Kit list for cycle tour

pottssteve

Hi,

I'm planning a ride for about 9 people (adults and teenagers) from the Netherlands to Wales. We will be supported by a campervan/motorhome. We are aiming to do around 850km in 6 days.

I am trying to come up with a list of equipment that I may need to take. Got a lot of obvious things like spare inner tubes, pumps, toilet roll, painkillers(!) etc, but I was wondering if anyone had any ideas for more obscure things or, ideally, a suggested list for packing. Weight not really a problem as it will be carried in the support van.

Any advice appreciated.
Cheers,
Steve

marcusjb

Decent selection of spares - cables, chains, tyres etc.

First aid stuff for any bumps and bruises.

LOTS of food and water!

nicktheluddite

Spare tyre in case you get some massive bit of damage.
A note of where bike shops are on your route so you don't have to spend ages trying to find one for unfixable problems.

polkadotcycling

My top tip for saddle sores, is Hydrocolloid dressings. You can buy them from Boots or any pharmacy. They are designed to absorb fluid and any infection and the dressing swells slowly after you put it on so they then form a cushion as well. They are self adhesive and really sticky so will stay put and not ruckle and cause more problems. You will need to cut them to size though.

To get them off in the evening, have a soak in the bath!

Our club got through the RAID Alpine last year on these and we give them to our customers too.

team47b

This guy is the most thorough list maker I know! Touring without support vehicle, I know, but still helpful...

http://www.cycletourer.co.uk/cycletouri ... gear.shtml

p9uma

team47b wrote:

This guy is the most thorough list maker I know! Touring without support vehicle, I know, but still helpful...

http://www.cycletourer.co.uk/cycletouri ... gear.shtml

Thanks for the useful link, it is an interesting read. They take their touring seriously don't they!

andymiller

You're never really going to be that far from a bike shop but given that you have a campervan at your disposal, the sky's the limit. I'd be tempted to take a spare bike even.

Proper tool kit, including a footpump.

I find it extremely useful to have a sewing kit for repairs plus repair tape, cord, shock cord etc.

mididoctors

clean clothing for every day be it on a wash rotation or duplicates

Hoopdriver

I think you'll find this a very useful website. Its run by a Canadian couple who live in Holland, have done a lot of touring and have written a very good guide to touring which is downloadable free off the website. Lots of good advice and lists of things to take in various circumstances and for various locations.

http://travellingtwo.com/

takeonafrica

Suncream? or is that a bit optimistic!

Here's my kit list for my last trip (9months Canada to Central America), fully loaded and camping -
http://helenstakeon.com/take-on-the-great-americas/equipment-list/

And my gear for 3 weeks in Cuba (Read panniers only as not camping) -
http://helenstakeon.com/take-on-cuba/equipment/

I don't think you can go too wrong - it should be easy to pick up anything you forget or need along the way.

As you have plenty of space, why not take all the bike maintenance/repair stuff you have, which should cover everything but the most major failures. And for those, if you are very unlucky, you'll just have to find a bike shop en route. If the bikes are in good condition before you go, there should be no problems for a 850km ride.

andymiller

I know it's not what you asked, but isn't 850kms in 6 days a a bit over-ambitious - especially if you're heading for the hillier parts of Wales (are there any non-hilly bits?)? I'm guessing from your question that you haven't done anything similar before; there's a lot of difference between riding nearly a hundred miles if you have the rest of the week to recover, but it's another matter if you have to get up next morning and do it again. And then again the day after that.

pottssteve

Dear All,

Thank you for taking the time to reply, and especially for posting the very useful links. There were some things there that I had not considered.

andymillar - we are heading to the Cardiff area so only just popping into Wales and running along the South coast. I think the hilly bit will be between Southampton and Bristol. We are aiming at 125km per day on average and will be training over the summer. It will be a challenge but that's the point (and also why we will have a support vehicle )

Steve

andymiller

pottssteve wrote:

andymillar - we are heading to the Cardiff area so only just popping into Wales and running along the South coast. I think the hilly bit will be between Southampton and Bristol. We are aiming at 125km per day on average and will be training over the summer. It will be a challenge but that's the point (and also why we will have a support vehicle )

I was looking at the paper yesterday at the report of the previous day's Giro d'Italia. The stage length was 180 kms.

Don't underestimate how hilly southern England can be. I spent most of last Summer riding in the Appenines with a short break in England. One of the toughest days I had was riding in South Somerset - all those little hills add up.

My suggestion would be to do two consecutive days of say 125 kms and then review your plans. I'd also suggest building in some flexibility in case things go wrong or you just get a day of rubbish weather.

The difficult thing about settin yourself a challenge is judging how to set an objective that is testing but achievable as opposed to an objective that is setting yourself up to fail - or at best 6 gruelling, miserable days and refereeing constant arguments about who gets to ride in the van.

Southern England is beautiful - take the time to enjoy it.

pottssteve

andymiller wrote:

pottssteve wrote:

andymillar - we are heading to the Cardiff area so only just popping into Wales and running along the South coast. I think the hilly bit will be between Southampton and Bristol. We are aiming at 125km per day on average and will be training over the summer. It will be a challenge but that's the point (and also why we will have a support vehicle )

I was looking at the paper yesterday at the report of the previous day's Giro d'Italia. The stage length was 180 kms.

Don't underestimate how hilly southern England can be. I spent most of last Summer riding in the Appenines with a short break in England. One of the toughest days I had was riding in South Somerset - all those little hills add up.

My suggestion would be to do two consecutive days of say 125 kms and then review your plans. I'd also suggest building in some flexibility in case things go wrong or you just get a day of rubbish weather.

The difficult thing about settin yourself a challenge is judging how to set an objective that is testing but achievable as opposed to an objective that is setting yourself up to fail - or at best 6 gruelling, miserable days and refereeing constant arguments about who gets to ride in the van.

Southern England is beautiful - take the time to enjoy it.

Hi Andy,

Thank you for taking the time to reply, and for your advice and concern. As always, what we are doing is a bit of a compromise. We only have 9 days maximum to do the ride, including one or two days to drive back home. I also know that all the little hills do add up - living in Limburg is exactly like this. I used to live on the S. coast of England so I know it can be undulating. I'm working with other people to organise the ride and am pushing for flexibility. I think I'm one of the more experienced cyclists, hence my concern in getting it right.

The students will come from United World College and this challenge fits very well with our remit to challenge them - everyone has the right to fail and if we do not make it, or spend time huddled in the van, it's all good experience! believe me, I'm not taking this lightly, and I value your advice.

Best,
Steve

fungus_the_muffin_man

What you need is someone like me to ride alongside who is also a nurse in case you have any medical emergencies

When we did L2P the other year we made sure we had

A good first aid kit -thats where a good nurse comes in
spare tubes
a few spare tyres
chain links, brake/ gear wires
a full tool kit for shimano and campag
lots of lubes/ gt85
something decent to pump up tyres with
we got sponsorship from eat natural who sent us a load of bars
Water and lots of it to replen from
High 5 did us a deal on gels etc....
personnally we made sure we all had assos cream etc...
enough kit to wear or clean/dry wear over the 3 days
You may need to think about having bike lights and spare batteries ( just in case)

pottssteve

Hi Fungus,

How's Heywood - still a dump?

I'd love to have a nurse/soigner along to rub liniment into my parts but I think we'll have to make do with having someone first aid trained!
Thanks for the other stuff on the list, it's good to have other people's ideas.

Cheers,
Steve

fungus_the_muffin_man

pottssteve wrote:

Hi Fungus,

How's Heywood - still a dump?

I'd love to have a nurse/soigner along to rub liniment into my parts but I think we'll have to make do with having someone first aid trained!
Thanks for the other stuff on the list, it's good to have other people's ideas.

Cheers,
Steve

Good luck with it all sounds fab.

I got out of Heywood last year after some 38 yrs and moved to Tyldesley. Not quite sure if that's an improvement lol.

Are you using Garmins to route map? If so It could be worth ensuring you have chargers handy and maybe a laptop in case you need to make any emergency route changes en route.

Oh and maybe an emergency rear mech hanger for those just in case moments. you can get one for a few quid

pottssteve

If you were in Monkey Town for 38 years we must have been contemporaries - I lived there from 1971 until 1989.

Not sure if we are using Garmins - I am riding with some fellow teachers and some students so one of us might have one. We will have a support vehicle and a list of local bike shops en route in case of serious mechanicals. Will certainly stock up on the chamois creme and painkillers though!