BestSportEver

So I am planning my first solo tour of 3-4 days/220 miles. I already have some very light weight backpacking gear from a trip I took 2 years ago. Water will be readily available and I will eat lunch at resaurants. I am mainly taking this trip to help break in my new Brooks Saddle and because I had to use up my vacation days or they would "expire". Roads will be paved except for about 20 miles of gravel. Let me know if you see anything missing.


Here is the gear I will be taking. You can Also check out the bike here as well.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/47554123@N05/4802777359/

Along with this I will be taking the following:
2 tubes and patch kit
2 Spare Cables
Flip Flops
First Aid Kit
Baby Wipes
Dehydrated Meals for dinner and breakfast (expensive, yes. Lightweight and delicious, yes)
Two extra shirts for camp
Two pair of gym shorts for camp
Socks
Camera

10 Wheels

Flash Light

Bug Spray

Pump

Cyclebum

Nice Flicker display. Think I'll look into getting one of those Windpro stoves. Why the two sleeping pads?

Don't forget a few cable ties, duct tape, string and a knife. I tear the duct tape down the middle and wrap some around a short piece of pvc.

lvleph

I don't understand why you need a tent and a hammock. A hammock and a tarp would be fine. Also, I don't understand why you have two sleeping pads.

BestSportEver

I need two sleeping pads because I have a bad back and two pads makes it possible for me to even go camping. Why carry a tent and a hammock? Because I like to have options and everything in that picture totals less than 25 lbs. . . . so why not?

I do need to get some bug spray though..

travelmama

Carry Skin-So-Soft by Avon. It functions as a skin moisturizer and repels insects.

staehpj1

Consider sunscreen, soap, small towel, toothbrush/paste, blinkie light,*pump and maybe a headlamp or flashlight.

Two extra camp shirts seems a bit much for 3-4 days ditto for the camp shorts unless you plan to swim in them. I find one tech shirt and one pair of running shorts sufficient even on a multi month tour unless I expect one pairs of the shorts to act as swim trunks.

Personally I'd rather buy fresh food as I go, but If you like the freeze dried stuff go for it. I generally find most of it pretty nasty.

Have a great trip.

BigBlueToe

I try and buy food every day - preferably as close to the end of the ride as possible. If I know there's not going to be a chance to shop I'll carry extra food. Of course, there are always a few miscellaneous things in my food bag - the second half of a bag of salad, packets of instant oatmeal because they come in boxes of twelve, some good coffee, etc.

I only carry one spare tube. I have few flat issues - since I put Schwalbe Marathons on my LHT I haven't had one in three tours. Normally, when you get a flat you can fix it with a patch kit, so I put the new one on and keep the one with the puncture as a backup. I did tear out a stem once, but was able to make it to a bike shop before getting a flat in the backup tube. Even if I had, the chances are slim that it would have been another unpatchable problem, so I would have been able to patch it and keep riding.

I also have back problems. I bought a Big Agnes Insulated Air-core air mattress and it solved my problems. Occasionally I get a little sore, but a couple of ibuprofens and it's not an issue.

If insects are going to be a problem, I suggest you buy some repellant before you leave home. I forgot on my just-completed tour. When I tried to buy some on the road, all I could find was a big aerosol can. It was fine, but heavier than I would like. It's always good to save an ounce or two when you can, right?

On a tour of only 3-4 days you can probably stay clean. On longer tours when I'm camping it gets hard. Often campgrounds don't have showers, and when they do I often don't have any clean clothes to put on. I just resign myself to the fact that I'm going to be grubby and gross. Having only one shirt and pair of shorts would be no big deal on a short tour.

I don't like dehydrated meals - partly because I'm diabetic and it's hard to find ones that aren't loaded with sugar. I carry a loaf of bread, a small jar of peanut butter, and a tube of sugar-free jam. I make PB&J sandwiches for snacks. In a pinch I can have them for dinner - if I'm expecting to buy food and can't find any. I did that once - ate 2 PB&J sandwiches for dinner. It wasn't that bad.

spry

Bottle opener for import beer.
Nothing says recovery like a Warsteiner.

lucille

Couple of bungees and some zipties.

I would take a dehydrated meal as an emergency, but try to get fresh food. Also, cous cous is a great camping food, all you need is some hot water and container with a lid. You don't need to cook it, just pour hot water and cover.

antokelly

tin opener/ water carrier/small radio .have fun on your tour let us know how it went.

cyclist2000

a cycling specific multi tool.
I would also have a tent pole repair sleeve. I broke the end of an aluminum pole on my last tour.

indyfabz

Ditto on the fresh food (except for one emergency meal) unless you will be in an area where options are very limited.

Eating utensils. Corkscrew if you drink wine. Helmet.

Agree that two shirts seems like a lot of a short tour. I crossed the country with two. Rain gear if there is a chance of rain, especially cold rain.

John Nelson

Lose the Gerber and add a cycling multitool instead.

adamrice 

Wind a couple yards of duct tape, or better yet, Gorilla tape, around your pump.

NoGaBiker

Ditto the Big Agnes, or even lighter (and spendier) the new Thermarest NeoAir. 14 ounces, inflatable, stuffs to the size of a Nalgene bottle, seriously. Problem? $150! ! !

But these mattresses sleep better (to my old bones) than any of the 5 Thermarest foams I have, and weigh a third as much and fit inside a backpack or pannier, rather than having to be lashed outside.

BestSportEver

Thanks for all the input. I should have added this originally, but I thought it would be presumed that I would have a bike specific mulit-tool, frame pump, tubes, patches, flashlight, and blinkies (two front and rear). I was a roadie for a couple years before discovering that you don't have to race everywhere.

So this is what I will be adding and then I am outta here:
Duct Tape
Insect repell
Flashlight and headlamp

As far as the food goes, I appreciate all the suggestions but I am an experience hiker and I like most of these freez-dried meals. They are light weight and packed with carbs and calories.

https://www.rei.com/category/4500042

I am loading it all up tomorrow and will post some picts before I depart and when I get back.

Thanks again.

hopperja

I haven't done any touring yet, but I will one day. However, I have over 8,000, year around commuting miles in the past several years. I have commuted on days that were hot and sunny, to days that were 35 degrees and raining. I have NEVER broken a cable. All cables are multi strand, and I have had one cable that had one strand break. That was 2,000 or 3,000 miles ago and I haven't replaced it yet. Why spare cables on a 220 mile trip?

Oh, and I would keep the Gerber. Even commuting, I carry a Crank Bros 19 multi tool and a SOG PowerLock EOD Multi Tool. They have two different functions and, on occaision, I have needed both.