geemac

Hey there,

I am new here and new to touring. I am going on my first long fully loaded tour pretty soon (starts sunday) on the pacific coast. Basically the whole mexico to canada deal. I am traveling south to north, and yes, I know why I shouldn't. Maybe this tour will reaffirm your belief that it is a horrible idea, or maybe do just the opposite. We will find out . Well, I am traveling solo, and I tried to get my gear list to be as minimalistic as possible, while still allowing be to be comfortable for 35 days. Would you mind seeing if I forgot anything?



Bike stuff (lemond poprad)



-2 bottle cages
-Rear rack
-Bike Computer
-Lock
-Head and Tail Lights
-Underseat bag-Handlebar bag
-Main stuff sack (Sea to Summit Event Compression Dry Sack 30 L)
stuff sack modified with webbing to double as a backpack. Fill it up with everything on the bike when I am parking the bicycle... going into the library or something.
-2 very small uberlightweight sheet metal panniers. One for water, the other for other stuff. I might not need these, if I can, I will ditch them.
-A few plastic bags and spare straps.
-rearview mirror

TOOLS & SPARES
-Crank Brothers multi tool
-Crescent Wrench
-Knife
-Pump
-2 tyre levers
-Duct tape
-Patch kit w/ boot
-3 spare Tubes
-Zip Ties
-electrical tape
-Chain lube

CAMPING
-lightsabre bivy
-Sleeping bag liner
-Sleeping pad
-Head lamp

Food/Water
-Water bottles in Cages and 98 oz. Nalgene Canteen (flexy plastic resevoir)
-Spoon/knife/fork lexan combo deal

CLOTHES

-Buff www.buffwear.com
-Helmet
-Glasses
-Cycling jerseyx2
-Cycling shortsx2
-Cycling gloves
-Socksx2
-bike Shoes
-crocs
-Rain jacket.
-Light fleece glove liners.
-Casual shirt
-Convertible pant/shorts
-Capilene Pullover.
-Armwarmers.

Still debating on what to bring jacket wise...


PHOTOGRAPHY/ELECTRONICS
-Digital camera with battery.
-Cell Phone.
-Solio solar charger deal.

PAPER
-Passport, Wallet, License, checkbook
-Maps
-Bible
-Couple pieces of paper and a pen

Toiletries
-Tooth brush + paste.
-Bag Balm
-Sun screen.
-Microfibre towel
-Medical kit
-Ear Plugs
-Soap/Shampoo

Thanks for you input!

freemti

leg tights. Jury seems out on the solio charger.

tomn

Click-Stand! Sorry, couldn't resist.

Tom

geemac

Thanks for the plug tom! That product looks really cool. Maybe for the next trip, as I have little time or money at this point.

Free, I am still not sure whether or not I like leg tights... Seems like I could wear my convertible pants to keep cold air off of my legs until they warm up.

And as for the solio, I wanted to see if it would even really work. On top of that, when I hit public libraries I can just plug into a wall outlet and charge that way. I like the idea of an external battery.

Thanks for the help!

staehpj1

I found tights to be very useful on tour if you will encounter any chilly weather. Much nicer on the bike than the convertible pants IMO. Off the bike they double as long underwear under the convertible pants or as sleepwear when an extra layer is needed.

staehpj1

Bad idea. I would think long and hard about that, but It's your trip. Out of curiosity, why would you do it that way?

The packing list looks reasonable. I do usually find that I can carry all of the correct size wrenches for my bike and they weigh less than a 6" crescent wrench.

I hope you have a great trip; the coast is beautiful!

neilfein

+1 on tights, particularly since you're camping. Keep in mind that the hour or two before sunrise is the coldest part of the day.

IronMac

I'd bring two inner tubes max but that's just me. The worst time I've ever had with flats were three days in a row...pffft...pffft..pffft and I only had one spare tube with me.

valygrl

so, really, no sleeping bag? I would bring a down jacket, then.

neilfein

I actually used up three tubes to change one flat a few days back. (Lousy performance tubes; they all had bad valves.)

8bit

I like your list overall, especially that it all goes into the stuff sack. Overall, I'd only add a spare chain link or two (like an SRAM powerlink that you can get at a bike store), a real chain tool unless the one on your multitool is really decent (most aren't), and a fiberfix spoke or two. A bandana to tuck into the back of your helmet and hang loose could really help with sun and does make you feel a lot cooler, especially if you wet it. You could even trade one of the cycling jerseys for a shirt that works off-bike as well, but that's personal preference.

Your list looks pretty similar to mine, which is here: 8bit's touring list

Cerberusgl

I just went from Sacramento to Oxnard a little over a week ago and felt sorry for the few riders I saw fighting the wind on thier way North. Although I did have my share of headwinds but it was lighter the then most of the tailwinds I had. Got 1 flat where the tuffo liner rubbed a whole in the tube where the liner overlaps.

