Important papers
- My RoadID. This became a "must wear when riding" item back in 2004. It contains information needed in case of emergency - contact info for friends, family, and my primary care physician, as well as heath-related information
- Passport if traveling outside of the United States
- Confirmation numbers for plane, train, hotel, and hostel reservations
- Money: a stash of cash for whatever country I'm visiting
- Plastic: credit card, ATM card, telephone calling card, AAA & AARP cards for hotel discounts
- National Parks Pass if I'm traveling in the US and I'm planning to stop at a National Park. No sense in paying twice, right?
Miscellaneous, "take care of myself" stuff
- A teeny tiny pair of GuestSpecs LifeSavers reading glasses. They fit in a case the size of a pen, which means they take up no space at all. I know, I know, hard to believe! It's a good thing I had these with me. My eye doctor keeps telling me he doesn't understand why I can still read without reading glasses - those old reading eyes, you know... I don't need reading glasses most of the time, but I need some help with really fine print like maps.
- Bungie cords or straps to attach drying clothes to the trailer (or to the rack or panniers
- Medium size travel towel. I really only need a towel on a camping trip, but I've started taking one on some non-camping trips too, usually trips that skirt the ocean. Who knows, I might just want to jump into the water, and it's nice to have the ability to dry off without waiting for the wind and air to do the drying for me! My travel towel of choice is made by Aquis.
- Toilet articles, including Dr. Bronners peppermint soap, and sample size bottles of shampoo to be used for hand-washing clothes, and several small packets of Kleenex
- Sunscreen - My preference is for PreSun Ultra Gel SPF30, but that can be hard to find. In fact, I have to order PreSun over the web since it doesn't seem to be stocked anywhere in my area. My web source for PreSun is Unique Sports Accessories. If I can't get the PreSun, usually when I'm on the road, my second choice is Coppertone Sport Sunblock Gel.
- First aid kit (bandaids, neosporin, stuff for blisters, ibuprofen, decongestants, etc.)
- A few zip-lock bags, just in case...
- sunglasses with 3 sets of lenses (gray, rose, yellow)
- Ice bag - You know, one of those old-fashioned things that you put ice in, to be used to ice sore knees (or other body parts)
- A stash of energy bars to start with
- A small pad of paper used to jot down some notes during the day of things I'd like to remember for my journal.
Packing, and getting to the start of my tour stuff
- REI Transformer Duffle. This nylon duffle bag is lighter than the standard (and more indestructible) Cordura bags. It stuffs into it's own pocket, and it's sturdy enough to live through airline baggage handling. I'll pack my clothes and other stuff in here for the flight (everything but the bike and trailer, but there's a good chance the trailer wheels will end up in this bag instead of in the bike case / trailer). Once I get to my destination I'll put the bike and trailer together, and everything that traveled in this duffle bag will end up in the trailer.
I had some doubts about the size of this duffle when I bought it for my Hawaii trip - but it worked just fine. I used the large duffle. It wasn't full - but the medium would not have held everything comfortably. - Eagle Creek packable day pack. A lightweight and fairly unstructured day pack that packs into a small pocket. I'll use this as a carry-on bag on the flight, and then I can use it if I'm ever wandering around off the bike and need a place to stash stuff. This let's me have a carry-on bag that doesn't take up much space when I'm not using it.
- If I'm flying to the start of my trip, a blowup neck pillow for that long, long plane ride. It doesn't take up much space when it's collapsed, and it stops that dreaded head-bobbing when sleeping sitting up.
