Touring tips

You're just showing off.:D

Or for proper real planning...
Take along a small clear plastic zip top freezer bag. If it pisses down, instert ticket into said bag then clothes peg it to your screen.:thumb

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When bods are waiting to embark, do they remove their ticket from its clothes peg when they wonder off for the seemingly obligatory purchase of duty free, brew and scran and buying underpants? Or do they leave it to chance?
 
I'm surprised at how many folk take a load of cheap t-shirts, socks and boxers and throw them out when dirty. It really is a rich western way to travel. I read in another thread someone saying they bought bulk packs of such items from Tesco and threw them away after one days use. No wonder the world is over using resources

It’ll maybe be the same bods who race two, three or more bikes through the rip-off peage barrier at once.

I’m too tight to do that….. take it, wash it or bring home dirty

It does seem to be the easiest thing to do. However, I do wonder how many bikermates discover things they would not otherwise have seen, when hunting down fresh new socks and pants each morning?
 
Take a photocopy of the front and rear of your credit cards and driving licence….or picture on your phone

When you loose your wallet, or it’s pick pocketed you have all your card details available to phone and cancel.

Do not keep the photocopies in your wallet and don’t lose your phone in the same theft.

PS Most credit and cash cards are cancelable / can be frozen via their respective apps. Unless that is you’ve lost your phone too, which only makes contacting the card provider harder, adding to angst. Doubly so, if you rely on your phone for navigation duties.
 
We should all stay at home and get a nice TMax
 
Another top tip…

Get a half used toilet roll - push a pair of pants inside the tube - roll some wet wipes around the outside - seal in a bag and place in a handy location..

I call it my “shit pack”

I’ve needed it in the following places and it’s served me well:

Florida
Morocco
Turkey
Nepal
 
Another top tip…

Get a half used toilet roll - push a pair of pants inside the tube - roll some wet wipes around the outside - seal in a bag and place in a handy location..

I call it my “shit pack”

I’ve needed it in the following places and it’s served me well:

Florida
Morocco
Turkey
Nepal

Use the same bag for the hygienic carrying of the soiled undercrackers, when taking them home to wash and re-use, rather than lobbing them into the nearest bush, bikermate style.
 
Not really a touring tip but handy all the same.
Should you find yourself having to stay in a hotel rather than your Hilleberg Parador and you cant get the curtains to block out all the daylight, use a clothes hangar with clips if there’s one in the room and clip vertically to the curtains to hold them shut.

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Even better ...

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TouraTechyMickySpecial ...

My later versions were all stainless and rust free :D

:beerjug:

Proper inovation.:D I hope the development of the stainless version goes well.:thumb2
:beerjug:

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When bods are waiting to embark, do they remove their ticket from its clothes peg when they wonder off for the seemingly obligatory purchase of duty free, brew and scran and buying underpants? Or do they leave it to chance?

I would also advise removing the peg as well. Some thieving bastard's out there, can't be too careful.
Also don't forget to remove the peg whilst touring the roads of Europe. It shows general sloppiness to any opportunistic Rumanians.
:beerjug:
 
It always makes me laugh when I see some of the camping kit people take on bike trips when a bit of ingenuity would avoid it. I’ve never taken a chair if I’ve got hard panniers that can be removed and sat on and I put a small piece of plywood under a bag on the rack then use that as a flat surface to cook on rather than even the smallest table.

Why take a gas stove and cylinders when you can use a petrol one and just take fuel out of your tank when you’ve used up whatever you took with you?

Airbeds and camp beds are bulky and quite frankly unnecessary. Have a look at what cycle tourers carry because you won’t see them carry an electric compressor to inflate an airbed. Closed cell camping mats are comfortable enough and if you feel the cold take a silk sleeping bag liner. If you take a camp bed then you need a bigger tent, bigger tents are bulky and just as important, they’re colder. Taking a footprint for a tent is a waste of space unless you’re planning to camp on scree or are too lazy to spend a couple of minutes checking for sharp stones but you still see some people carry them on a bike. The same goes for a tarp, either buy a tent that’s waterproof or pitch it under trees but it’s just more clutter unless you plan to use it and leave the tent at home in summer.

