Cycling Equipment for Trip
 Tent – 3 man, but we didn’t need it that big. I recommend
one that is supremely easy to put up.
Mine is a Eurohike, it’s
just two poles and some pegs. Difficult but not impossible to
put up and pack up alone.
A blow-up sleeping mat.
A sleeping bag with a bag to stuff it into, packs up
small. Little gas stove with cooking tin. This wasn’t essential
but it was nice to be able to make tea or cup-a-soup
occasionally. Torch. I had a wind-up one which is a
bit of a pain but the danger is that a battery-powered one
accidentally turns itself on in your bag all day. Still, we
always had bike lights to hand.
A whole roll of bin liners for waterproofing everything.
Bikes. Nothing special really, so don’t feel you have to go
out and buy some flash bike to do it. Mine was an old mountain
bike, Charlie’s was a town bike belonging to his Dad. We got
mudguards, lights and a rack for our panniers fitted. The bikes
started squeaking about halfway through the trip and we had to
give them some special bike oil: worth talking to someone at a
bike shop about which one to use. Helmet. Stupid to do it without one. Love your brain.
Make sure it’s not too loose or it just won’t protect anything.
High visibility jacket. Safe AND stylish. Also handy if
we’d ended up at a rave or had to calm traffic.
A squishy Gel Tech saddle cover. Long hours in the
saddle…
Some good lights. Cycling into Greater Manchester along
A-roads at 10pm with two lights between us wasn’t fun and didn’t
get us any special clever points.
Puncture repair kit and a pump EACH. We were not always cycling
together and Charlie once got a puncture when I was ahead, just
out of earshot, and I had the pump. Nightmare.
Spare inner tube doesn’t hurt.
Adjustable or many-holed spanner for changing the inner tube if
necessary. Cycling gloves. Fingerless and with padded palms. You need to
take care of those points of contact with the bike. We ended up
with really tanned arms and really white hands.
A big road map of the whole of Britain. It didn’t show relief
but we’d take advice from locals as to where the hills were.
Compass. We didn’t use it much but good to have one.
Bunjees, and bits of string and wire, for holding things on.
First aid kit. Plasters, antiseptic wipes, bandages, steri-strips.
We didn’t need it but you should have one in case you do.
A water bottle attached to the bike where you can reach it. It
would be a huge pain to have to stop constantly for water.
A bike computer. It was pretty cheap, under a tenner I think. It
measures the wheel revolutions and then gives you distance
travelled, maximum speed, time spent cycling. It was useful for
finding out where we were and also nice for us to keep track of
our stats such as average speed for the day, total distance etc.
A waterproof without any lining: anything else would make you
really hot, at least if you do it in the warmer parts of the
year. Often when it rained we would just allow ourselves to get
wet: you dry off pretty fast when the rain stops again. Two pairs of cycling shorts. If one gets wet they become really
uncomfortable. I recommend wearing nothing underneath them,
anything unpadded starts to chafe. Charlie only took one pair,
and did wear pants underneath, so it’s not an exact science.
One pair of long shorts to wear over the top. A pair of jeans.
A thick jumper or fleece. A thin jumper for sleeping in on cold nights.
T-shirts, pants, socks. Not very many of them, it was only me
and Charlie anyway. Swimming trunks: we never actually made it swimming but there
were a few times we could have. Trekking towel: one of those ones which dries really fast and
doesn’t take up much space.
Camera (and charger). Diary.
Book. (We didn’t read much).
Phone charger. It’s hard to stay charged but if you can it can
prevent you getting in trouble.
Sun cream. You are outside for a long time.
Insect repellent. We were alright but I think we were lucky with
the time of year.
Knives and spoons. Small and collapsible if possible.
Most of this was stuffed into our not insubstantial and
waterproof panniers. The tent was strapped on top with bunjees.
Stuff we needed frequently was in little backpacks but don’t
overload your back with weight because it’ll start to ache.
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