Stuff, and How To Huff

("Gear, and How To Get It There" makes more sense but that slant rhyme...ugh)

Artist's depiction of a cyclist in a sun hat riding a touring bicycle heavily laden with unconventional cargo

Here is a packing list, and also some thoughts on hauling the things you've packed.

This advice is based on my experience as a somewhat casual cyclist who likes things such as "comfort" and "not having everyone see my jiggle jello", and your experience/needs might be different. If you're like, really hardcore, or you've taken up strict minimalism, or your feet get really cold, or something else, absolutely do amend this plan to suit your needs. I would advise over-packing and paring down if this is your first time riding; it sucks to ride a heavy bike but it sucks way more to be frigid/damp, sunburnt/fixing a flat in full sun, or any other hell combo that lack of prep can lead to.

Packing It

I always think I pack kinda heavy, but also I see people who pack a lot more stuff than I do. I would treat this as a place to start, and I try to note places where you can opt for an alternative solution.

Personal Packing List

Essential Miscellania

  • Various straps, nets, and bungees - I always carry 1 big bungee, and I always find it useful
  • Voile Straps, optionally - these are like giant ski straps and work great if you need to tightly lash a thing to another thing.
  • 1 big-ass sack of tasty treats - you are going to be hungry all day otherwise and I don't want to hear you whine

Camping

  • 1 tent, or hammock with mosquito netting
  • 1 ground cover, if using a tent
  • 1 rain cover, if your tent doesn't have it built in
  • 1 sleeping bag which can keep you warm in 50 degree weather
  • 1 set hammock straps, if hanging a hammock
  • 1 set nice rain cover/tent stakes

Clothing I (George) prefer rocking shell shorts over padding liners, because I like looking casual/non-lycra and I like some padding between my cheeks and the saddle. I assume that unless you're a real hardass you will like padding between your buns and the saddle too. If you already have kit (meaning lycra road-riding clothes), you probably feel differently. Don't buy liners if you have kit already; you probably like kit. Don't buy kit unless you like being in kit.

  • 1 pair shell shorts for cycling (unless using a bib/padded shorts)
  • 2 padded liners (or two bibs/shorts - unless you're hardcore and wash/dry your one pair of shorts nightly, I guess)
  • 2 tees you donā€™t mind sweating through entirely (synthetic smells worse but chafes less)
  • 1 tee for camping/sleeping
  • 1 pair macrame gloves (or lesser, non-macrame gloves)
  • 1 bike cap or ball cap - these are so clutch once the going gets sweaty
  • 3 pairs running socks or other socks which you know don't chafe
  • 1 pair shoes you can bike in - see the FAQ if you're not sure
  • 1 pair swim shorts/swimsuit
  • 1 pair heaux-ass shorts which make people want to buy you a DRANK (this might be a "me" thing)
  • 1 pair sunglasses + case
  • 2 pairs underwear
  • 1 pair shoes for camp/if your bike shoes get soaked (again, see the FAQ if unsure)
  • 2 shirts nice enough to get into a restaurant with ("t-shirt without holes" or better)
  • 1 packable hooded rain jacket (or poncho, if you love that greenhouse STANK feeling)
  • 1 compression sack/plastic bag for dirty laundry

Hygeine

  • 1 face/hand towel
  • 1 camp towel (body size)
  • 1 toiletry kit (if you use Bronner's soap it's also a dishwashing and laundry kit!)
  • 1 big tube of sunscreen (I advise "hella SPF" regardless of your complexion)
  • 1 tube of anti-junk-chafing cream (I like "Butt'r", and there's a more coochie-friendly version for ladies)
  • 1 small body glide (optional, but helps prevent neckline/arm cuff/nip chafing)
  • 1 small first-aid kit (a couple band-aids + sterile wipes is enough; a designated person will carry a full kit)
  • A couple grocery bags for trash reasons (you can get these at an actual grocery store en-route I guess)

NOTE: If you have seasonal allergies, bring enough of your fav antihistames for the weekend. Depending on the weather, we may arrive either before cypresses bloom on the cape, or during peak bloom. You may also want to bring a COVID test, because this beautiful golden pollen will give you a dry cough and coat your nose to where you can't smell good, and everyone will feel better when you confirm it is not COVID.

