Always the tension between thinking you need and needing, between the grudging acceptance of discomforts and the abstract knowledge that carrying less makes a difference, between not caring that you seem like a disgusting lunatic […]
Cycling adventurist, bikepacker, travel writer, photographer, speaker, professor of philosophy. Route designer of the VTXL, the Green Mountain Gravel Growler beer tour, the Silk Road Mountain Race course 1st edition, and many more.
Category: Packing lists
Gathering Gear
Picturing the destination, half remembered images seen or interpolated from descriptions in books read while comfortable on a couch long before ever imagining I’d visit there. Reading a few other people’s packing lists and past […]
Pugsley Bikepacking Setup
Setup for a light load on demanding terrain (and just an adaptation of the 29er main bikepacking bike). Revelate Designs seat bag, gas tank, and gear sling with pocket. Jandd frame bag, modified to mount […]
Lightweight touring packing list
The LBS recently put me in contact with someone who has done a few bike tours but who “wants to travel light without being pathological about it.” The person was hoping for my comments more than just a gear list, and was also curious about the specific items for reference. It sounded like a reasonable goal to me, so I put together a list of the things I bring on a tour when I’m not trying to be ultrathisorthat. There are a thousand of excellent ones of these on-line, and I don’t imagine that mine is particularly innovative or special. Something like this inventory has served me well, though, for tours lasting from mere days to months and months. It usually comes in under 25 lbs., counting panniers but not including the minimal kit worn while actually pedaling.
Gear for Middle East Trip
For six weeks in winter. Left to right (more or less) from top: Tent poles, tent, sleeping bag/pad, riding/hiking shoes, sandals, Patagonia Puff pullover, merino gloves Digital SLR, fleece sleeping bag liner, headlamp/knife/spork, passport/novel/eticket, goretex socks, […]
Gear for Alaska summer touring
(1) Tent (2) Tent poles (3) Riding/hiking shoes (4) Patagonia Nano puff pullover (5) Patagonia shell (6) Gore-tex shorts (7) OR rain hat (8) Rain booties (9) Sleeping bag (10) Utility cord (11) Stainless steel bottle (12) Howie’s merino ss shirt (13) Icebreaker merino ls shirt (14) Smartwool cycling shorts (15) Nzo Dobies cycling shorts (16) Two pairs merino underwear (17) Prana travel pants (18) Sandals (19) Pump/duct tape/spare spokes (20) Pot (21) MSR Superfly stove (22) Coffee filter (23) Soap (24) Plastic mug (25) Knife (26) Mosquito head net (27) Headlamp (28) Camera battery charger (29) Panasonic Lumix camera (30) Earbuds/recharge cord (31) iPhone (32) Leg warmers (33) Wool cycling cap (34) Gloves (35) Sunglasses (36) Watch (37) First aid kit (38) Mini deck of cards (39) Spare tube (40) Compass (41) Water purification tabs (42) Spork (43) Steripen (44) Big Agnes Clear View air pad (45) Waterproof matches (46) Pen and paper (47) Book (48) Photocopied maps (49) Garmin 705 GPS (50) Two pairs Smartwool socks (51) Travel towel (52) Toiletries (53) Blinkie (54) Cable lock (55) Tools.
In Anchorage add: bear spray, DEET, fuel cartridge, food.
24lbs./10.9kg, including rear panniers.
Inside the saddle bag
Tools for the Nepal trip. Mini pump, crossmax spoke tool, quick link, spare brake pads, 4 toe spikes (for portages on ice and snow), 10mm socket*, Stein hypercracker, chain tool, glueless patches, loose allen keys (3, […]
Nepal gear
Complete kit for riding in Nepal for a couple of weeks. Everything travels in the Osprey pack except for the clothes/gear worn, the SLR (in the chest pack), the sleeping bag (attached to the bars), the seat bag (attached to the saddle), and the bottle. Pack = 12.5 lbs./5.7 kg.
Setup for Southeast Asia tour
This is the setup I used when I toured Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, and Laos in 2009. On body: ss wool polo shirt, cycling shorts (baggy), money pouch, sandals, cycling cap, helmet, sunglasses, p&s camera In […]
Long Asia Tour Packing List
This is the packing list that I used for an ’07-’08 cycle expedition tour in Asia (Pakistan/India/China/Tibet/Nepal). As I look it over now, it seems intolerably, unthinkably bloated. In my defense, I was doing a number of diverse things in addition to touring, including two stage races, one one-day race, several academic lectures, and research at Tibetan monasteries. But what on Earth did I need three pairs of underwear and two t-shirts for?
Clothing for cycling Tibet
Clothing worn every single day in Tibet, October/November 2007.