That is what I call travelling light!

[BeeKeeper]

I got off the Plymouth/Roscoff ferry today loaded down with stuff for a week's camping in Brittany. There was one other cyclist with luggage - just a single rear pannier. Looked like enough for a day trip to me - but he was off to Cannes going over the Massif Centrale. B&B'ing but even so this was pretty minimalist by my bloated standards. I must work on cutting down my kit!

[Swallow]

I'll be going over to Roscoff touring Brittany for ten days on Thursday. I''ll be B&Bing as well but still wondering how I'm going to get everything into two panniers, a bar bag and seat pack

[Hypocacculus]

I dream of B&B touring - we always camp - but one pannier sounds ample to me.

Travelling light is a matter of changing your thought processes. Instead of worrying about what you need, you have to get in the mindset of "what can I do without". It is nothing more than fear that makes you take everything. Fear of breakdown, fear of discomfort, fear of boredom, fear of insufficient personal hygeine, fear of not having that cocktail dress when invited on that millionaires yacht, etc, etc.

It's quite liberating to leave stuff at home.

[delport]

Having recently returned from France towing a trailer everywhere, and having too much stuff onboard [that i felt i needed for a 3 week trip].
I realised that in reality a sleeping bag, a tent, and little else is all that is needed for cycle touring done the basic way.

I drop into the supermarket everyday when travelling, this normally adds about a panniers worth of extra weight, what with 1 or 2 litre water bottles, a few canned items etc..

If you travel ultra light, it doesn't take you more than an hour to pack up all your belongings to set off again.
If you go with the attitude that my tent is purely for sleeping in, and not a kitchen, or bathroom, then you can be packed in 5 minutes ready to cycle off again.

Clothing normally takes up an entire pannier for me, but i find all the time i don't even wear all that i packed, and launderettes are easy enough to find.
Tools, i carry too many tools, with the thinking that i may need something that i use once a year at home, it's almost ridiculous what i carried recently, i had half a pannier of tools onboard.

In the summer months a single sleeping bag, and a tent is almost enough for me really, i definetely overdo it when it comes to packing things i feel i need.

For my next trip abroad i am seriously considering taking a pannier or less worth of items in total.
And having meals at the supermarket.If it allows me to almost double my speed on the road it is a price worth paying.

[Reigncloud]

My wife and I have toured through Spain with only one pannier each and a handlebar bag on my bike. We were also staying in B&Bs, and pretty much just took clothes and tools. It was really liberating and highly recommended.

When camping (admittedly without cooking equipment) we take two panniers each and only the one handlebar bag on my bike. One pannier for clothes, the other for sleeping bag, thermarest, and compressible pillow. Yes we could theoretically ditch the last two but I like to get at least something akin to a good night's sleep, esp when you're already in a tent in a noisy campsite!

[Richard Barrett]

Yep I agree. There seems to be an increasing number of folk out on the roads who have been smitten by the sportive bug and want to go out on an extended cycling holiday. My advice would be use hostesl and B&Bs whenever possible and to keep it as light as possible with arm and leg warmers if it gets chilly so that everything fits in a pair of really small panniers such as Ortlieb Sports Plus. And throw away the mudguards too - if it's raining hard, you're going to be putting on some waterproof bottoms. Live light - ride fast

[Hypocacculus]

And throw away the mudguards too - if it's raining hard, you're going to be putting on some waterproof bottoms. Live light - ride fast

Oooer, not me. I might be getting wet anyway, but I see no need to do it with a huge stripe of road filth up my back and pebble dashing my brakes and my leather saddle, even when the rain has stopped. All that just to save a few hundred grammes? I don't bother with overtrousers though, horrible sweaty things. Bare legs and modern fabrics dry quickly. If it is really wet and cold... well, that is what pubs were invented for.

[iandriver]

Just cos he looked to be travelling light at the start doesn't mean he wont be regretting taking so little half way through (wouldn't put it past some roadies to do a two week tour and not take a lock!). I wonder how he smelt by the end.....

[Richard Barrett]

Smelt great mate - nice hot shower and kit rinsed through every night.

[jmrees]

Kit rinsed through every night? That works with most things that dry overnight but what about the pad in padded cycling shorts which seem to always take two days to dry, or have you found some quick drying ones?

[meic]

Dont have any padding, a double whammy, less weight AND quick drying.

[thirdcrank]

I blush when I think of some of the absurd things I took on tour when I started - my excuse is I was only 13. On my very first week long YHA trip in 1958 I took an army surplus marching compass I remember on the last night I was at Edale and another cyclist asked if anybody knew which direction was North. I whipped the compass out of the side pocket of the Carradice Camper and he must have thought he had met an absolute nutter.

In the end, it's very much a matter of what sort of touring is involved. If you are going to hammer away all day and collapse into bed in a heap each night, you need a lot less than if it's going to be leisurely with a bit of sight-seeing, bird-watching or whatever.

[Ivor Tingting]

I got off the Plymouth/Roscoff ferry today loaded down with stuff for a week's camping in Brittany. There was one other cyclist with luggage - just a single rear pannier. Looked like enough for a day trip to me - but he was off to Cannes going over the Massif Centrale. B&B'ing but even so this was pretty minimalist by my bloated standards. I must work on cutting down my kit!

Of course proper cyclists would never ride with just one pannier .......... .

It makes for such an unbalanced bike and wayward handling. He must have been a newb or he had

wifey following in the car with the rest of his stuff .

[bigjim]

I,ve just done the 2 week Danube tour with this. Everything went in the red Carradice Overlander bag, Apart from small toolbag [which I did not really need] and barbag which was only used for map,phone,camera.pen/paper and food. It was half empty most of the time.

[Castleman]

Our problem is that we are cycling across Spain to spend a week in a villa with friends, so need different clothes etc for that part of the holiday!