Sort that lot out and you’ve got room for more T shirts and underwear :D

Why take a chair rather than sit on a pannier? It’s more comfortable and you can relax with a glass of wine/beer, rather than bring perched on a pannier lid.

If you use metal panniers then you have a table, no need for a piece of ply.

If you use plastic panniers then there are small tables that pack to the same size as a piece of ply and are more robust.

Closed cell mat, no problem when I was 20, now at 60 an insulated inflatable mat is more comfortable and takes up less room even with the small inflator than a closed cell mat.

Foot print, I use a piece of cheap heavy duty tarp cut to size, needed in many campsites in Spain where the ground is all sharp stones.

Pitching under trees either results in the tent being covered in tree sap or bird shit, neither of which are pleasant.

Tarp, great for sitting under when it’s either too hot or when it’s raining. Do you really want to be stuck in a little tent for longer than necessary?

No need to overload the bike to be comfortable, everything including clothes, stove etc fits into the two plastic panniers and top box.

Occasionally a small dry bag on the rear seat to hold anything displaced if a supermarket visit is undertaken before arrival at a campsite.

Dry bag is also great for washing clothes, fill with dirty clothes, water & persil in the morning and leave to soak in the sun all day, rinse when you get back from the days ride and hang up to dry overnight, under the tarp if it’s wet/damp.

Use merino wool and most items can be worn even in the hottest of weather for a couple of days before they need washing.
 
I used to get my mum to fold and pack everything for me. She would've loved this thread.
 
I used to get my mum to fold and pack everything for me. She would've loved this thread.

I can imagine the scene in Chelsea Mansions:

“Here you are Neil dear, and I’ve done you up a nice fresh shit tube, too”
 
A high point is always when someone uses a mini vacuum to draw the air out of a bag when they’ve packed it then gets upset when they can’t pack everything when it’s time to go home :D

We’re away to Portugal in 10 days and it’s inevitable that my wife will buy something for our 3 granddaughters plus the one that’s due in December then ask me how much room I’ve got in my case when we pack to come home.
 
A high point is always when someone uses a mini vacuum to draw the air out of a bag when they’ve packed it then gets upset when they can’t pack everything when it’s time to go home :D

We’re away to Portugal in 10 days and it’s inevitable that my wife will buy something for our 3 granddaughters plus the one that’s due in December then ask me how much room I’ve got in my case when we pack to come home.
Make sure you only half fill your own bag; it is your duty.........
 
Yep , a 2 week trip,is something I can only dream of .

It’s normally no more than 3-4 night. I pack (and bring home) one shirt per day. I wear a clean shirt in the evening for a few hours in the pub/restaurant and then wear the same shirt under my bike gear the following day. Couple of pairs of Ex - officio underwear that dry overnight ( roll them up very tightly in a handtowel to get most of the moisture out before you hang them up). Like many I take a couple of merino wool long sleeve tops. I have an unlined Klim and wear a Knox wind proof jacket underneath which doubles up as a jacket in the evening. One pair of chinos or jeans , one pair of shorts for knocking around the hotel.
 
Apart from what you wear on your way to wherever, you don’t need much IMHO.

2 pairs merino boxers
2 technical shirts
2 pairs merino socks
Shorts 1 pair (technical, double as swimmies)
Lightweight hiking trousers 1
Cheap down jacket
Flip flops or crocs
Laundry line

That way you don’t need panniers just an Ortlieb bag on the back seat.

Plus a puncture repair kit and a ‘no commission’ credit card. No cash needed.

Just my £0.02

After listening to this splendid gents amazing travels, i'd say he knows his stuff :) :thumb
 
Apart from what you wear on your way to wherever, you don’t need much IMHO.

2 pairs merino boxers
2 technical shirts
2 pairs merino socks
Shorts 1 pair (technical, double as swimmies)
Lightweight hiking trousers 1
Cheap down jacket
Flip flops or crocs
Laundry line

That way you don’t need panniers just an Ortlieb bag on the back seat.

Plus a puncture repair kit and a ‘no commission’ credit card. No cash needed.

Just my £0.02

And for those venturing over to the US and A, you can fit in with the locals if you invest in a pair of these

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