Bike Tour Tips
By Seager - Siryaps.blogspot.com
Editing and additions by Iris Seager
Click to download PDF version of this guide, packlist, and diagrams
Click to download PDF version of this guide, packlist, and diagrams
Information based off 2003, 2007,
and 2014 x-country group and solo bike tours. Much of it is from experience,
and some of it is from talking to other baggers. This is how I tour, but it is
not the only way. Feel free to take or leave any advice or suggestions.
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| Solar panel on back, water bottles wrapped in blue bandana to keep cool. |
Gear
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| Pack Diagram. Also in above PDF |
I just put an Old Man Mountain rear
rack on my main bike because it attaches to the hub instead of the frame. I did
this because I kept breaking off braze-ons.
This shouldn’t happen to you IF you keep your rack bolts tight (check
them every couple days). If they get loose, they will create a lever, and the
weight of your bags can snap off your braze-on. Then you are screwed (hah,
pun!) unless a rancher welds your bike back together. I broke one on my 1st tour, and
the same one broke on my last tour because it was still weak.
I’ve used many different panniers. Ortilebs
are good, and I really like Axioms. On my last tour, I used Axiom Kootenays for
fronts and Ortlieb rears. I have used huge Axiom rears as well.
I prefer touring on 700x32 Bontrager
Hardcases (wide tires save wrists) and think they are a good compromise between flat protection and handling. Many people tour on Schwalbe Marathons, but I think they sacrifice too much handling for protection. They are a great commuter tire though.
I use friction bar-end shifters, double-wrapped drop bars, a Specialized Alias saddle, and a beautiful 2003 Jamis Aurora. I have 5 bottle cages on my bike and a Cateye computer. My“heavy rig” is 100lbs with bike. As I described above, I’m trying to shave that down with a 2 panniers system. I ride a 36 rear and 32 spoke front wheels with Shimano SLX hubs and with Ryno Lite and Mavic rims. Hand built wheels are worth it.
I use friction bar-end shifters, double-wrapped drop bars, a Specialized Alias saddle, and a beautiful 2003 Jamis Aurora. I have 5 bottle cages on my bike and a Cateye computer. My“heavy rig” is 100lbs with bike. As I described above, I’m trying to shave that down with a 2 panniers system. I ride a 36 rear and 32 spoke front wheels with Shimano SLX hubs and with Ryno Lite and Mavic rims. Hand built wheels are worth it.
This rig would not be suitable for touring outside of North
America.
Outside of the US 26” Schrader wheels are better because it’s easier to
find replacement tires and tubes. Wider
tires are also better because the roads tend to be worse or sometimes
unpaved. Europe has good roads, but it’s
still better to go with 26” wheels.
(Disclaimer: I’ve never toured outside of the North America, but this is
advice I’ve heard from many people who have.)
Packing Tips
- Pack bags with the weight balanced low and towards the center of the bike (not how you’d pack a backpacking pack). Cinch the load down tight.
- Pack about 55% of weight in front panniers and 45% in year panniers.
- If you get shimmy from an unbalanced load (usually when descending), pinch the top tube between your knees. Try speeding up or slowing down; shimmy usually happens and specific speeds.
- If you do get shimmy, pack your bags better (see above).
- I cover my rear water bottles in a bandana to protect them from the sun (I have tri cages that attach under my saddle).
- I wrap rear water bags in a sarong to keep them cool when carrying extra water.
- Keep your off-bike sun shirt handy to stay warm or shaded during breaks.
- Keep a bandana in your handlebar bag for nose-blowing.
- Pack your rain gear higher on rainy days.
- Pack warm gear the the top on long cooler climbs, you may want it for the downhill.
- Pack TP and Wet Wipes into a plastic shopping bag for a discreet toilet kit.
- Keep spork and knife handy for snacks and eating out of cans.
- Put a day’s worth of snacks (Cliff bars, etc.) in the handlebar bag in the morning.
- A tarp and/or tent ground cloth makes a great picnic blanket, wind break, and sleeping mat for under the sleeping pad when going tentless.
- I prefer riding in Shimano cycling sandals and using wool socks and waterproof socks when I need them. This is a favorite among many baggers.
