Everyone will have different requirements depending upon planned evening activities and sleeping arrangements – but to give you an idea, my last week long touring trip around Normandy required:
- Tent poles (tent carried by my touring partner, fairly similar in weight!)
- Sleeping bag
- Roll mat
- Two jerseys, two pairs of shorts, arm warmers, leg warmers. Cycling shoes – on my feet when we left, waterproof
- Two casual T-shirts, jeans, jumper (take one!), causal shoes
- Pump, tyre levers, tubes (not too many- you can buy these), toothbrush, bike lock
- Shampoo, sun cream, chamois cream, money, phone, keys, passport
That’s it – the bike and kit weighed about 9.5kg in all. Of course, if you’re cutting costs and cooking on camp, you’ll need a stove and if you’re hostelling, you can leave the lot and lighten your load.
If you’re going solo, you will need a sturdy lock you trust, and you’d be advised to find a sneaky home in your sleeping bag for money, phone, keys and passport. If you’re travelling with someone, you can lock your bikes together, and to an object, which makes them harder to roll away.
A lot of hostels and hotels will accommodate your needs with a space for your bike whilst you sleep, but you’d be advised to phone ahead in advance to make sure that is the case.
