Looking Backward, and Preparing to Look Forward

It's been almost 3 weeks since I finished the Southern Tier coast-to-coast bike ride, and I'm finally getting around to posting the packing list I promised.  The delay is owing, in part, to the fact that we're also busy getting ready for our next adventure, a two-month stay in Montreal to take French lessons.  But more on that later.  Right now, we're looking backwards first.

I have to admit that there were times, especially during the period of logging in excess of 1000 miles (over 1/3 of the journey) in Texas and seemingly not getting anywhere, I did feel somewhat Quixotic, tilting futilely at windmills...  That's perhaps why I thought this Texas ranch (pictured above) was speaking to me!

In any case, I'm hoping this post will help someone else be a bit better prepared for their own adventure.  I had put together a packing list of items I was bringing before I started.  I'm including it below (with editorial comments) to indicate what items were absolutely essential, what items I ended up shipping back, and what items I was glad to have brought even though I didn't use them frequently.

On-the-bike Clothing 

• Cycling helmet — ANSI and/or Snell approved (with mirror)

·       Helmet is a no brainer.  I found that the helmet mirror didn't work for me.  I ended up installing a Mirrycle bar end mirror which worked great. One of the better purchases for the trip.  (You can see both types of mirrors in the picture below.)

• Touring shoes — good for walking as well as riding, i.e. some flex in the sole

·       I brought an old pair of MTB shoes that worked with my SPD pedals.  I could walk fine in them, but not for long distances.  In the future, I might consider bringing a single pair of Sandals that would work with the SPD pedals.  This would mean I wouldn't have needed to bring a pair of sandals for walking in.

• Cycling gloves
• 2 pairs - Cycling shorts
• 3 pairs - Socks — wool or synthetic

·       I brought two pairs of cycling socks and a pair of thicker wool socks for use with the sandals and for sleeping if I was camping and the night was cold.

• 2 Short-sleeved shirts
• 1 Light, long-sleeved shirt for layering and sun protection

·       This was useful in the evening when it was chillier.  I didn't use it on the bike, and probably used it in the evenings only on the first half of the trip.

• Rain gear, jacket, pants, and poncho

·       Poncho was priceless when it was raining.  The rain jacket was useful in the mornings when it was cold or lightly misting.  I didn't use the rain pants at all - except when I had to do laundry at a hotel and I wanted to wash all my clothes.

Off-the-bike Clothing

• Convertible pants
• 3 - Underwear

·       Once I discovered that bike shorts worked best SANS underwear, I realized 2 pairs of underwear would have been fine.

• Sandals (Tevas)

·       See note above about using a single pair of biking sandals in the future.

• Wool or fleece hat
• Earband
• Fleece jacket

·       I used a fleece pullover - very useful, but heavy.  A lightweight down jacket might be a better choice.

• Gloves — wool or fleece
• Gore tex mittens
• Down vest

·       I didn't use this at all.  Originally, I was packing this in case I was camping when it was cold.  Realistically, if it was going to be below 40 degrees I wasn't and shouldn't be camping, and therefore this wasn't needed.

• Baseball cap

·       Useful for keeping rain off my glasses when it was raining.

Miscellaneous

• Toiletries

·       single bar of soap (staying a hotel once a week would easily replenish this, plus easy to buy along the way)

·       toothbrush/toothpaste (3 small tubes - 2 would have been fine)

·       vitamins

·       tylenol; ibuprofen; immodium; mucinex; sudafed; allertec; melatonin

·       Luckily I didn't need to use any of the above except the melatonin to help sleep at times

• Towel (Used a hiking pack towel)
• Leatherman (Used the knife, bottle opener, pliers, screwdriver functionality)
• Lightweight lock and cable
• Water carrying bladders or containers — at least 1 US gallon capacity

• 70 oz camelback

o   I also used containers to carry snacks, chamois butter, sunscreen, my wallet, and keys to the lock.

• 2 water bottles

o   I ended up leaving a bottle at my nephews.  So I had one 26 oz water bottle

o   I bought a 32 oz Gatorade bottle and kept this full or half full depending on the weather

• 2 liter collapsible

o   Never used - but it packed small and good to have as backup 

• Basic first-aid kit with emergency numbers

·       I put emergency contact info in all my panniers, the camelbak, and my helmet.

·       I included some Neosporin (antibiotic ointment)

·       I wish I had brought some anti-itch cream to combat the bug bites 

• 2 Bandanas (headband)
• Cool Tie (neck cooler - this was priceless in sunny, hot Western states)
• Reflector vest (good when starting in the dark or overcast days)
• Spare glasses
• Eye glass holders
• Headlamp

·       Priceless when camping or in early mornings when I needed to see the map.

·       The headlamp actually stopped working briefly, but luckily I was able to repair it by cleaning the contacts.

·       I wish the headlamp had a safety switch.  I had to store it with the batteries removed as it could get switched on when packed away.

• Sewing kit
• Insect repellent
• Toilet Paper - you don't need to carry a full roll.  I cut this down at my nephews.  I only needed this one time when staying at a campground where they hadn't replenished the paper.
• Sunblock

·       I brought 70 and 55 SPF, but once I hit Arizona, I bought 100 SPF as my nose was starting to fry

• Lotion

·       Chamois Butter was a priceless purchase.

• Laundry Detergent

·       I brought a liquid 8 oz container, but only ended up using this once.  I hand washed my biking clothes (shirt, shorts, socks, bandana) daily when I took a shower or bath at the end of the day.  I did laundry 4 times on this 40 day trip.  Once at my nephews, once at the Bunkie Fire Department, once in Uvalde, Tx (where I used my detergent), and once at my friends Steve and Kristen's place.  Some dry packets or gel packs would have been a better choice.