- I carried a massage stick called “The Stick” to rub out my muscles. I consider the extra weight to be worth the improved muscle performance and reduced risk of injury. You can also hit dogs with it if they are chasing you – although a spray in the face with a water bottle usually suffices.
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| Sarong shade with butt-pad and massage stick |
- “Baggers” is common slang for self-supported bike tourers.
- A sarong can serve as sun shade when tied to the bike during lunches. Think of it as a roadside blanket fort.
- A Sarong or off-bike pants serve as a butt-pad during lunches.
- Wash clothes early so the sun can dry them during the day’s ride.
- Swim trunks may seem superfluous, but are great if you don’t want to wear sweaty bike shorts while washing and drying your pants. You can also us a sarong (the Leatherman of clothing), but as a guy I don’t feel comfortable doing that in more remote conservative areas
- Top your tires off about every other day.
- Keep your chain clean and lubed every few days.
- Circle punctures on tubes with a Sharpie so you don’t lose them.
- Use a highlighter on maps to help plan routes.
- Know how to remove a broken chain link, true a wheel missing a spoke or two, adjust brakes, change brake pads, and fix a flat.You can learn on YouTube. Practice before you leave.
- Check your rack screws for tightness every couple days.
- Know how to patch your sleeping pad. http://www.backpacker.com/view/videos/skills-videos/learn-to-patch-a-sleeping-pad/
- In desert areas, especially in areas like Eastern Oregon, Eastern Washington, and Idaho, try to avoid riding on gravel shoulders and parking lots. They frequently will have the evil Goathead thorns from the Puncture Vine. They will go through most flat proof tires.
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| Goatheads! Stay Away! |
Body Care
Personal hygiene discipline is very
important. There are several things you
need to care for several times a day: your skin, your tendons/ligaments,
your muscles, and your brain.
Skin
In addition to the obvious things
like sun screen, pay very close attention to your crotch. To prevent saddle sores change out of bike
shorts as soon as you can after riding and hang them to dry. Air out your
crotch area and allow it to dry. If you can, assist the drying and healing with
Gold Bond powder. Use Chamois Butt’r or
a similar sport-specific skin lubricant while riding (twice a day is usually
good for me) to lubricate the area. In recent years, different
types of “butter” have hit the market: Euro Style has a “minty tingle,” and
there’s also a formula called ‘Her’ which is pH-balanced for people with
vaginas.
Never go swimming in your bike
shorts, and wash them every couple of days.
At the very least, rinse the salt out of them. After washing your bike shorts, hang them on
the back of your bike to dry after riding, right side out (the sun damages the chamois.) 2 – 3 pairs
recommended, especially if rain is possible.
If saddle sores form, and they will,
medicate with Neosporin overnight. If they get itchy or appear flakey, you have
jock itch. Tinactin cream and spray will both help (the spray burns, but it’s
worth it).
I didn’t shower too frequently [Ed. note: SHOCK!] (going a week or more
at times), but I did have wet wipes for my butt and used Gold Bond at least once a day (after riding).
Muscles, tendons, and ligaments
These things rebuild while sleeping,
so try to get full nights of sleep. Muscles like protein, sodium, potassium,
and sugar. Tendons and ligaments like calcium and magnesium. All like
water. Cliff Bars, milk, oatmeal, Emergen-C,
and vitamin pills are my main sources. Chocolate milk is a favorite mid-day break beverage.
Frozen peas make great ice packs for
after rides and you can eat them later.
Sleeping in ace bandages (compression) helps heal tendon and ligament
hot-spots. Be sure to pack ibuprofen.
I suggest you stick to a strict
stretching discipline at every stop. If
you have to, say “discipline” to yourself in Cartman’s voice. At every rest stop,
I always roll out my legs with a massage stick and then take a long
stretch. This keeps lactic acid from
rotting your muscles during your break and increases healing circulation. As a result, I rarely had issues being sore
getting back on the bike. Also roll-out and stretch before riding at the
beginning of the day.
Brain
Your brain needs water, sleep, sugar, sodium, and potassium to think. It also needs you to practice strict mental discipline to “keep your mind right.” Everyone has their own mental games to get through something like this. I can’t tell you what yours will look like, but have a game. Don’t neglect your mental state. Bike touring is hard!
