11.14.2011

Bike Camping Packing

I'm terrible at packing. It doesn't matter if I'm going to Florida to stay in a condo for a week or packing my bike up to head into the woods for a few days. It's a probability that I'll end up where I'm going with no clothes for the lower half of my body or something.

So this post is, in part, to help me pack better for the next trip. This packing setup was for my overnighter on the Troll in lower 30 degree weather. This is everything but my clothes.

This, however, was the perfect gear list for this trip. Particularly in terms of food. I'll often overpack with food. Right here I had two apples, two packages of Ramen, two protein bars and coffee. I had zero food leftover. That's great for me. Food is heavy. And I tend to pack in twice as much as I need. But I think the frequency of my trips recently kept me in the know.

Here's what I have for gear...

  • 30 degree Lafuma sleeping bag stuff in an OR stuff sack
  • Kelty camping pillow (not a necessity, but it helps me sleep much better!)
  • ENO single nest hammock and straps
  • first aid kit with emergency blanket
  • MSR Pocket Rocket stove and canister 
  • headlamp
  • pot, coffee mug, plastic fork and spoon
  • cycling gloves and pump
  • toothbrush (also not necessary, but I'm just that considerate to those I huff and puff past on the bike)
Honestly, it doesn't seem like much. All this stuff fit in one pannier pretty easily. My only issue was that we were leaving in near 60 degree temps and sleeping in 30 degrees. I had to bring a lot of clothes that I would normally have on my body. My second pannier was full of clothes that I slept in that night. For that matter, I don't have the nicest cold weather gear, either. I need a lot of layers of my cheaper stuff to compensate for warmth. I'm not complaining at all. I'm thankful to have enough to keep me warm. But it does get rather bulky.

So there it is, my latest packing efforts. Hopefully, next time I'll be smart enough to look back on this entry before I scratch my head trying to figure out what to pack again.

Get out there.

2 comments:

  1. That's downright minimalistic compared to my 4th of July trek. I was gone 3 days on the Xtracycle and had about 80 pounds of gear (including food and water). I need to learn to just leave stuff out! I did have a tent and some cool weather gear because I was going to be above 12,000', but otherwise I had no need for so much stuff. I brought back a LOT of food, though most of it was food to be cooked, and I was out of snack type stuff to eat while riding.

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  2. @ Chris - 80lbs! That's impressive. When I tote my kids around town on the Xtracycle, it's around 100lbs. I can't imagine doing that for a long long haul.

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