Electronixxx

  • 1 loud-ass waterproof speaker to blast the jams (optional but very clutch)
  • 1 battery pack which can charge your phone (also optional but clutch)
  • Chargers which can charge your lights and phone (NOT OPTIONAL)

Kitchenware

  • 1 small folding knife
  • 1 camp mug
  • 1 cheapish gas stove + gas can, if you want tea/pourover in the morning
  • Tea/Coffee, if you want it
  • 2 full-size bidons or other hydration solution (see FAQ if you want āœØopinionsāœØ)
  • More emergency snacks

Tools

  • 1 lighter, for safety
  • 1 bike tool which you can use to pull your wheels
  • 1 spare tube which fits your tires (emphatically NOT OPTIONAL)
  • 1 saddle rain cover if you have a fancy saddle
  • Possibly more tools, read on if curious

Ride Leader/Medic/Mechanic packing list

Individual riders can carry these things too (especially if they own them!) but it's not a hard requirement. Folks who are more familiar with the ride will chat in advance and make sure we have enough of these to go around.

  • 1 bike repair kit (allen keys, lil wrench, sockets, pliers/cable cutters, nuts+bolts, various zipties, patch kit, lube, chain tool, electrical tape)
  • 1 bike pump or inflater with hella cartridges
  • 1 lock, possibly with a corral cable
  • 1 small medical kit (incl. antihistamines, tweezers, more than band-aids and a dream)

Hauling it

Thankfully, people have needed to carry crap on their bicycles since forever, so thereā€™s plenty options for doing it. Here are the ones Iā€™ve seen work.

NOTE: absolutely do not try to do this ride in a backpack. Hydration sack mini-backpacks are fine, but unless you want to well and truly enter the next level of chafing, blistering, and body acne, stay the absolute whoo-hah away from that Jansport you're eyeing (unless you're attaching it to your rack/bike basket somehow). I will have no sympathy if you try to backpack this ride. None. Do not do this. Anyway,

Panniers! For road rides on a bike that can easily fit regular-style racks on the back/front you really canā€™t beat some damn panniers. I like Axiom Stormfronts, Koki grocery panniers, and Ortliebs. Those all cost tall money, so I would also check with REI/Craigslist for deals. REI will apparently let you rent some gear; idk if panniers are included. If you want to be cute, you can go for four matching Swift panniers, and we will all Insta your bike instead of ours and call it a day.

Frame bags/strapping compression sacks to your bike. Frame bags work super great, and are the lightest/potentially cheapest way to carry your gear, but have two caveats. First, attachment is critical: if your load swings even slightly it will piss you off so much that you will buy a seatpost bag support/front rack in the middle of the ride. This isn't a problem with dedicated frame bags but I highly advise you test ride (more than ten miles) with your load if you're taking this route. Second, application-specific solutions like a frame bag or "ass rocket" seat bag might be harder to pack on account of their uh, unique shape.

Iā€™ve personally used a Jandd ā€œascent bagā€ (basically a compression sack with straps around the outside) held directly to the rack with some Voile straps, and I love the cheapass ā€œXL Frame Bagā€ and ā€œRegular-Ass Frame Bagā€ from Jandd (they are cheap as hell). I've seen a rider fit a home-made frame bag through his entire front triangle plus run a compression bindle on a seatpost rack, and he got through the ride just fine. Another rider lashed a hiking backpack to the rack (again, not their back!) such that the straps did't get caught in their spokes, and that worked fine, but if you really want to bikepack with a backpack (backpackpacking), consider:

Wald Basket full of crap. The Wald 137 (sometimes aka Wald 1372) is a steel-frame bike basket made in the USA and it is cheap as hell but somehow still extremely good, and even scientists are still trying to figure out why. The 139/2 is the bigger 137. The design is so solid that they havenā€™t updated it for 60 years at least (but they did add special editions in cute colors). If you just want to get things around and donā€™t mind having to really use your forearms, it is entirely possible to pile most of your crap in a backpack/gym bag, throw it in a Wald, throw some more crap in a frame bag/compession sack, and be done.

Should I share, borrow, or buy?

Youā€™re going to be riding with people, through relatively populated places. While thereā€™s some things everyone needs for themselves (e.g. spare tube, junk cream), there's other stuff which can be shared (e.g. don't bring two tents if you're a couple, but you knew that), borrowed (I will have some packing gear, others might too, I may or may not set up a place where people can swap/request stuff), or bought en-route (e.g. macrame gloves and bike caps, on day 2, when you realize why I took the time to call out those two specific items above). This list of gear is probably pretty intimidating to a first-time rider, and I get that, and I'm sorry, and I'm here to help.