Your brain needs water, sleep, sugar, sodium, and potassium to think. It also needs you to practice strict mental discipline to “keep your mind right.” Everyone has their own mental games to get through something like this. I can’t tell you what yours will look like, but have a game. Don’t neglect your mental state. Bike touring is hard!
Maps and Route Finding
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| Adventure Cycling Elevation |
Adventure Cycling Maps
The Adventure Cycling maps are
awesome! They are pricy, but they are very useful and are especially good for
new baggers and in the mountains.
Traditional paper maps don’t have elevation, so you won’t realize that
the town 20 miles away on the map has a mountain pass on the way and that it
will actually take you 4 hours to get there.
Of course, there are tricks you can use to guess elevation on
traditional maps. For example, out west, if you see the road leave a river and
then go to another, you can bet there is a big hill or pass in the middle. The Adventure
Cycling maps make it much easier to know what to expect. You need that elevation to plan your daily
mileages. I love the AC maps of Eastern
Oregon. In flatter areas, the AC maps
don’t bother with elevation.
Adventure Cycling maps also have
information about what services are available in towns, accurate mileage, places
to stay, and lots of cool background/ecological/geological information.
The downside of AC maps is that they
hold you to a set route. It’s useful to
have a regular map along anyway to give you a broader perspective and knowledge
about alternate routes. However, going off the AC map increases the touring
challenge and danger. Personally, I find
AC maps to make the experience a little too easy, and prefer finding my own way
and relying on locals for information about services in most areas.
If you take AC routes you’ll meet a
lot of other baggers, and towns will be used to you. That can be good or
bad. If they are too used to baggers,
they try to make money off you and free sleeping becomes very hard. However, what you pay for is often cheap and
great, and meeting other riders is awesome!
AC routes often create bagger bottle necks. Certain towns are the
perfect distance for stopping from either direction, and these towns often have
several baggers a night during peak summer months. That can be really
fun! Lochsa Lodge one day west of
Missoula is a good example of one of these bottlenecks.
Other Maps
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| A Warren Map of Indiana |
You can also buy maps at gas
stations, although they are getting hard to find in the world of smartphones. What you want is a map that you
can fold into your handlebar bag window (not those laminated EZ Fold maps), and
a map that has the smallest roads possible WITH mileages. A map without small road mileages is useless.
You want a map that differentiates paved from gravel roads if possible. You
also want a map that has the most differentiation in dot/font size for small
towns so you can tell a town of 500 apart from a town of 5,000. A map with the
smallest dot being 10,000 is not very useful.
These concerns are more important in the Midwest and other more
populated areas. When I’m in the Midwest I really like Warren Maps and dislike
Rand McNally Maps.
Routing Tips and Tricks
Ask Locals!
How to route yourself depends on
where you are. Routing in the West and Midwest/East is different, but one thing
is the same: Never trust your map;
always interview locals.
Let’s say there is a town on your
map that the dot says is about 100-5,000 people. Out west that town could very possibly not
exist, and if it does exist it may not have drinkable water. In the Midwest/East it likely exists, but may
not have any stores, supplies, or public water because everyone drives to a
different town 15 miles away instead. On route finding, be sure to ask in towns
if the next few towns on the map 1) are really there and 2) have drinkable
water. ALWAYS ask. Pretend you are Lewis
and Clark interviewing the locals. Ask more than one person if you can. If you screw this part up, you could die out
west. You should do this even if you
are using Adventure Cycling maps, because things change. While you’re at it,
ask about road conditions (pavement, shoulders, traffic, construction) and
hills, keeping in mind that non-bikers usually understate hills and distances.
Out west, if a town exists is likely has everything you need. Even a tiny town of 20 people could have a
general store, because that serves a wide area of ranchers. In the Midwest,
however, a town of 1,000 could have nothing. The more grouped towns are
together, the less likely you are to find supplies in any particular one of
them. Likely there are a few stores in
one town that everyone goes to, and if you don’t ask locals you won’t know
which random town to ride to. This is especially a problem in Northern Wisconsin.