• Nylon cord

·       Didn't use - but may have if I did more camping to hang out clothes to dry.

• 2 Bungee cords

·       Priceless - I used these to hold the front panniers on more securely.

• Cargo net

·       Priceless - was very useful for being able to secure items like the jacket, poncho, dry bag, Gatorade on the rear rack.

• Journal (optional)

·       I used this to plan out itineraries

• Pepper spray

·       Never used - Thank God

• Solar charger with 4 AA

·       Never used.  Maybe in a foreign country - but I ended up leaving this at my nephew's house.   (In fact, below is a picture of the items I left at my nephew's.)  A spare phone battery would have been smaller, lighter, and more useful than the 4 AA in the charger. 

• Rechargeable batteries (8 AA, 4 AAA)

·       Never used - I kept the 4 AAA, but only needed to use 2 of them for the headlamp

• USB cables (one for phone/headset, spare one for phone/headset, one for lights)
• Smartphone (of course!)
• Bluetooth headset

·       Useful for talking while doing things, but couldn't use while riding as it didn't have noise cancelling

• Map Holder - I also used this to hold my phone.  A phone holder on the handlebars would have been useful for more ready access to the phone.
• 2 - Front Panniers (Madden – 14L? each)

·       I'm glad I was able to reuse these old panniers that I had.  While not as waterproof as Ortliebs, items didn't get soaked.  I kept food, bike tools, patches, and chain oil in one and my cook set, stove, and spare tubes, rag, lock and cable in the other.  These were not as easy to put on and take off as the Ortliebs.  The front rack had pins that were a little too close to work well with the clips on these panniers, but I was able to keep them secure by using the bungee cords. 

• 2 – Rear Panniers (Ortlieb Back Rollers – 20 L each)

·       These worked great.  They never leaked and I was able to put them on and take them off with one hand.  I kept my clothes (in the 10L dry bag), the tent (without the poles and stakes), the sleeping pad, and tent ground cloth, and maps in one.  In the other I kept the sleeping bag (in a 5L dry bag), the sleeping bag liner (in a 5L dry bag), a bag of toiletries, and the wheat wraps.

• Dry Bags (3 – 10L, 3 – 5L)

·       I ended up only using 2 of the 10L and 2 of the 5L dry bags.  I left the remaining 10L and 5L dry bags at my nephew Joe's place.  It was probably overkill, but I kept my clothes in one 10L dry bag inside the Ortlieb and my sleeping bag and sleeping bag liner in the 2 5L dry bags also inside the Ortlieb.  A non-waterproof stuff sack or a lighter weight dry bag would have been better for using in the rear panniers as they would have taken up less space and the Ortliebs were already waterproof.  I used the remaining 10L dry bag to carry miscellaneous items for easy access on top of the rear rack.  This dry bag was rugged enough to take being stored externally.  Things like the collapsible 2L bladder, a spare tube, the poncho, the weatherman, the utensils, the note pad and pencil, the charger and usb cables.

• 2 Pant leg ties

·       I ended up using these to hold the tent poles and pegs on the top part of the bike frame.

• Maps

·       I kept the one I was using in the map holder and remaining ones I stored in one of the Ortlieb panniers.

Tools and Spare Parts

• Tire levers/patch kit

·       I broke two tire levers - so it is good to have spares

·       I bought an additional patch kit on the road, but still didn't go through all the patches in the first one I brought.

• 3 Spare tubes

·       ALWAYS USE FRESH TUBES!!!

·       I ended up keeping 4 spare tubes, and, of these, I finished the trip with only one tube that was not used.  The remaining ones all had patches. 

• Tire liners - I bought these in Del Rio, Texas - but I'm not sure they provided any additional protection
• Mini-pump

·       priceless - be sure to buy one that has a foot stand to make pumping easier

• Electrical tape

·       Never used

• Spoke wrench

·       Never used

• 10, 8mm wrenches
• Allen wrenches (6, 5, 3mm)
• Multi-tool
• Chain tool

·       Never used

• Extra nuts, bolts, and wire (particularly for racks)

·       Never used

• Chain lube and rag

·       Needed to lube the chain every 2-3 days

• Bicycle light (front and rear)

·       Priceless

• Rearview mirror

·       Priceless

• Duct tape (invaluable – you can wrap some around a broken pencil to save weight)

·       Never used

• Bike Computer

·       Mine was old and would stop working in the rain...

Camping

• Sleeping bag

·       40 degree down bag

• Sleeping bag liner

·       Useful to add 10 degrees of warmth

·       Also useful when sleeping at a hotel and you want protection from bed bugs 

• Sleeping pad
• Tent (1 man)
• Ground cloth
• Personal eating utensils (fork, spoon, knife, cup)

·       I left the cup at my nephews as I wasn't making coffee and it just took up space. 

• Stove (MSR Whisperlite International)

·       Was able to burn regular unleaded gasoline which made getting fuel a snap on the ride

• 2 20 oz gas bottles

·       I ended up leaving one bottle at my nephew's as it was easy enough to keep the one bottle full.

• Lighter/matches
• Cooking equipment (Small pots and pans)

·       I reduced this to one small pot and left the larger pot and fry pan at my nephew's.  I typically only used the pot to boil water to heat up a packet of rice.

• Thermos

·       I could make my oatmeal the night before when camping and save the time of boiling water and putting the stove away in the morning.

                                       

                                       *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *

Thanks for reading!  Next Friday, we start the Montreal portion (a bit over 2 months) of our sabbatical life adventure.  We'll report in about how we're getting used to living in Montreal and how we're progressing with our Quebec French lessons.  We should have our first Montreal post up within a couple of weeks!