The following items were vetted and refined by past bicyclists on transcontinental tours. This list of cycling and camp gear will help you have stuff to wear, stay healthy, and not offend your fellow travelers while meeting the weight limit!
Required Items
- Sleeping Bag (rated to freezing)
- Mattress (self inflating insulated or closed cell foam)
- Cup, knife, fork, spoon + mesh bag to store items
- Camp clothes - base layers, fleece, sweats, shirts, pants, shorts, socks, underwear, swimsuit, shower shoes or flipflops, shoes, hat
- Medications, Advil, Tylenol and personal care items
- Towel, washcloth, caddy + soap
Optional Items
- Folding camp chair (must fit in duffle)
- Thick plastic bag for wet tent days
- Rain gear (water repellent)
The first leg from White Rock to Calgary is often wet and cool in spots. Terry highly recommends that you bring the waterproofed and warm items - you'll appreciate them.
This is a camping trip. As a rider or volunteer, you will spend most of each day outside in the elements. You’re limited in your gear.
So bring a few items that are tough, can do many things, and are lightweight. Remember, you have to lug it out and back every day. If your trip is 6 cycling days or 60 cycling days, the packing list should be enough.
- Participants (riders and volunteers) will be given storage space inside the gear trailer to keep clothing, electronics, and other personal effects, plus are allowed to bring one duffle for their camping gear. The total weight of all personal gear including duffles and camp chairs must weigh less than 60 lbs (27 kgs). This does not include your bike and items on your bike. You will be required to weigh your gear at check-in. If you are over the limit, you will need to remove items until you meet the limit. Any removed items will be left behind - so choose wisely!
- To help meet the weight limit and keep you comfortable, consider synthetic quick drying wicking fabrics, lightweight insulation, and where needed wind- or water-proof.
- Plan to wear layers. A rain jacket, fleece, hoodie, and t-shirt can do more things than a heavy coat. On a single day of the tour, you can see snow, rain, heavy winds, and a baking hot sun. Layers are the answer.
- Skin Cancer kills. Wear a big hat, cover your neck, wear sunscreen, and wear long sleeves. Protect yourself.
- Use mesh bags, reusable grocery bags, plastic garbage bags and large Ziploc bags to sort, isolate and carry items. They are lighter, cheaper, and compressible. Bring a length of nylon cord, clothes pins, large safety pins, and carabiner clips - they are very versatile for hanging, drying, and repairing. Bring a microfiber cloth to keep like a handkerchief, it will help keep you clean without lots of water.
- Get comfortable wearing camp clothing more than once before washing and having stains on your clothes, you’ll only see a laundry facility maybe once a week and it’s hard to stay under the weight limit with 8 changes of clothes. Choose colors and patterns that hide dirt. Choose fabrics that wash well in the shower and dry quickly. Bring old clothes that you are happy to toss in the trash if they get ruined.
- Think modular and keep things together so that when you grab a bag, everything you need is there. Pack each day’s clothes or riding kit (shorts/bib, jersey, baselayer, socks) into a mesh or Ziploc bag. You should have everything you need to visit the restroom or take a shower in a single bag that you can hang on a hook. This will keep walking from your tent to the gear trailer down to a minimum. Keep liquids in a Ziploc bag. Use a garbage bag to keep your bedding (sleeping bag, sheets, pillow) separate from your tent, stakes, and chair.
- Biking shorts/bibs take a long time to dry - at least 3 days. Washing your shorts in the shower and then hoping to wear them again the day after tomorrow is a great way to grow and wear the germs that create saddle sores. Consider splurging on 4, 5, or even 6 pairs of shorts/bibs. They’ll last longer and you’ll be healthier. Your jersey, socks, and base layers all dry in 24 hours on most days.
- Bike jerseys and wicking shirts will usually dry in an afternoon on a sunny day. Keep them in a mesh bag on top of your basket if they are still damp. Never put even slightly damp items into a Ziploc bag - they will stink by morning, and that smell never goes away even after you wash them at the laundromat!
- Riders use almost every vertical surface and chain link fence to dry clothing, especially towels. Make sure to bring them in before sundown. Once the sun sets, they will start to get damp if still outside.