Asking locals is a good ice breaker,
and often you learn really neat things about the area or even find a place to
stay or free food.
Other Routing Tips
The main road on a map out west that
isn’t interstate should be fine traffic wise, and often there are no other
options. Ask locals.
In the Midwest the main roads on
maps are full of traffic but often there are unmapped county roads or smaller
mapped roads. I like playing unmapped “County Road Roulette” (You lose when you
get stuck on gravel). To play, simply aim your bike the direction you want to
go, and when your county road turns to gravel jog a bit to the left or right
until you find another parallel road.
Usually these roads are unmapped, but you should know what two major
roads you are between. Be careful not to
miss whatever town you are aiming for. Power
lines and water towers will help you locate it.
In most places, if your highway
crosses the interstate, there will likely be a rest stop there with supplies.
If you are lucky enough to find a
highway that parallels the interstate but is maybe 30-50 miles away (depends on
region), that interstate will pull all the through traffic and truck traffic
off your highway.
Concerning Water
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| 2L bag on back wrapped in Sarong |
In my 2007 tour I once burned 5 bottles in 30 miles because
of 115 deg headwinds and hills ( I wrote about this last summer.) I did the
last 10 miles with no water and couldn’t ride for 2 days after that.
I have bottle cages for all 5 of my
bottles. Other folks I’ve toured with carried only 2 bottles and then refilled
Gatorade bottles when they knew they’d need more. These were carried in
panniers. I kept my rear seat bottles covered in a bandana to keep them cool,
and when I carried a 2L bag of water, I wrapped it in a sarong to stay cool and
put it on my rear rack. This made a huge difference!
I carried a water filter on my last
tour and never used it – but it gave me peace of mind. It also gave me more
options for camping.
It’s important to camp with water if
you can. The first thing you should check for if you are looking for a place to
stay is if it has water. If you can
carry lots of water this increases your camping range. If you don’t have a
water source in the morning (maybe a store is your source and won’t open until
9am), you’ll have to start thinking about how you’ll have enough water to cook,
drink overnight, and drink before the next town. In situations like this I filled up all my
water bags and bottles and rode them to the camp site (9L, 310oz, 2.4 gallons).
Sometimes I bought an extra gallon of water and brought that too. Don’t force
yourself to ration your water overnight.
Hydration heals.
Timing
I have some general guidelines for
timing my day.
- Time zone changes really screw this up, but in general I tried to wake at 5:30 and be riding by 7. Earlier if it’s going to be hot and windy. As I went east my leaving times got later and later, mainly due to getting to bed later and later because of longer days. 8am is getting pretty late.
- I prefer between 3 and 5 hours of “on bike time.” 7 is the preferred higher limit, and near the end of my last tour 6+ hours was becoming common.
- It’s hard to remember, but I think my system was to get in 30-40 miles by 10am and 50 miles by 1pm, although on bike time is a better measure out west because you are dealing with mountain passes.
- I prefer 2-3 hours of on bike time before my first break (not including peeing).
- I prefer to be done riding by 3pm, but that won’t really happen on days over 60 miles. 5pm became common. Midwestern days take MUCH longer due to complicated route finding and lots more distractions and stops. Country Road Roulette can be slow going.
- I ride fast and take long breaks. Others prefer the “slow and steady” style of riding. If I’m touring with people who have that riding style I leave from break times after them, pass them, and then take a longer break waiting for them. This worked well in 2007, but I had to make sure to break in obvious places to avoid getting separated.
- Riding at someone else’s pace sucks. It makes the slower person feel rushed, and it increases on bike time for the faster person and they can’t get in a rhythm. I think it’s best to separate and meet up at places.
Group vs. Solo (briefly)
If you are riding alone you can ride
for as long as you want that day, and break whenever you want and for as long
as you want. You can be spontaneous and
really live for the random adventure. In a group, you need to agree on a place
to stop, and the person in front needs to make sure they aren’t passed by the
person behind them. For me the perks of
group touring mostly offset this – things like company, validation, drafting,
carrying less gear, safety, and often being more approachable by locals. In a group you can also divide up the jobs –
one person finds a place to sleep while one shops, or one person cooks while
one sets up camp. It’s much less work to tour in a group. Also (I’ll elaborate
later) groups are much easier for locals to approach and engage in
conversation. There is less personal investment and risk, and they can observe
your group interactions beforehand to judge you.
