Since I’ve picked up bike touring, people have been asking me several questions about it. I figured I’d use the blog to relay information instead, and since much of that information is repeated, it gets its own page. This is also to serve as a packing list for subsequent tours.
Products listed below aren’t specific endorsements, they’re just what I use. Nearly everything links to (and was purchased at) Mountain Equipment Co-Op, because I firmly support their business model.
Trips: So far, all my trips have been two-day overnighters, departing from various places around Edmonton.
- Devon (May 15-16)
- Elk Island (June 5-6)
- Hiking Excursion (July 10-11).
Vehicle: Blue 2007 Catrike Expedition, with Planet Bike fenders and Axiom Odysee rack. I’ve replaced the tyres (same as the originals, Schwalbe Marathons), lengthened the lower chainguard (though I am considering restoring the original) and switched off the rear shifter’s indexing, but other than that it’s all stock. It’s even still using the original chain - no detectable damage or stretching, which is incredible as the bike’s logged over 10,000km. I used to run plumber’s insulation around the seat struts to absorb small bumps; after the third tour I may do this again.
The crankset took some damage after the last tour and will be replaced. I’ll use the opportunity to upgrade the gearing.
Equipment: It may look like a lot of gear, but it’s a lot lighter and smaller than it seems. Love the compression sack.
- Cycling Gear:
- Cargo: Axiom Champlain panniers, MEC RackPack
- Repair: Filzer I-tool, Filzer Mini-Zee pump, 9mm wrench, ParkTool tyre levers, MEC ATB patch kit, lubricant (chosen by weather forecast), spare tubes (20″ and 26″ Presta valve).
- Hydration: Cheap wide-mouth water bottles (up to 3 used on any given tour, but usually just one), Platypus Big Zip 1.8L bladder, Pristine water purification drops
- Wallet: ID card, health card, credit/debit cards, cash
- Camping Gear:
- Sleep: MSR HubbaHubba tent with footprint, MEC -10C Merlin sleeping bag, Exped DownMat 9 DLX sleep mat
- Clothing: Whatever I’m wearing for the tour (usually a synthetic wicking T-shirt and three-quarter length shorts with zippered pockets, along with Keen Commuter cycling sandals) plus Merino wool turtleneck, microweight Merino wool t-shirt, long-sleeve shirt and leggings, silk long-sleeve shirt and leggings, spare socks (currently cotton, ideally wool), spare lightweight t-shirt, and Vibram FiveFingers KSO shoes.
- Cooking Gear: Second-hand copper-bottomed pot/pan set with cup, MSR Simmerlight stove (35omL fuel bottle; white gas fuel restocked just about anywhere), two pocket butane lighters, any cheap fork/knife/spoon
- Rain Gear: MEC waterproof breathable jacket and pants, MEC Scout silicone tarp
- Carrying: Four Outdoor Research ultralight compression sacks (one 12L and three 8L), nylon collapsing shopping bag, nylon collapsing backpack, cotton stuff sack (loaded with uncompressed clothes and used as a pillow).
- Emergency Gear: First-aid kit (any will do, currently using Adventure Medical Ultralight .5 supplemented with an analgesic spray for nettle), space blanket, heat packs, sewing kit
- Misc: Pocket knife, wind-up rechargeable flashlight, toothbrush, cell phone (Google Nexus One), Garmin eTrex Legend Cx GPS with topographic map (link goes to the HCx, the step above my discontinued model), two spare AA batteries (for the GPS), and a towel. Always a towel. (Currently just a blue beach towel, used for just about everything.)
The sleeping bag goes in the big compression sack, while the other three hold the tent and footprint, the rain gear, and all the clothes (except the FiveFingers). All of this fits in the two panniers (which are bigger than I’d like since I can’t mount a front rack on my trike to split the load) and rack pack.
Standard food loadout: Depends on the length of the trip. I usually carry one or two bags of trail mix, 3 apples, 2-3 bananas, cheese, peanut butter, several pouches of instant oatmeal and soups, and a few pouches of cocoa or instant coffee. For multiday trips these will be refilled every chance I get. The food goes in the easy-access rack pack, so tightly-packed panniers aren’t opened every lunch break. I usually top up the water bladder at every opportunity (my head, in normal riding position, is close enough to the rear rack that I can run the hose right out of the pannier instead of using a hydration pack) and fill the water bottle(s) with my homemade Gatorade replacement (electrolytes and sugar help immensely on tours).
Gatorade replacement recipe: Dissolve 1/4 cup sugar, 1/4 tsp salt in 1/4 cup very hot (post-boiling) water. Add 3 1/2 cups of cold water, 1/4 cup orange juice, and 2 tbsp lemon juice. Chill. Two recipes fills three water bottles.
Wish List: I’m looking to make the following tweaks to the gear over time:
- Repair the trike’s crankset with a custom set of chainrings, enabling a true bailout gear. This is…somewhat more of an issue as I type this due to the collision at the end of the third tour.
- Trade down the DownMat 9 to a smaller model. The 9 is a fantastic mat, but big for my purposes.
- Incorporate a water filter (like the MSR HyperFlow). The drops work, but unfiltered water’s just a problem waiting to happen.
- Swap the RackPack for a larger, preferably insulated rack pack, ideally with a rain cover. I use it mostly to carry food, so all of these changes should be clear improvements.
- One recurring problem on the Catrike design is that there are no easy-access pouches, equivalent to handlebar bags, for snacks or maps. Turns out Arkel makes frame bags that work similarly.
- Wool socks, ideally black Merino wool. Though my preferred non-cycling footwear doesn’t work with socks, black wool socks can disguise my cycling sandals as more conventional shoes. Besides, as nearly any camper will say, you can never carry enough socks, and I do have room to spare in that compression sack (wool compresses well).
- A lighter, more compressible towel (like the MSR PackTowel). A friend suggested a sarong instead, which seems like a good idea, but I’m finding my towel sees frequent use as a wind screen, blanket, sun hat and cushion, none of which the thin sarong can handle but all of which a microfiber towel could, if it were big enough.
- Cable lock. I normally use a heavy chain when taking the trike around the city (it’s too low compared to conventional parking racks or poles for my U-lock), but on a tour that isn’t an option (it weighs nearly as much as my fully-loaded food/emergency pack). The remoteness of my site is my first defense against theft, but a good, lightweight lock couldn’t hurt. I’m still looking for one that I can’t cut through with a set of nail clippers, though.
- Surgical gloves. Easily replaceable and beats having to carry degreaser or similar when servicing the bike.
- A few years ago I saw a few small companies put out lightweight thin-film solar cells that were designed to keep cell phones running on multiday expeditions. If I can find one of these systems (it appears the SunLINQ models are still being made), it’d expand on how much I could use my phone in the field. Depending on how much extra use I could get, I may invest in a USB or Bluetooth keyboard, as phone-sized keyboards just bother me for any serious amount of use.
