Packing list for cycle touring index | gen The following list is based on what we took to the Cordillera Blanca in 2006. Bikes and packing, panniers Bike tools and spares Paperwork, books IT Camping Cooking Medical Toiletries Clothes for Colin Clothes for Tracey (similar, mutatis mutandis) Bikes and packing Bikes (Tracey: Trek 930; Colin: Marin Muirwoods) Dropout spacers Duck tape, electrical pvc tape Polythene bike bags Pipe lagging Polythene for protecting saddles See packing bikes for airoplanes. Bungees, toestraps Panniers, pannier racks Bicycle locks Lights Water bottles (and cages of course) 2 kitbags So as to keep our baggage within the max 4 pieces, we put panniers and other luggage in 2 kitbags. One of these was left in the Lima hotel containing packing items, the other was carried around with us, enabling us to pack efficiently for bus and taxi journeys. Locks for kitbags Small backpack Packed in a pannier, but used for walking around. Some plastic carrier bags for keeping clothes dry, and keeping those of different degrees of smelliness apart. Bike tools and spares 4mm, 5mm, 6mm long Allen keys Multitool Pedal spanner Small adjustable spanner Penknife Spoke key Pumps Tyre levers 4 spare inner tubes Puncture repair kit Spare chainlinks Bolts Bolts holding pannier racks, toeclips etc. shake off all too willingly on rough roads. Wire Bits of tyre to patch up bad damage. Spare cables 2 brake cables, 2 gear cables. Spare spokes 4 of each length. 1 pair spare brake blocks. Dry lube Rag Old toothbrush for cleaning chain etc. Paperwork, books Passports Money stuff nowadays usually plastic, but also local currency if we have any Airline e-ticket receipts, visa info, parking receipt, insurance Address list for sending postcards home Photocopy of instructions for complicated items tent, stove, Colin’s alti, Colin’s camera... Maps, guidebook selections We photocopy or tear out the pages of interest to us: we seldom take an entire guidebook. Books to read We took 5 books to Peru for 3 weeks: it wasn’t enough. We often also take a CD walkman and an exciting selection of string quartets Pocket foreign language dictionary Notebook and a couple of pens We carry loose papers in a set of plastic document folders. IT Cameras Colin: a Sony DSC-W5 compact digital camera. Tracey: a Pentax film SLR. Camera accessories Half a dozen films plus a zoom lens for Tracey. Brush for cleaning. GPS Altimeters Colin: a cordless VDO MC1.0+, which needs a couple of spare parts. Tracey: a Suumto wrist alti. Heart-rate monitor for Tracey Optional (not actually taken to Peru). Mobile phone Optional, taken only when useful, certainly not to Peru. Camping Tent plus repair kit. A Macpac ‘minaret’. Sleeping bags A good 3-season bag is sufficient for almost any cycle tour – after all, you can’t cycle on snow. Thermarests plus repair kit. Ours are 3/4 length. Pillows Torches A single Petzl LED headtorch which doubles as a spare light for cycling; one of our bike lights doubles as a spare torch. Cooking Stove & stove gubbins We have an MSR XG-K. The gubbins are the carrying bag, foil heat reflectors, cleaning kit and a couple of spare items. Fuel bottles as appropriate For Peru we took the 10 floz bottle we cook from plus an additional litre for carrying. Sponge/scourer for washing up Two 6-litre platypuses for carrying water 6l are sufficient for one night’s camping for 2 people, but a spare doesn’t weigh much. Also, if the water is balanced between 2 platypuses, it is possible to hook them over the handlebars of Colin’s bike and cycle along carrying them. We also take a spare platypus top. Pans 2 pans are sufficient for our cooking. Crockery 2 plastic dishes, 2 plastic mugs. Cutlery 2 plastic dessert spoons, one metal camping knife. Small containers for salt, sugar etc. Or rather a large one for sugar. You can never have enough sugar on tour. Foodstuffs We usually take packets of French dried soup with us (better quality than we could buy at our destination), and whatever sort of teabag we least detest at the time (Earl Grey for Peru). Medical Sun cream Lip salve Insect repellent Anti-histamines Needed if insect bites are likely to be troublesome. For Peru Tracey also took a prescription bite-soother, having learnt that she reacts badly to the flies of the lowlands there. Elastoplast Antiseptic ointment Pair of small folding haberdashery scissors Iodine pills for purifying water. Toiletries Liquid soap Also used for washing dishes. Travel towel We didn’t use it once in Peru. Tracey observes that a polythene bag weighs less and works just as well. Facecloth Tiny tube of toothpaste, as handed out by airlines. Personal items Toothbrushes etc. Clothes for Colin Warm weather gear: 3 brightly coloured cotton office shirts 1 pair cotton shorts 1 pair basic trekking trousers cut back to 3/4 length after too many encouters with chain rings. I refuse to replace them until manufacturers discover a less drab colour than knaki. 3 pairs M&S cotton underpants 1 pair smartish trekking trousers which unzip to become shorts 1 floppy white sunhat 3 pairs white cotton socks 1 pair cycling boots (actually lightweight Goretex trekking shoes) 1 pair beach sandals 1 pair sunglasses 1 pair cycling mitts synthetic because less smelly after prolonged use. Swimming trunks 2 hankies Cycle clips depending on which trousers I plan to cycle in. Protection from cold and rain: Cycling cagoule Fleece jersey Long-sleeved thermal vest Thermal longjohns Thermal undies are worn inside the sleeping bag for extra warmth, and to keep the bag clean. 1 pair non-white socks to wear inside the sleeping bag. Fleece hat (the type which covers the ears) 1 pair fleece gloves 1 pair thin inner gloves When we encountered hail at 4000m in Peru I had to wear mitts plus both pairs of gloves; my hands were still very cold. 1 pair winter cycling longs Extra clothes for travel: A smartish shirt An extra pair underpants An extra pair socks These were worn while flying in each direction. They were left in a hotel in Lima and worn for our celebration meal. index | gen