Initially, we each prepared of long list of items that we thought we might need for the trip. Once we started shopping and really started thinking about the whole experience the lists have gotten relatively smaller. With the exception of my brother's rain gear, everything worked OK at the end. To the best of my recollection, here is a list of the items I have taken with me:
| Clothing | |
| 2 | Pearl Izumi Men's Liner Shorts I am glad I took these with me. It gets very uncomfortable sitting on the saddle all they long. They really helped lessen the discomfort. I wore them under my shorts and cycling pants. |
| 2 | Sports shorts |
| cycling pants >We each purchased one in Germany. To be honest, I think they were running pants, but they worked well as cycling pants. |
|
| 2 | Pearl Izumi Men's Attack Cycling Jersey |
| Pearl Izumi Men's Elite Thermal Long Sleeve Jersey | |
| Redram by Icebreaker Wool top and bottom base layers These wool baselayers are naturally breathable and odor resistant. They worked well coupled with the Pearl Izumi thermal jersey. I remember thinking how grateful I was for having these in Slovenia where it got quite cold under the rain. |
|
| rain gear top, bottom, and booties I ordered the rain jacket from the UK. I figured who would know better about rain gear than Brits; and, that turned out to be a good decision. I wish I had done the same with the rain bottoms and the booties. We bought the most "reasonably priced" pair we can find locally in New Jersey. To be fair, they did keep us dry for most part, but they were destroyed after exposure to a couple of weeks of surreal amounts of rain in Europe. |
|
| flip flops After cycling for several hours who wants to wear shoes |
|
| running shoes | |
| 3 + 1 | synthetic + wool socks I often found myself not wanting or able to wash clothes, especially socks. I realized right away that I could wear my wool socks for three or four days before they started to smell, whereas I could wear my synthetic socks only for a day. I am now a devout convert in wool, and on my next trip I am bringing nothing but wool socks. |
| Pearl Izumi Men's Elite Gel Cyling Glove I did not plan on buying these for the trip. But, my brother was keen on them. So I decided the purchase a pair too. But, I quit wearing them after a week or so, mostly because I did not see any added benefit from wearing them and the fact that they started smelling awful after being exposed to rain for a week. |
|
| Runner Sun Hat Once the storm of the century has passed, we often wore these especially in rural roads. They were more comfortable than our helmets and protected us from the sun. |
|
| 2 | t-shirts |
| long sleeve dress shirt | |
| Pair of jeans | |
| Reflective Leg bands went around the right leg of the rain pants |
|
| Schwinn cycling helmet | |
| Louis Garneau Helmet Cover | |
| Board-shorts for swimming, also doubled as cycling shorts. |
|
| valet | |
| 3 | Low rise socks |
| 4 | underwear |
| Toiletries and medicine | |
| Toothbrush, toothpaste, and floss | |
| Shaving razors The type with the disposable heads |
|
| Hand soap | |
| 4 | pairs of contacts and a bottle of cleaning solution |
| small towel | |
| Cotton swabs | |
| sunscreen lotion I am not too crazy about sunscreens in general as I have seen sunglasses and cycling tights get destroyed by them in the past. I don't feel safe putting those things on my skin. But, I had to do it several times on my trip, especially towards the end. Next time, I would definitely buy long sleeve UPF rated shirts and skip the sunscreen. |
|
| Lifeline Trail Light First Aid Kit Unfortunately, we had to use it on one occasion during the trip in Greece. I bought one of the smallest versions to save on weight. But, I would definitely buy something slightly larger next time. |
|
| Imodium Thankfully, I did not have to use them, but can't say the same for my brother. |
|
| 500 | Ibuprofen Painkiller On the other hand, I had to use a quite a few of those, LOL |
| electrolyte replacement tablets We used the whole box, (100 tablets that is) during the trip. I think these are a must if you are gonna cycle in warmer climates. |
|
| 3 | lip palm |
| Camping gear | |
| MSR WhisperLite Universal Stove | |
| 20 oz MSR Fuel Bottle | |
| pan & kettle combo | |
| 2 liter collapsible bottle | |
| 2 | 1 liter cycling water bottles |
| 1 | dehydrated food for a possible emergency |
| Eureka! Spitfire - Tent | |
| sleeping bag | |
| Air mattress | |
| Zip lock bags | |
| clothes line | |
| Bungee cords | |
| lighter | |
| Tools and parts | |
| Brake Cable | |
| Derailleur Cable | |
| Tire patch kit | |
| Crank Brothers Multi Bicycle Tool | |
| duct tape | |
| Zip ties | |
| chain lube | |
| extra tubes | |
| folding knife | |
| Topeak Road Morph Bike Pump | |
| spokes | |
| cloths rope | |
| bike lock and cable | |
| CatEye Reflex Rear Light | |
| Cateye Head Light | |
| notepad and pen | |
| Electronics | |
| Acer netbook | |
| travel plug adapter | |
| LG Optimus L9 P769 Cell Phone The GPS on this cell phone was accurate enough to record all of the GPS tracks and act as our sole navigational aid. |
|
| Anker Astro 5600mAh and 13000mAh External USB Battery | |
| Canon EOS Rebel T2i 18-55mm DSLR Kit and Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II Camera Lens | |
| Rode Shotgun Microphone | |
| cam batteries | |
| external hard drive | |
| tripod | |
| Sony Action Cam | |
| extra memory card |