If you do ride in a group, it’s best
to establish early that you might squabble and need some time apart. Go into it
with the agreement that if you need to separate for a while (days, weeks, the
rest of the trip) and either rejoin later or finish the ride separately, there will be no hard feelings. These things happen and it doesn’t mean
anything. This honesty and freedom to
leave will take a lot of pressure off everyone.
Finding a Place to Sleep
If you are hoping to sleep for free,
this is by far one of the more important topics. How and where to sleep for free on a bike
tour depends on where you are, who you are with, and when you arrive. It can sometimes take a few hours, and you’ll
strike out in some towns. Many folks have written about this before. Here is what I do (I hate paying to sleep).
If you want photos of several places I've stayed, look through the blog posts from summer 2014. I only paid to sleep about 4 or 5 nights out of 62, and didn't have to pay east of the continental divide.
If you want photos of several places I've stayed, look through the blog posts from summer 2014. I only paid to sleep about 4 or 5 nights out of 62, and didn't have to pay east of the continental divide.
“Legal” Sleeping
First, aim for towns under a
thousand. Big towns have real cops who
want to do their job. It’s also best to avoid suburbs of urban areas (towns
near Chicago, for example). In my
experience, the farther east you go the harder this is because people get more
scared and less trusting of strangers. They also start using words like
“liability” more often. On the other hand, stealth camping gets easier.
I roll into town and look around for a city
park, noting churches and backup plans (baseball fields, houses that look like
hippies live there, food co-ops, bike people.)
I also note the location of grocery stores, restaurants, and pools. I usually establish where I’m going to stay
before I spend time buying food or taking a break, in case I need to keep
riding.
I look for a park with a shelter (I
hate tents, but even the desert gets dew) and
a water source. If I find one I then start looking around for
someone to ask if I can stay there. 9
times out of 10, if you ask it will turn out in your favor, especially out
west. First I look for the city hall,
next I look for a library, then fire station, then police/sheriff. Libraries have the perk of also having free
internet access and helpful librarians who usually can’t give you permission,
but they might know someone you can ask or even stay with.
Before going in I put on a
long-sleeve shirt on to cover my tattoos (I don’t ride in this shirt so it
won’t smell bad). Sometimes
I put on deodorant. If you are
a guy, it helps to keep relatively shaved. This is probably also true for
ladies. I leave my biking shorts on and carry in my helmet and gloves to help
identify me as a cyclist and not a random drifter. I also try to park my loaded
bike within view of a window.
Pick your words very carefully. Never
say the word “camp,” and establish that you are safe and that there are
precedents for you doing this. Act like
everyone lets you do it, and fully expect them to say yes as well (but not like
an ass). Be confident and friendly. Practice
your script before going in, but try to appear unrehearsed.
“Hi, I’m Mike. I’m a high school
teacher on a cross-country bike ride from Oregon. I’m passing through town and
am looking for a place to crash tonight. I’ve been mostly staying in small town
parks under the shelter, no tent or anything, and I like to check in with the
official town people first so I don’t freak anyone out and so everyone knows
I’m safe. Would it be alright if I stayed in that park tonight?” follow up: “I
just need to roll out a sleeping pad I’ll leave first thing in the morning.” If you must use a tent, say “some grass to
throw a small tent” or something like that, never, ever, EVER say “camp” or
their brain will turn off and they’ll just direct you to the nearest pay camp
ground often miles away.
This usually works. If not, ask if
they know anyone “with a patch of grass that you can sleep on.” If you can’t find anyone to ask, ask random
people on the street if anyone would care if you stayed in the park (same
self-introduction). If people try to
direct you to a pay place, emphasize that you are on a tight budget (but don’t
appear poor or homeless). If people
suggest you go to a different place, always ask if it has drinkable water.
