What are your essentials to go bicycle touring?

[foxyrider]

wallet - everything else can be replaced.

My essentials to make a tour possible are gonna change depending on what i'm doing but a bike is essential, some form of luggage carriage, tool kits, good footwear, gloves and comfortable shorts.

my favourite bit of kit however is my comfy saddle!

[IanW]

Essentials:

1) good bike (+ panniers / saddle-bag / bar-bag / frame-bag / rucksack, which are sort of givens if we are talking cycle touring)
2) somewhere safe and comfortable to sleep (so a good sleeping-bag + pillow and then tent / hostel / hotel / friend's house)
3) something safe to drink (water, tea, coffee, beer, take your pick but take something to drink out of, and/or something to open the drink if necessary)
4) something [nice] to eat (carried with you and/or bought as necessary)
5) something comfortable to wear (for me t-shirt, shorts + sandals seem to cover the bare essentials, then warmth and waterproofs as needed for survival / comfort)
6) something to keep clean with (i.e. soap + razor + towel, but I am not sure that I *need* a mirror, but maybe a bicycle mirror would suffice)

Then since we are talking cycling, not walking, this implies some sort of road / path / track to ride on, and this typically implies some sort of human habitation / civilization. So, assuming some payment / barter method, most other "essential" things could be acquired as needed.
But I would probably choose to take with me the following which are probably not truly *essential*:

7) torch (a bike headlight might suffice)
8 ) compass (including sighting / signalling mirror, which also doubles as a shaving mirror)
9) watch
10) swiss army knife
11) person "toolkit" (i.e. basic first-aid kit + medicines)
12) [bike] toolkit + basic spares

7, 8, 9, 10 and 11 get carried in a rucksack when out walking [including round towns]
And when away from home for more than 24-hours, an approximation of 12 comes too.

Then nice-to-haves include:

13) good company, or at least someone to talk to or ask for help. My spouse typically provides the latter
14) a camera to show (gloat over) the sights I have seen to others.

And then come the shed-loads of ancilliary junk like:

15) GPS
16) mobile phone
17) music player
18) tablet computer
19) cooking equipment
.
.
.
<nnn>) kitchen sink

Note that I am one of those technophiles / gadget freaks who shrivel-up and die if disconnected from the internet for more than a few hours.
So technically 16 & 18 are actually *essentials* too.

[simonhill]

My bike.

My butler.

[pau1ine]

• 100% waterproof panniers
• A good companion, one who loves bike mechanics even better

[thirdcrank]

Nobody seems to have mentioned CTC membership. Once upon a time, the CTC Handbook would have been tucked away in a side pocket on the Camper Longflap.

[horizon]

Hi guys,

I am not a gear geek, but I reckon there are still some material possessions I think I couldn’t go bicycle touring without.

Antonio

Antonio

I get the strong impression that what you really cannot do without is your underwear:

http://www.theadventurejunkies.com/worl ... ra-mexico/

I don't blame you but you did ask.

[PH]

For me I wouldn't want to go touring without a camera.
I wouldn't enjoy a days cycling if I hadn't had a good nights sleep, so my exped mat and down quilt are near the top of the list.
And although I risk getting burnt at the stake, my Garmin has transformed the way I tour, I wouldn't want to be without it.

[IanW]

Nobody seems to have mentioned CTC membership. Once upon a time, the CTC Handbook would have been tucked away in a side pocket on the Camper Longflap.

You mean like:

With essential touring information like:

With other useful information like:

My copies are all a bit out of date now though