Pacific Coast Bike Tour: Gear

Gear lists are often my favorite blog posts to read. Whenever I’m planning a new adventure, whether it’s hiking, cycling, or traveling, I scour the internet reading every gear list I can find. It is interesting to learn not only what others take on similar trips, but also to understand why and how gear ultimately worked out.

Cycling down the Pacific Coast was my first bike tour, so I had to assemble an entire touring kit. I had some cycling and camping gear, but there was a lot more to research and purchase. I have a tendency to over-research every purchase to make sure every item is essential and of high quality, design, and function. If I did that for every item for this tour, I would have never left home. I decided to put the kit together fairly quickly (for me), make quick decisions, and rely on popular and trusted items that were highly regarded by experienced cycle tourists whose journals I read.

Overall, the gear worked out great, much better than I expected. Below is my complete gear list for my Pacific Coast bike tour, along with changes I am considering for future tours.

When I started the tour, the gear weighed-in at 80 pounds fully loaded: bike 30 lbs, gear 40 lbs, and food/water 10 lbs.

Bike

• Surly Long Haul Trucker touring bike – 54cm frame, 26″ wheels, color: smog-geriffic silver
• Schwalbe Marathon Plus Tour 1.75″ tires
• Tubus Logo rear rack
• Tubus Duo front rack
• Ortlieb back-roller classic rear panniers
• Ortlieb front-roller classic front panniers
• Ortlieb Ultimate6 classic medium handlebar bag with map case
• Brooks B-17 saddle
• Planet Bike Cascadia 60mm fenders
• Shimano A530 SPD pedals
• Topeak Turbo Morph pump
• Cygolite Metro 400 USB front light
• Planet Bike Superflash rear light
• Kryptonite 4’ cable and combination lock – took only the cable, not the heavy U-lock
• Rearview mirror
• Crank Brothers multi-tool
• tool kit – tire levers, tubes (2), chain lube (T-9), adjustable wrench, extra screws/bolts, duct tape, rag, wet wipes
• reflective triangle – attached to seat
• water bottles (2)

Camp

• Big Agnes Copper Spur UL2 tent + footprint
• Marmot Pinnacle 15F down sleeping bag
• Therm-a-rest NeoAir Xlite sleeping pad + patch kit
• Therm-a-rest stuff sack pillow Sea to Summit Aeros Ultra Light Pillow
• Snow Peak GigaPower stove + fuel
• GSI Outdoors Pinnacle Soloist cookset or Toaks 700ml titanium pot
• bowl, mug, spoon, knife

On-bike Clothes

• Pearl Izumi cycling shorts (2 pairs)
• Ice Breaker merino wool tech lite t-shirts (2)
• Showers Pass Elite 2.0 rain jacket
• Pearl Izumi X-Alp Seek VII cycling shoes
• long sleeve thermal top
• bike vest
• leg warmers
• wool socks (2 pairs)
• cycling gloves
• helmet
• helmet cover (never used)
• shoe covers (never used)

Miscellaneous

• maps – ACA Pacific Coast full set, Oregon Coast bike map
• lighter
• headlamp
• camp towel
• wallet – cash (small bills), credit & ATM cards, ID, medical insurance card
• Road ID bracelet
• notepad + pens
• toiletries – soap, deodorant, q-tips, sunscreen, etc.
• first aid kit – ibuprofen, bandaids, etc.
• ziplock bags
• extra batteries
• sponge for cleaning dishes

Future gear additions

While the kit above worked superbly, I plan to make minor adjustments on future tours, including:

• Schwalbe Marathon Plus tires – the gold standard for touring tires, virtually flat resistant
• Macbook – for longer tours, I would prefer to take my ultralight laptop, instead of using iPhone+Bluetooth keyboard
• iPhone handlebar mount + waterproof case – perhaps this could be my primary cycle computer
• camp chair – sitting on picnic table benches and on floor of my tent wasn’t so comfortable
• more (off-bike) clothes – I only took one cotton t-shirt, and it became my favorite thing to wear at camp after wearing synthetic & wool all day
• kickstand – fully loaded, it was often tough to find somewhere to lean the bike

Closing Thoughts

Building a touring kit was initially overwhelming, as there was a lot to learn and so many products to research. Many of my decisions were made by reading through gear lists and diving deeper into products that came up over and over again. Whenever possible, I chose gear of high quality and that would last me a long time (perhaps even lifetime) and/or easy to repair. Of course, there is always new/better/lighter gear coming out every year, but I’m hoping to not be tempted to refresh any time soon.

[Wayne has retired.] For bike racks and panniers, I strongly recommend talking with Wayne at TheTouringStore. He has an immense amount of knowledge and was incredibly helpful with every question/issue, no matter how small or specific. I went with Tubus steel racks and Ortlieb bags, as I fully expect that they will last me a lifetime.

The staff at my local REI and a couple of local bike shops were incredibly helpful with all my questions and gear selection. Whenever possible, I bought gear from local shops, and only ordered gear online that I couldn’t find locally.