If you want to sleep inside, try
knocking on churches and use the same script, except replace “I’ve been mostly
staying in parks” with “I’ve been lucky enough to be staying in a lot of churches
this trip.” Both are true-ish
statements. Be aware that if you stay in churches you fall into the “guest”
role, and that can get old after a while. Sometimes churches will call ahead on
your route and hook you up with other related churches. Churches often let you
camp in their yard as well. Don’t forget to ask where the water spigot is.
If you are staying in a park, even
with permission, it helps to not look like a camper. Keep your campsite clean- no yard sales. This keeps you from losing stuff, helps
pack-out in the morning, attracts less attention, and prevents theft. An empty park at 3pm could easily get busy at
6pm. If you must use a tent, pitch it as it gets dark or out in the corners
unless it’s really really, really OK for you to stay there.
In parks in dry areas (out west), find all the sprinklers in the park (ask locals if that helps) and either hide from them or cover them with pots. They will turn on in the early AM and soak you. Don’t assume they aren’t aimed straight into the park shelter or into a dugout. Also, make sure you don’t put your tent on one. I heard a story of a couple of baggers in Washington State who had a sprinkler head bust up through their tent floor on a 40 degree night, soaking everything. They had to bang on a random house in the early morning and beg for warmth.
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| This is the messiest your campsite should ever be |
In parks in dry areas (out west), find all the sprinklers in the park (ask locals if that helps) and either hide from them or cover them with pots. They will turn on in the early AM and soak you. Don’t assume they aren’t aimed straight into the park shelter or into a dugout. Also, make sure you don’t put your tent on one. I heard a story of a couple of baggers in Washington State who had a sprinkler head bust up through their tent floor on a 40 degree night, soaking everything. They had to bang on a random house in the early morning and beg for warmth.
Asking Locals
If you are brave, asking people if
you can stay in their yards can be effective, but easier if you aren’t alone.
I’ve also had good luck asking people if I can “throw a tent” behind
their store. Be sure to give them business (sometimes that breaks the ice). I stayed behind a lot of stores.
Warm Showers
Warmshowers.org is a nationwide
network of touring bicyclists similar to couchsurfing.org, but without the
patchouli-scented college students. I stayed in two Warm Showers places and my
hosts were amazing! If you must stop in
a big town (Missoula, La Crosse, etc.), Warm Showers is great. Some people stay
in them all the time – but I prefer to use them sparingly. Often it requires
you to go off-route, you have to plan several days ahead, and I get sick of
being in the thankful guest role. On the other hand, you will meet cool people!
Warm Showers hosts make great rest days.
Group vs. Solo
Your experiences will vary. These
are mine.
In 2003 I toured with 7 guys and
stayed in a lot of churches because we were on a charity ride. We had a 14
year-old with us, and that helped. We
also slept in a lot of parks. We weren’t invited into many homes.
In 2007 I toured with 3 girls and we
got invited into TONS of homes. The
girls were non-threatening, and I was considered safe (almost heroic at times)
because they trusted me.
In 2014 I was solo. I slept mostly
in parks and very few homes and churches.
When you are with a group you are
much more approachable. People can watch how you interact with each other and
figure you out. If you are solo, the only way for someone to figure you out is
to directly interact with you. This can be scary and if you turn out to be
crazy they are stuck talking to you. Furthermore, once they do interact with
you or invite you into their home, it’s an intimate interaction vs. a
non-threatening group dynamic. If you are with a group, it’s expected that the
group with entertain themselves vs needing to be entertained.
With the girls, we would stand
outside a store, look interesting, and often people would strike up
conversations with us and invite us into their homes. This was much rarer on my most recent tour.
On the other hand, stealth and
discrete camping was MUCH easier.
Stealth Camping
I prefer not to stealth camp, but if
you have to a mid-sized town is best.
Too small and it’s obvious (but they’ll probably let you stay anywhere
anyway), and too big and you deal with real cops and/or competition/theft from
homeless people. If you are stealth
camping, don’t make it obvious you are sleeping until after dark. Keep a very
clean camp. Sleep on the ground, not on
a picnic table. Avoid a tent unless you are in the woods or well hidden. Lay
your bike down and cover all reflective striping so a random cop spotlight from
the road won’t reflect. Plan your off-bike clothes to be low-vis. If you’re
lucky, you found a park on the outskirts of town. Baseball dugouts are THE BEST stealth camping
spot.
