Post Tour Review: Bicycle Touring Gear for South Europe Velotour 8

In 2014, Cat took a 3 month bike tour across Europe. In this post, she goes over the bike touring gear she took with her, and how it performed.

Bike Touring Gear for Eurovelo

By Catherine Small

Looking back on my cycling tour across South Europe, it seems a little debrief would be helpful. Below are the items I packed and some of what I learned and would do next time related to bicycle touring gear.

Bicycle touring gear list

Bike with bottle-holder, back wheel rack and extra-comfy saddle
Helmet
One rear pannier
Detachable front pannier
Bike lock
Small two-person tent (really only big enough for me and my bags, but technically for two)
Foam sleeping mat
Sleeping bag
2 water bottles, one litre in the holder and two litre in the pannier
Utility knife
Rear safety light
Front LED light
“horns” attached to my handlebars
Adjustable spanner
Allen key set (only two of them were of use)
Pump
Tube repair kit
Tyre levers (!)
Spare inner tube
Large bin liners
Spoon
500ml plastic container with clip seals
4 small ocky-straps (aka bungee cords)
Thin nylon rope
38L backpack
oil/lubricant for chain
small sewing kit
sunglasses
face cloth
small towel
Apacket of serviettes (a roll of paper towel would have been more economical but takes up more space)
2 cigarette lighters
AAA batteries (I took 8 and only used 2)
nail clippers (!!)

Related: Best touring saddles

Gear I took, but did not use

* little saddle bag
* bicycle bell
* firestarters
* duct tape (sewing kit worked better for repairing things)
* little LED torch (I just used my bicycle headlamp)

Gear I would take next time

air sleeping mat instead of foam
fork
spare brake pads
collapsable bowl (to make salad in!)
harmonica or something else to make music (I ended up buying one after the bicycle retired)
insect repellent
camping headlight
waterproof pants
one of those little speedometer/odometer things. It’s nice to know how many kilometres you cover and how fast you’re going at times.
a silver insulation sheet for under the tent. They are cheap, weigh almost nothing and take up very little space, and make a lot of difference on cold nights!

Clothes I packed

6 underpants
1 sports bra (quick drying croptop sort, two or three would have been good)
2 pairs of ankle socks for cycling (more would have been nice)
1 pair of warm long socks
1 thermal leggings
4 singlets
3 t-shirts
1 bicycle shorts with padded seat (good for days when the bum gets sore!)
1 knee-length yoga tights (I wore these the most for cycling)
1 flannelette shirt
1 raincoat
cycling gloves
1 bandanna/headscarf thing (like a tube of tshirt material that doubles as a neck-warmer and can pull up over the head like a headband or bandanna)
joggers (used these for cycling, hiking and just about everything)
thin canvas sneakers (like VANS – good for days of sightseeing)
thongs/flipflops
ordinary clothes – black leather ankle boots, nice jacket, 2 skirts, black stockings, 2 bras, jeans
a watch

Miscellaneous bits and pieces

iPad mini loaded with lots of books, music and Google Maps, and a little keyboard for easy writing
iPhone mostly for camera
chargers
sketch book
moleskin notebook
pens, watercolours, paintbrushes, charcoals, pastels, pencils, a bottle of ink and a stylus (if you’re not into drawing and painting like I am then think of something else to bring to occupy your evenings when you’re camping in the wild alone!)
Vegemite! It’s good to bring something from home that you can share with people you meet.
rolling tobacco, filters and papers – I enjoy an occasional cigarette with an evening beer.
a soft cotton handbag – it packs away to almost nothing and is nice for city days

Toiletries

soap
nail brush (!!)
face wash
2in1 shampoo-conditioner
toothbrush and toothpaste
baby wipes and face wipes
a little bottle of olive oil for mascara removal
face moisturiser
body moisturiser
stick deodorant
hair product
basic makeup (blush, eyebrow pencil, eyeliner and mascara). It’s nice to feel like a lady when going out in cities after so much time spent as a wild grubby cyclist)
perfume – as above

Gear thoughts from a multi-faceted traveler

Because I’d been backpacking and spontaneously decided to start South Europe bicycle touring, I had many things that people who start out with the intention of traveling by bicycle don’t bring, such as the boots, the art materials, perfume and jeans. I had enough space for everything and didn’t regret them because they brought a little indulgence and comfort to what can become a fairly austere lifestyle.

Since leaving the bike and travelling by foot and thumb I’ve culled a lot more because the backpack is too heavy.

On the other hand, because I wasn’t planning my bike tour I only bought the bare minimum of gear that I thought I would need, and along the way picked up things that I found through experience really were useful, like the handlebar horns, sewing kit and padded cycling shorts.

My packing approach tends to be minimalist, but not necessarily austere. Minimalist to me means identifying the things that I get the most value out of – either because they are useful or because I enjoy them. So my paints and charcoals, makeup and hair product are included, and camping cookware isn’t.

Blog posts from the bike tour

Read all about Cat's bicycle tour across Europe. Here are the blog posts: