mtclifford

Just curious about this. I was packing for my trip along the GAP and C&O on Thursday and had whittled down my gear from my last tour. I dropped a lot of clothes, but the one thing I can't give up is my netbook. Yeah it weights 5 pounds and takes up space but since I suffer from insomnia it helps to keep my from going crazy if I wake up in the middle of the woods at 2am and can't get back to sleep.

Just curious what other people bring along that they know is completely unnecessary but they wouldn't travel without.

JohnyW

All things are completely unnecessary except of money, passport, flight ticket and bike. I carry 40 kg unnecessary suff with me First aid kit, tools and spare parts are things that I even don't like to use on tour

staehpj1

I carried about 30 pounds of stuff on my last tour and most of it wasn't necessary. A few of the unnecessary items were:

1. Second set of bike clothes
2. Camera
3. Cellphone
4. Palm sized internet tablet (N800 7 ounces)
5. iPod Shuffle full of audio books
6. Cooking gear
7. Pillow
8. Crocs

robow

I'm sure those that rode behind and downwind of you wouldn't see this one as unnecessary

Erick L

The two biggest unnecessary things I bring are photo equipment (including tripod) and hiking shoes, although I'd be flotting in the sea if it weren't for the shoes. I could say the bike shoes are the unnecessary items. Photography is equally, if not more important than biking for me so I wouldn't travel without it.

tate65

A small laptop, at least on propose.

As a fairly new tourer I always find I have unnecessary stuff. Every ride I reduce the stuff down.

VT_Speed_TR

All my comforts that I pack are necessary or else I wouldn't bring them

nancy sv

I carry a couple of pounds of beads - along with needles and thread and such - in my panniers. But I'm a bead artist and that is what I do - so it is worth it to me! You can see my beadwork here: www.familyonbikes.org/beads

yeamac 

Depends on if you want to define a necessity more broadly or more narrowly.

Narrowly almost everything is unnecessary as Johny states above.

More broadly, I'm with VT Speed, anything that you determine you need for your tour is a necessity. Multi-tool gives me peace of mind, even though I may not even use it (hopefully). Necessity. Camera is a necessity, because I am not going to tour and see all these neat things without recording the images to show people later. Laptop, for under a week tour I can do without and just write a journal when I get home. But if your laptop keeps you from going crazy while you have insomnia, I'd classify that as a necessity.

cyccommute 

It's only unnecessary if you don't use it I've used everything I carry at least once on all of my tours. That includes the overly stocked toolkit that I carry in my Camelbak. On my last trip, I even needed the spoke wrench to tweak a wheel that I foolishly built but didn't ride before touring

Machka 

+1

But if we're talking luxuries here, over the years I've discovered I can tour without these items, but I prefer to tour with them:

1) Three inflatable pillows, rather than just one or none

2) Wool socks, the heavy and warm kind, not the little-bitty cycling socks

I like to be warm and comfortable when I sleep!! If I have a bad night's sleep, I'll have a rough day cycling the next day.


BTW - instead of a laptop on a tour, Rowan and I have used his pocketmail. It's a whole lot smaller and lighter!! We can type emails at any time of the day, and "mail" them whenever we get to a phone. If I want to type a journal, I can email the daily stories to myself to post on my website later using the pocketmail as well.

And if I want to access the internet to check BF or whatever, I can do that at a library along the way.

Juha

In the lines of luxury: a small hip flask full of Single Malt Scotch. It's not a necessity, and the timing has to be just right. But on every tour, I've had at least one "perfect" night for it, usually by an open fire by a lake or river. I've finished a good meal, then have a cup of strong black tea with honey and a sip of Scotch. It never tastes better.

--J

JohnyW

not so a bad choice Sometimes even necessary...

truman

+1 on the Scotch.
and maybe a cigar.

BigBlueToe

I carry a small Thermarest pillow. It's so much more comfortable than wadded up clothes in a stuff sack, and it weighs little.

The other thing is coffee, a one-cup coffee funnel, filters, and a plastic travel mug. Sure, I could probably wait until I got on the road in the morning to stop and get a cup of coffee, but I wouldn't be as contented if I couldn't brew myself a cup whenever I want.

fireweed

a small pair of good binoculars and a bird book...

imi

I've been battling with this one... I bought a new sleeping bag which came with a free present... a blow-uppable travel pillow which is so horribly comfortable that I'll take it with me next tour... gonna miss that aching neck in the mornings

brucewiley

My candle lantern, it seems so soothing to read by or just have it on in my campsite at night.

huie

I always bring five juggling balls with me. Doesn't help me out while cycling but it's a great way for me to clear my mind and pass the night away.

benajah

I always bring a whole set of books, usually three or four. Ive always been a bookworm, and even though they are heavy as can be, I always carry them, usually some novel, some nonfiction science book or something, and some sort of nature manual like edible plants or tree guide or something like that. Backpacking too, I even carried them in Iraq and Afghanistan when I was in the army and people made fun of me for it.

stevage

To be honest, I barely take any luxuries at all with me. I took a netbook on my last tour, but that was so I could do work on the train to and from the start.

Hmm, I'm seriously trying to think of anything unnecessary I bring... occasionally a thin book. Coffee bags maybe. I bring a compact camera, but I wouldn't call that a luxury.

Oh...I guess the Exped Downmat 7 is a luxury, because I could definitely get by with a foam mat. But god dang it's comfortable

stevage

Kudos if you can juggle 5. Never got there myself. Plateaued at a shakey 4 ball shower and a few 5 ball multiplex patterns.

BigBlueToe

I've always wanted a guitar with me but it's too bulky and heavy. I'm thinking of taking up the mandolin.

Jim from Boston

I haven't toured since the early Sony Walkman era, but I consider my I-pod (or Walkman) a necessity and don't leave home without it. Pretty much the same for cell phone, and less the camera.

Boondock

I bought a BOB trailer for touring just so I could bring my ukulele. A ukulele is tuned exactly like the first four strings of a guitar with a capo on the fifth fret. (so, all the chord forms are the same, a D chord on the guitar is a G chord on the uke so it's an easy transition for guitar players) A soprano uke is 20 inches long and in a soft gig bag, easily fits inside the Bob drybag if anybody was curious.