In the Midwest I often got into town
too late to ask permission (after 5). Your main goal here is to keep people
from calling the cops on you and cop spotlights. Avoid residential areas and
parks that look like party parks for high school and middle school students
because cops will patrol it. Act like you belong wherever you are and folks may
assume you have permission.
If you are awakened by the cops (happened to me twice in three
tours), just apologize and go about your script. Explain that you prefer to ask
permission but couldn’t this time, and will leave at dawn. Say something about running out of daylight
and energy and having to stop for safety.
Food
I
carried a few days’ worth of snacks and breakfast food. I bought dinner almost
every night (sometimes I had some leftover noodles) as well as fruits and
veggies. I also bought snacks at gas stations (more out east). Out west I often ate only from my supplies.
Always
have at least one extra dinner (like Backpackers Pantry) in case you end up in
a place where youcan’t buy dinner. Plan your resupplies at decent sized towns,
not always the town you are staying in. Sometimes this means carrying dinner the
second half of the day.
This
is what I eat mostly:
- Breakfast (same sack as dinner)
- Cold Instant Oatmeal
- Whatever fruit or cured meat I had left over from dinner
- Emergen-C (1st water bottle of the day and end of day).
- Dinners (rarely carried for more than a day)
- Mac and Cheese
- Noodles and Stew
- (bought) fresh fruit
- (bought) cured meat
- Frozen food (peas) make good ice packs. Eat them after they soothe your pains.
- Lunches / Snacks
- Peanut Butter and Bread / Muffins / Bagels
- Cheese and Triscuits
- (bought) Chocolate Milk
- M&Ms
- Nuts
- Clif Bars
- Clif Gels
- Mio (for electrolytes)
- Caffeinated Mio (for late days)
As
I mentioned in the body care section, you need sources of calcium (not Tums – wrong kind of calcium), sodium, magnesium, and potassium. Clif bars, oatmeal, Emergen-C, vitamin tablets,
milk, fruit/veggies).
Shipping a Bike
I ship my bike to Iowa every year
for RAGBRAI. I also ship my bike to
return from tours. I use FedEx, as that used to be cheaper than flying with it.
it might not still be cheaper though (Google it?). It used to be $80, but now it’s more like
$130-$150 because my bike is about an inch over-sized most of the time.
I get a cardboard bike box and small
packing materials from a bike shop for free and box it myself out in front of
the Fed Ex (buy tape there) if I’m not at home.
I can box a bike using only an Alien multi-tool. You just take off the handlebars, pedals,
front wheel, and
seat. That’s
about it. If you’ve never done it, watch
a shop do it once or twice. I can build a bike from a box with a multi-tool in
about 30 minutes, but I’ve been doing it twice a year for almost a decade. Do
whatever you feel comfortable with.Iris (my wife) has found that a bike shop
will box and ship your bike for you for nominal fee. Instead of shipping to
your home, you can also ship to a bike shop to get the business rate instead of
residential, which tends to be cheaper..
Some bagger on my 2014 trip told me
about https://www.bikeflights.com/. I’ve
never used them, but it might be a good option if you’re interested.
Pack List from 2014 Tour
Please
excuse the formatting, this was pasted from word. Items with a * since
upgraded. This list can be reduced for shorter tours going through
fewer climates. I plan on touring lighter than this on my next tour
using a 2 panier system.