I would rather have a sleeping bag and a tarp than a Bivy and liner. It sucks to be shivering at 4 in the morning trying to figure out if I can hold my blader until sunrise.
I have a battery back about the size of a deck of cards that has adoptors to charge most of the electronics I bring, gps, Ipod & phone. Then just recharge the pack when I get a chance.

neilfein

Why electrical tape? You can wrap some duct tape around a pencil, and it's more useful. You can also use the pencil.

Jacket: Bring along a synthetic long-sleeved shirt instead, of the sort you find in sports stores. If it gets really cold, add arm warmers or even the rain jacket.

Rain pants? (Tights are fine for very light rain, BTW.)

I picked up a clickstand for my last tour, and barely used it. The brake bands it coems with are, however, incredibly useful, (leaning aganst walls, fences, trees, etc) but two of them snapped on me. A piece of velcro does the same job, but it takes more time.

geemac

Thanks for all the responses! I think that the tubes are somewhat of a non-issue. I will be starting out with three, and probably just carry two after that.

I do have a chain link. I meant duct tape, not sure why it says electrical, and it is wrapped around my pencil


I have never had an issue with spokes, and I figure if that ever happened I will be close to a bike shop almost all the time. My bike is coming off of a very recent tune, and I dont forsee any issues like that, especially since I am traveling lightweight.

8bit, the bandana is kind of a trade off with the buff, I think they should accomplish the same thing.

Cerb, the solar charger is suprisingly lightweight, and it will be nice to have the option to charge on the road.

If anything doesnt work (i.e. sleeping situation) I can just get stuff shipped out to me at some point. Plus, I come from a mountaineering background, so I am used to sleeping out in the cold.

Lastly, why head north?

To me, it seems like the main issue with northbound travel is the prevailing headwind. If I leave early in the morning, I should be able to avoid the majority of it. Plus, I am young so I will just suffer through it. I have a ride down south, and I live up north. I would rather ride towards my house, and it just works out better in terms of visiting a few friends I want to see along the way. And people do ride northbound, it just isn't quite utilizing the route to it's full potential. I see the trip as a lot of fun nonetheless.

freemti

It all depends on the weather doesn't it. I too went light on my recent trip. It rained the entire first week and while it was not winter cold, without my tights I would have been very uncomfortable. They also worked well at keeping most of the rain off, I'm not sure why since they were not water proof, I think it might be that they are thin & skintight so the water really has no place to "go".

I didn't notice that you are not packing a sleeping bag, again weather would be my concern here as you get up north and even desert country can get cool at night. Again, leg tights might help here too. I used a tech blanket with sleeping bag liner for my sleeping arangement and there were nights when it was not enough. Sleeping in my clothes with my leg tights enabled me to get a modicum of decent sleep as opposed to a shivering the night through.

YMMV!

zonatandem

Jacket: wind/rainproof. Leg warmers (wool if possible). Cycling cap (bill keeps sun/rain off glasses). 2 spare chainlinks/chaintool. Removable headlight can be used as camplight. Aspirin/ibuprofen. Lipbalm.

antokelly

good luck buddy hope it's a great trip.mind yourself.

The Figment

Socks...at least a coupla pair.

Edit: opps now I see 'em

Booger1

By the look of those wheels,I'd bring a handful of spokes.

Have fun,a great ride,even if you are going the wrong way.

geemac

Well, it sounds like tights might be a worthwhile investment. Maybe wool leg warmers? Zon, good idea with the cycling cap!

Again, if I find myself miserable, I can do something with the sleeping situation.

I weighed my bike today, and it should be running a bit under 45 dry, fully loaded. For those of you who pack 45 pounds, mine is with the bicycle included A bit heftier than I had hoped, but still should be fine. Thanks for all the input. I will report back once I find out just how bad the headwinds are

Clarenza

Good list. You may want to consider:
A super fine merino undershirt - very handy for layering, esp. if you're going sans sleeping bag (~175gm / 6oz)
Socks should be wool too, not cotton
Not sure what size microfibre towel you're packing - two small ones are lighter and more effective than one large one (90% dry with the first, 100% with the second)
Toilet paper - maybe depends where you're camping
Wet wipes
FiberFix replacement spokes - they're SO light (~12gm / .4oz) and cheap ($US9.95) - worth it (see Peter White Cycles)

Re the jacket, there are some using the eVENT fabric (same as Sea to Summit use in the compression dry sack in your list). Haven't used one but they look pretty interesting (waterproof, breathable, lightweight). Vaude have one, the Casella eVENT IV.

geemac

Just finished my ride a few weeks ago. 27 days total, would have been closer to 20 if I was in shape when I started. Riding south to north is fine. Somedays you have a headwind, some days you have a tailwind. My spokes didn't ever break because I wasn't carrying too much gear. Everything worked out well, thanks for all of the input. I was glad to have brought a down jacket and legwarmers.

Dan The Man

I think everyone just prefers north to south because it looks like everything is downhill when you see it on a map.

neilfein

Pictures pictures pictures?

geemac

https://tetongravity.com/forums/showthread.php?t=128918