Suggested packing list for an extended cycling trip
The bikes:
Bill: Novara XR cross bike; Nan: Univega mountain bike
Blackburn rear rack
Blackburn front rack
odometer
2 oversized water bottles
3 bungee cords
1 cable lock
Ortlieb Bike Packer II rear panniers
Ortlieb Front Roller front panniers
handle-bar bag (w/map window)
mirror
photocopies of passports in handlebars (shhh!)
Bike repair parts:
2 brake cables (long)
2 derailleur cables (long)
2 sets bearings front and rear hubs
3 spare tires (2 Bill/1 Nan)
4 spare tubes (2 per person)
2 tire pumps (what if one got lost?)
8 spokes front and rear (Bill; although front and rear spoke sizes differ, you often can get by with just one size. Not in Nan’s, case though)
6 spokes front (Nan)
4 spokes rear (Nan)
Bike tools:
6″ adjustable crescent wrench
8-9-10 mm Y-wrench
Allen keys to fit bike
2 spoke keys (one multi-size)
5 tire levers (why five?!)
Needle-nose pliers
Screwdriver with dual heads
Chain-cracker
Freewheel remover
Emergency spoke cord (will substitute for a broken spoke in a pinch; essential to avoid having to remove the freewheel everytime a rear spoke breaks)
cone wrench (13mm/15mm)
general-purpose grease
drive train/chain oil
3 patch kits
2 quick-release skewers for tires
Camping gear:
Garuda Kasula tent (bomb shelter for Patagonia winds, our home for the year)
ThermaRest 3/4-length inflatable mattress (why didn’t we get the full length?!)
ThermaRest chairs (a necessity for lounging, as our tent is quite tight)
20-degree bags (that zip together)
MSR Whisperlite International stove and cookset with nesting pots
Outback Oven (to break the monotony of pasta and beans)
2 fuel bottles
lighter
2 insulated mugs
kitchen set with spices and cutlery (contains many luxury items that may be jettisoned)
pot-scrubber
Swiss Army knife
candle lantern
2 decks of cards (one in Spanish for “Truco,” the game of Patagonia)
Petzl Zoom headlamps (plus 3 spare batteries)
hackeysack
small bottle of whiskey (essential to Nan for long hill climbs)
That said, I’m sure that we have more stuff that we have yet to dig out. The dictum for luggage holds true: If you have space, you will fill it!
For mountaineering/trekking we have two backpacks. One is expedition size, which will hold the other inside it in its entirety. We brought rock-climbing shoes, but will probably leave them in Quito. I also have a 11mm rope, crampons, ice axe, and assorted caribiners and runners for climbing and glacier travel. However, we will probably have a 30 kg. weight limit each for
the flight to Chile and most likely will leave a lot of this stuff in Quito with the hope that we can rent it elsewhere when we need it. Besides, how could we hope to carry all that stuff on the bikes once we are north of Santiago?
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