General
·
Lip Balm (sun screen)· Sun Screen · Butt Lube · Bug Spray · Hand Sanitizer · Dop Kit o Gold Bond o Contacts and fluid o Shaver o Tooth Stuff o Vitamins o Ace Bandages o Deodorant o Glasses o Chewable Pepto Bismo o Ibuprofen · 2 rolls TP in bag and wet wipes · Water Filter · Pocket Knife · 5 24oz Water Bottles · 2 2L (70oz) Water Bags (Platypus) · Bike Cable Lock · Bungees · Bag of bags (extra ziplocks) · (optional) Sidewalk Chalk · Rain Flys for Panniers · Food Bags · Massage Stick “The Stick” · Soap (mostly for clothes)
Camp
·
Cooking / Eating
o Crappy
Bandana / Camp Towel
o Plastic
Cup (1st half)
o Pot
Set w/ Bowl
o Stove
o Fuel (2 bottles all summer - 1 fine with
RAGBRAI)
o Metal
Spork
·
Emergency Chordage
·
Tent
·
Pad w/ Inflatable Pillow *
·
Sleeping Bag with Monkey
·
Tarp (8x6)
·
3 lighters in varying kits
·
Matches
·
Regular Camp Towel (blue)
|
Wear
·
On Bike
o 1
Ice Breaker Wool Tank
o 1
Ice Breaker Wool Short Sleeved Jersey
o 3
Bike Shorts (2 if in a dry area)
o 1
wool biking hat
o Sunglasses
o Knee
Warmers
o Wool
Arm Warmers
o Rain
Coat
o Rain
Pants
o Clipless
Sandals
o Fingerless
bike gloves
o Warm
bike gloves
o Reflective
Vest
·
Off Bike (ish)
o Zip
REI Bags to pack clothes in
o Sarong
o 1
Pair Travel Undies
o Zip-Off
Pants
o Trunks
o 2
wool socks
o 1
light socks
o 2
seal skin waterproof socks
o 1
wool hat
o 1
sun hat
o 3x
Bandannas (not just for wearing)
o Wool
2nd Layer (coat)
o Long
Sleeve Button Up
o Flip
Flops
1st
Aid Kit
·
Benadryl
·
Neosporin
·
Liquid Bandage
·
Fingernail Clippers
·
Face Shield
·
Emergency Blanket
·
Moleskin
·
Aspirin
·
Whistle
·
Tweezers and scissors
·
Gloves
·
Various Gauze and Bandages
|
Bike
Stuff
·
Tool Bag / Pouch
·
Leatherman Multitool
·
Alien Multitool
·
Extra Bolts and hose clamps
·
Butt Lube
·
Extra Tube
·
Extra Tire
·
Spoke Wrench
·
Extra Cleats
·
Extra Brake Pads
·
*Spokes (didn’t really have)
·
Zip Strips
·
Electrical Tape
·
Duct Tape
·
Topeak Road Morph Pump
·
Tire Levers
·
Chain Lube and Rag in Ziplock
·
Sewing Kit
·
Patch Kit
·
Sleeping Pad Patch Kit
Other
·
Electronics
o Phone
o Bluetooth
keyboard
o Dual
USB Charger
o USB
Chords 2 micro one mini
o Rechargeable
front and year lights
o Solar
Charger
o Charger
Battery *
o Kindle
o Little
Speaker
o Headphones
o Audio
Recorder
o Head
Lamp
·
Wallet
·
Notebook and Pens
·
Sharpy and Highlighter
·
Passport
·
Maps
·
Uke w/ Dry Sack
o Extra
Strings
o Tuner
and Extra Battery
·
Juggling Balls
·
Photos of Iris
|
Scroll down for pack diagram
|
Food
·
Breakfast
(same sack as dinner)
o Cold
Instant Oatmeal
o Whatever
fruit or cured meat I had left over from dinner
o Emergen-c
(1st water bottle of the day and end of day).
·
Dinners
(rarely carried from day to day)
o Mac
and Cheese
o Noodles
and Stew
o (bought)
fresh fruit
o (bought)
cured meat
o Frozen
food (pees) make good ice packs, then eat them.
o Always
carry an emergency dinner (Backpacker’s Pantry)
·
Lunches
/ Snacks
o Peanut
Butter and Bread / Muffins / Bagels
o Cheese
and Triscuits
o (bought)
Chocolate Milk
o M&Ms
o Nuts
o Clif
Bars
o Clif
Gels
o Mio
(for electrolytes)
o Caffeinated
Mio (for late days)
You need sources of Calcium (not tums), Sodium, Magnesium, and
Potassium. (Cliff Bars, Oatmeal,
Emergen-c, vitamins, milk, fruit/veggies.)
|
|
|
| 2014 Pack Diagram. Click to embiggin. Also available in the PDF link at the top of the page. |
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