After doing a 1600 mile self contained solo tour from South Carolina to Michigan and back, I’ve learned a lot of things. First let me tell you about the bike used. It was a Fatback Rhino FLT bike with not one but two Old Man Mountain racks mounted front and rear. Handlebars were Surly Moloko bars with ODI Rogue lock on grips. My saddle of choice was the Terry Fly. I had a Brooks on another bike and didn’t care for it (too much maintenance). The panniers and handle bar bag used were all Arkel. I had a pair of GT18’s up front with a pair of GT 54’s in the rear as well as a Rollpacker Front Bikepacking Bag on the handlebars. All told, I had 115 cubic liters of storage space. Did I use every bit of it. Not completely. Do I wish I had packed less, most definitely. However, I had no knowledge of whether or not I was returning to my starting point or not.
Solid equipment is a must on touring. Especially if you’re touring solo self contained. You can’t be prepared for everything, but you can attempt to have at least some tools to keep your bike going for the trip. Three necessities for this to happen are a good pump, a large patch kit (though I never had a flat throughout my ride which I’ll explain why later), and the necessary sizes of allen keys to tighten things up should they work loose. Also pack a small first aid kit for those nicks and scrapes or even small cuts you might get should you fall.
As to the pump, I recommend Lezne pumps. They are not only light but very durable, though any pump with a gauge in it I suggest you steer clear of. Most are either inaccurate, or they fail to work all the time. Keep a separate small pencil type pressure gage instead of the factory built in ones in pumps.
Allen keys are best to have to tighten things up, but keep it down to a minimal set for those bolts you think may need to be tightened up. A good rule of thumb here is 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8mm. You can probably get by with just a 4, 6, and 8mm in a pinch. Some say take a multitool. In my opinion, these are not the best tool for the job nor are they comfortable to work with. Many have tools you’ll never use on a tour unless you’re out in the “sticks” and a chain breaks or a spoke snaps. Do keep a small cresent wrench handy as well as a #2 or #1 philips screw driver. Depending on your bike and racks, you may also need a flat tip screw driver as well.
First aid kits are readily available. Just don’t get too large of one. Think about that extra weight before you buy something with stuff you won’t need in it. Don’t get any that contain glass bottles for alcohol or sanitizer. Glass will often shatter no matter where you stow it in your panniers and broken glass can not only cause cuts while loading or unloading your panniers, but it can also cut those expensive panniers up delaying your tour waiting for a replacement set.
For tires on the bike, I highly recommend Schwalbe tires. Their Marathon series are great for touring if you’re on a bike with smaller width tires. For my Fatback, I was running the original Schwalbe Johnny Watts 29 X 2.6 inch tires (they have an updated Johnny Watts 365 now). However, I added a little weight here by running Mr. Tuffy tire liners as an added precaution against flat tires. I probably didn’t need them, because after the tour the tires showed very little wear. However, best to be safe than sorry
Now on to camp gear. Sometimes a motel is far and few between or too costly in your opinion (as well as mine after my last tour). DO NOT BE THRIFTY HERE! Good camp gear is a must if you’re staying away from motels or taking an offroad tour. Here, everyone will have recommendations of what they think is best to take. Even I have my preferences.
That being said, you’ll need a tent capable of dealing with not only weather, but have enough room for yourself and your gear (to keep it dry). Going on a solo tour, I highly recommend a good 2 man tent. Not a single man tent. My tent of choice here was an MSR Elixir™ 2 Backpacking Tent. It’s not a cheap tent, but it’s very well built and served me well on my trip. It’s not as light as some, but when I did my research, I was looking at durable which meant stronger materials. Ease of setup is also something to look for. This tent is a no brainer as all poles are color coded as well as instructions placed on the tent storage bag itself.
As to sleeping, a good sleeping bag rated for the climate you’re camping in goes a long way. That or one of the new quilts made for camping. Here, I can’t exactly recommend any particular brand. I took a Coleman rated for zero degrees and it was more than I needed not to mention weighed a whopping 5 pounds. Again, you’ll want something that is both light as well as durable. The biggest issue I’ve found with sleeping bags is the zippers. They tend to break all too easily. My next tour will most likely be with a packable lighweight quilt/comfortor as I won’t be riding anywhere near snow.
While camping, eating is a must to replace the calories you burn during your day’s ride. Cliff bars alone won’t do it. Although great as an energy booster along the ride, they can’t make up for a good hot meal. Here again opinions vary as to what to pack to eat and how much. However, you’ll need to cook any food you bring to a hot meal even if you’re just needing hot water. Nothing worse than a cold meal along the trail.
In the case of cooking or heating up water for coffee, tea, or cooking, there are more limited options. Most people say take a canister stove which are small and light weight. I’ll call them out here and now as liter bugs/trash monsters. Canistor fueled stoves are light but they generate much more trash than a multifuel stove. My choice here was another MSR product. I purchased a MSR Dragonfly stove for multiple reasons. The biggest is that I can carry not one but two fuel tanks (they make various sizes but I chose the 30 fluid ounce model) with minimal room (one in a bottle cage and one in the GT 54 panniers. The Dragonfly is not the lightest stove by MSR. However, it’s designed for larger pots and pans as well as to me being much more stable and a large fuel tank/bottle will last at least a month of 2 or 3 meals a day. The other reason I purchased this stove was it can and does fairly well at burning regular unleaded gas (you have to change the fuel filter in the stove more frequently with regular unleaded gas). Regular unleaded gas is more readily available than the canisters. And that’s just one of several fuels this stove will burn.
Cookware is another thought to keep in mind if camping along the road. Again weight takes into account here. You’ll need something light and durable. Depending on how many you’re cooking for is what you need to keep in mind when purchasing your cookware as well. Kit’s are often made by various companies for camping. For durability and easy cleaning, I recommend either aluminum or stainless steel. Most aluminum pots are coated with some form of non-stick. Be careful what company you purchase from. Cheaper pots and pans will have a less durable coating. Here there are to many choices to mention in manufacturers. Do your homework here.
Now the most important consideration while packing up your kit for the tour. How much to take in clothing and what to take. In my case, I wished I’d taken less clothing. I took just over a weeks worth of clothing and not the wisest choices. My suggested choices from here out is at least 4 changes of bicycling specific shorts or bibs, twice as many t-shirts, and twice as many pairs of socks. For keeping your legs warm, I suggest a lightweight pair of sweat pants or leg warmers in cooler climates. Also take a light warm jacket depending on the climate you’re riding through. You’re choice of clothing will be determined by the climate you’re riding through as well as weight restrictions. Road touring will see a laundromat frequent enough. Offroad, there’s always a river or stream to at least rinse the salt out till you return to civilization.
I made the awful mistake thinking I could ride up to 50 miles a day in nothing but cargo shorts instead of bicycle specific (think with chamois). Boy did I pay for that mistake all the way from Columbia, SC to Asheville, NC where I was able to buy a pair of bicycle specific undershorts to wear with my cargo shorts. Yes, I had some bad chafing in my nether regions. When I got to Michigan, I ordered 3 pairs of Pearl Izumi bicycle specific shorts which I wore under the cargo shorts (I got to have my pockets) from Amazon along with Chamois Butt’r Original Anti-Chafe Cream. This made my return ride less painful by far.
All in all, it was a very good tour with minimal issues. But for those that are contemplating an adventure like this, take the time to research an undertaking like this. Mine isn’t the only opinion out there. Nor are my choices of equipment the only choices. So, DO YOUR HOMEWORK FIRST!
The Touring Frog 