My most important equipment:
-
Smartphone
- Power Bank
- Water Bag
- Lip Balm
- Garmin Watch for tracking
- N26 debit card (pay everywhere free, contactless or by Apple Pay and withdraw cash for free)
- ID & Passport
- Rain jacket
- Waterproof bags are most important!
Click here to see my bike packed with all the bags and this is how they are packed at the moment (July 2019 - after 2.5 months and some optimizations;)):
Overall, I travel with 7 bags:
1. Smartphone pocket on the top tube
In there, the mobile phone can be plugged under a plastic bag to navigate and store other items that you need while driving, such as: power bank, purse, handkerchiefs, lip balm keys, pens
Minus point: Unfortunately, the phone heats up very quickly under the plastic and this bag is unfortunately not waterproof in heavy rain.
2. + 3. Two Gravelacage bags by Merida at the fork
There I carry camping equipment:
- Sleeping bag (by Decathlon, light but not very warm
- Mattress (by Decathlon)
- Camping stove & dishes (nice set from Amazon, definitely enough if you travel alone)
- Campinggas (I only carry a small cartouche and then rebuy it - with the exception of France and parts of Belgium you can get the same screw-in cartridges everywhere)
- Clothesline
- Small towel
4. + 5. Ortlieb bags on the
rear luggage rack:
I try to stow everything in smaller bags again, so that nothing is loose.
- Clothes in a vacuum bag (by Globetrotter):
-
- 1 jeans
- 1 shorts
- 1 leggings
- 2 cotton shirts
- 1 top
- 1 bra
- 2 cycling shirts
- 2 cycling shorts
- 1 long cycling vest
- 2 functional undershirts
- 2 sports bras
- 1 rain jacket
- 1 headband
- 1 tube scarf
- 1 jacket, which can also be stowed away quite small in a bag
- 1 cap
- In a laundry bag (very practical, it can be used for dirty laundry as well): 5 pairs of socks, 5 pairs of underpants, 1 bikini
- 1 sunglasses
- 1 glasses
- 1 small toiletry bag: Toothbrush, Toothpaste, Shampoo, Cream, Wound Cream, Sunmilk, detergents, Wet Wipes, Daily Contact Lenses, Women's Hygiene stuff, Nail Set, shaver, Insect Spray, Hand Sanitizer, main medicines
- 1 zip bag with bicycle tools
- 1 small pocket with front and rear reflector (USB-rechargeable from Lezyne - something like these)
- 1 waterproof Ortlieb bag with charging cables & electronics (the sixfold USB plug has proved to be very valuable, as well as the power bank)
- 1 pair of sneakers (I definitely recommend to wear waterproof sneakers)
- 1 pair of Birkenstock sandals
- 1 pair of cycling shoes (I wear my mountain bike shoes, but if you think about buying new ones, there are better alternatives for sure)
- 1 helmet
- Seat pad (or for insulation under the mattress)
- 2 Tupperware
In addition to that, I always make sure to carry the following:
- A few garbage bags
- Emergency cereal bar or bread
- Food for 1-2 days
As I started at around 10 degrees in May and had nights in the tent below 7 degrees, I carried a second vacuum bag (until mid of June) with the following clothes:
- Rain trousers
- Rain overshoes
- Pullover
- Long functional undershirt
- Long cycling trousers
- Fleece jacket
- Wool socks
- Long cycling gloves
6. Tent on the rear luggage rack
Packed in a rain cover from my backpack - you could also use a bag from Ortlieb to make sure that it stays dry when driving in the rain. The tent is from Amazon and was by far the best value for money. Although it will probably not last much longer than my trip, it is small, light and cheap ;-) It is a 1-man trekking tent and currently no longer available. But here you can look at a comparable.
It is of course more pleasant to travel without a backpack, but I am very happy because I can transport 3 liters of water in a water bag.
At the frame
- Air pump from Lezyne
- 3 bottles: 1 bottle is for drinking water, 1 for washing-up water and in a small one are again tools.
Bike Lock - I would recommend to fix it to the frame, as they are quite heavy - especially if you take such that are accepted by an insurance
company. After long research I decided for this AXA lock.
The following things have been found to be unnecessary, unused or too much:
- Dietary supplements
- Short Cycling gloves
-
Too much first-aid stuff (when
travelling within Europe, you can always get everything you need very quickly)
Too many bike tools
Things that I would recommend to take with you:
- Sleeveless windbreaker
- sponge, dish washing liquids, dish towel
If you have any questions, comments, ideas or tips or if you are planning a trip yourself, feel free to contact me at any time in the comments or privately via the contact form.
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