts, late finishes) -- and as monocarpic correctly points out, the newer LED ones are very efficient
Travel pillow (200 grams probably worth it for a good night's sleep)
Mosquito net (for unscreened accommodation in malarial areas)
Cord, lightweight but strong, say 15 metres
Money belt
Wet Wipes
Crotch Guard
Vaccination records (can be important at some borders)
Copy of insurance policy (scanned into PC?)
Copies of doctor's prescriptions for any prescription drugs carried (can help avoid jail)
Kindle or similar eBook reader (100s of books, weight of a paperback)
SteriPEN Adventurer Water Purifier (lightweight, no taste)
Solio universal hybrid solar charger (156 grams, use the sun to charge your batteries while pedalling)

Depending on destination, you may want to add some or all of these items to your First Aid kit:
Melolin pad (for burns - non stick)
Micropore tape (securing bandages and dressings)
Steri-strips (first aid alternative to stitches)
Antibiotic wound cream
Plastic gloves
Malaria testing kit
Doxycycline (malaria)
Antibiotic Metronidazole (amoebiasis and giardiasis)
Antibiotic Ciprofloxacin (bacillary dysentery, shigellosis)
Antibiotic Amoxycillin (broad spectrum for general use such as infected cuts)
Calomine lotion
Antihistamine cream
Antiseptic throat lozenges
Mebendazole (worming)
Lomotil (stomach upset)
Glycerine suppositories (constipation)

These medical items weigh very little but they can save an expedition from a lot of pain or even abandonment. Some of the drugs in particular can be difficult to source in many countries (though I'm unsure if this is the case in South America). Some items, like steri-strips and Lomotil, are must-haves.

Hope this helps

Rob

Nigeyy

Top of my list that doesn't seem to be on yours -at least one roll of toilet roll!!!!! I'd happily cut out the binoculars for that.....

downtheroad.org

On our bike tour we avoid rules. What you may not know is that this is not just a summer trip we are on. I wouldn't even call it expedition touring but rather this is where we live (6 years and counting) and literally everything we own.

We could get by on less for a shorter period, we don't have every item with us all the time but because this is where we live a few extra clothing items and gadgets makes life much more comfortable. The same goes with the pots, we could get by on less but the kit fits together well and we regularly use all of it.

Ken Wind

I'm surprised that you are getting rid of the radio. How will you get local news stories that may be relevant to you? What about severe weather warnings?

downtheroad.org

We let go of the goal of going faster a long time ago. The intent of our tour is to learn as much as we can from the people and places we have the privilege of visiting and faster would only take away from the educational experiences we seek. After 6 years of living on bicycles we learned to travel at our own pace and comfort level. Going faster, by definition, is more than what we would normally go. In short, to ask us to travel faster is like asking a rural Mexican farmer that to live faster.

All of the extra comfort gadget items we carry are purely for our own enjoyment. We have met people pulling well-loved dogs in trailers or guitars bungee corded on the rear rack because these things made them happy and increased their comfort level.

The extra tools and spare parts we carry come from experiencing truly challenging days in extremely impoverished countries. For example: I may only use the spare tire once every 24 months but those few times have really saved our trip and once even our lives.

Yes, we carry much more than the bare minimum. Most of the cyclists we meet in our travels who are also on multi year international trips carrying a bit of extra items that help turn the sport of bicycle touring into a life that is lived on the road.

downtheroad.org

Ken

You are right about the radio, it is a difficult thing to give up and will be missed. But we use it less and less because of internet and podcasts. My MP3 player picks up FM radio but not with good reception local talk radio. It may be that we use a shortwave radio in the future when traveling in developing countries.

downtheroad.org

Rob

Cindie likes to look at wild life and will not give up her binoculars. Her opinion is that it would be crazy to travel in Australia without them because there is so much to see. However, she didn’t use them much in New Zealand or South America but will be using them in North America so it does depend on where you go.


Cindie says your first aid kit list is fantastic, and she has carried most of the items you listed one time or another and got into the habit of carrying antibiotics at all times. We have never used a Malaria kit, that might be handy in SE Asia and South America, instead Cindie uses a thermometer and if either of us had a fever then we would get tested immediately. We carried an acute dose of Malaron in SE Asia just in case we suspected Malaria and were not near a hospital.

We recently used Mebendazole for a parasite that I contracted in SE Asia.

For us, the biggest unknown in long term bicycle touring is illness, so the better prepared you are for it the better. Thanks for your list it is great.

We have carried all the other items you have mentioned too, except the kindle reader, now that would be nice. Thanks for you suggestions on the items we missed.

downtheroad.org

Oh yeah toilet paper, we would never forget that on the road. Thanks for reminding us.

jwa

What do you use hose clamps for?

downtheroad.org

Thank you very much for this comment. On some of my early trips, long before the one we are currently on, I carried hose clamps to fix broken racks. Your comment reminded me that I have not broken a rack in the past six years. It must have been more common in the past. If I did ever break a rack I know that hose clamps are found in many auto parts stores around the world. I am giving any hose clamps I find in my stuff to my brother in law before we leave in a few weeks. Thanks again for your help.

jwa

Cool. Not to further quibble, given your experience ( !!! ) but why carry cable cutters? i.e., rather than just looping the end around & cutting it when you get to an automotive garage? Or is it one of those extra-cables-have-heads-on-both-ends issues?

And another thing - again, curiosity only - spare shoe cleat/attachment screws? Seems to me that that's about the only screw on a bike that one couldn't get a reasonable equivalent at a hardware store. Or do you guys use toe clips? Or "regular" pedals?

Well, one more... ever try those water bottles with a built-in filter? I recognize they're not purifiers, but I always thought they'd be a useful accessory, rather than the full filter/pump thing.

mike

I didn't see "team of sherpa to schlep all this gear for me" on your list. You will be needing them, of course.

I read a book a couple of years ago - a diary really, of a guy who bicycled across the USA from San Francisco to New York. He had everything in a frame pack that fit in the diamond shaped space of his frame. I think he carried something like 35 or 40 lbs. He is an inpiration to be sure and I think that the book included his packing list.

Oh ya did I mention that he made the trip in 1897!!! Of course, there were no bicycle shops along the way, but he did visit blacksmiths a few times for repairs. I think he saved weight by not having any road maps and no credit card to lug around.

You might do well to read this book before you pack.

downtheroad.org

Thanks everyone for your help. The revised and updated list is posted at
https://downtheroad.org/adventure-tra...-packing-list/
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