It is day 4 into my 3-month European bike ride and I thought you might all be wondering what on earth I’ve crammed into my 5 bike bags..so here goes.
Bikepacking – the advice
I was planning for something I’d never done before, so before I even got my kit together I asked some advice of those who’ve been there and done it!
For the most part, the advice was to pack as light as possible. Sounds simple right? But when you’re thinking of what clothes to take what does that actually mean? A wiser bikepacker than me put it simply – if you take lots of spare clothes you just ride around with dirty clothes. Got it, minimal clothing!
A lot of people also told me to veto the tent and go for a bivvy bag to sleep in. Now this seems terrifying but I trusted the advice and went with it. There’s also a bunch of equipment that any cyclist must take in order to feel a bit ‘safer’ so to speak, inner tubes, chain oil, small bike lock and so forth.
So what about toiletries? Well how much could I get away with(out)? A friend at work said why don’t I take a face oil instead of cream – bingo! Now the toothbrush and toothpaste IS obligatory, but that’s about it I guess!
The Kit List Lowdown
After writing the entire list down, it seemed just too much and that there wasn’t any chance it would fit in my bike bags, but alas, believe it or not it did! Phew! So here it all is…
Clothes & Shoes etc.
1 pair of bike shorts
1 pair of casual shorts
2 pairs of socks
2 pairs of pants
1 sports bra
1 vest
1 t shirt
Bikini
1 long sleeved top
1 waterproof jacket
1 pair of bike shoes
1 pair of flip flops
1 pair of cycling gloves
Glasses
Sunglasses
1 book
Spare foldable backpack
Water purification tablets
Toiletries
3 small soaps
1 small shampoo
Hair brush
Toilet roll
Toothbrush
Toothpaste
Deodorant
Face oil
Sun tan lotion
Bug repellent
2 x razors
Hand sanitizer
90 PAIRS OF CONTACT LENSES 🤦🏽♀️
Tech
1 phone cable
1 adapter
1 power pack
1 Garmin
1 Beeline
Old Nokia phone (to play snake)
Nokia phone charger
Phone holder
Alarm
2 bike lights
1 tent light
Plug
Whistle (low tech!)
Camping stuff
Tent pegs
Rope
Sleeping mat
Sleeping bag
Bivvy bag
Tarpaulin
1 towel
Washing line
Plastic knife and fork
Bike shiz!
Spare cleats
Gaffa tape (for when shit gets real)
2 inner tubes
Puncture repair kit
Multi tool
Pump
Helmet
Maps
Compass
The bags
1 Alpkit Koala bag
1 Alpkit fuel pod cell
1 Apidura handle bar bag
1 Alpkit frame bag small
1 Quecha clip on bag small
Wow..I’m honestly exhausted typing this all out, and worst of all, almost half of it are ‘just in cases!’ I honestly don’t know how it fits into my bike bags, but it does and it’s probably as lean as I can be. But as my contact lenses stash dwindles, perhaps I can treat myself to a new pair of pants 🤣 gross I know, but that’s the life of a bikepacker I guess!
I’ll be updating as I go about how the bike packing malarkey is going, including pretty much sleeping outside! Watch this space!
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