supported tour- must-haves?

[Becky]

I'm bored at work, and dreaming about vacation in another 6 weeks. DH and I are doing our first supported bike tour. 5 days, 50-100 miles a day, and camping at night. The tour group will transport our luggage and camping gear.

What are your must haves or little luxuries or "I didn't think of thats" for something like this? We are somewhat constrained on space, but will have room for some extras.

So far, my compression tights and the chair kit for my Thermarest are on the list...

[Trek-chick]

This site may help....

http://bicycletouringpro.com/blog/ji...ear-checklist/

BTW...where are you going on tour?

[Becky]

There's some good ideas in there....thanks.

We're doing Bike Virginia. I'm happy that all I have to do is ride and eat and sleep for 5 days, and don't need to carry any more stuff on-bike than I would for a normal century

[indysteel]

I've done a few supported tours and am trying to mentally go through my checklist. Beyond the obvious (enough shorts, jerseys, socks, athletic bras to get me through the trip), I bring cool weather gear, e.g., arm warmers, knickers, a light rain jacket, full finger summer weight gloves. Are you staying in a tent? If so, I would suggest bringing a flashlight or, better yet, a latern of some kind. That comes in handy for me in getting ready in the morning and reading at night. I also find that a compression bag for dirty clothes (and often wet) is pretty handy. I bought one at a local camping store. I also bring a camping pillow that folds up small enough to fit in my duffel bag. Ear plugs and a eye mask are also helpful for getting a good night's sleep.

Because packing space has always been at a premium on my tours, I pack using "Space Bags." They serve several purposes. Obviously, they help you pack more in a small bag. They also help keep your clothes dry and organized. I use a large duffel bag for my tours and things would otherwise gets so jumbled and disorganized if I didn't put things in smaller bags. I keep cycling clothes in one and street clothes in another, bras, panties, socks and the like in a third. I also make good use of zip lock bags to organize all of my gear and personal items. Again, it just helps to stay organized when you're trying to get ready in a tent in the morning.

Beyond that, just remember lots of chamois cream, sunscreen and the like. I also bring a small clothes line just in case I need to dry something I'll need again.

Have fun. Where are you going?

[Crankin]

I am leaving to go on my tour of Andalusia in less than 2 hours!
This is my fourth tour. All have been supported, one camping. Two things come to mind that have not been mentioned.
On our camping tour, we brought a tarp where we could lay and cover our bikes, next to our tent, if there was not indoor storage. Believe me, this came in handy the day we got to the site and there was one of the worst, I mean worst thunderstorms I have ever seen. It rained from 5 PM until 5 AM. We had to wear our rain gear to get to the dinner site. Everyone else had to leave their bikes in the rain. We were the only ones out of 300 people that had a tarp, which fit easily in the duffel with our camping stuff.
Bring all of your own on the bike food and drink. Even on the wonderful Trek Travel tours we went on, while the food was outstanding, the energy bars and drinks they had were disgusting. I made up little packets of measured out Accelerade and brought enough Luna Bars to eat 2 for each day of riding, along with packets of Shot Blocks and capsules of Nuun.
I decided that camping bike tours are not for me. I like camping and I like riding, but I didn't like the setting up and breaking down everyday. I decided I would like to just take a camping trip and do some out and back rides from one spot.

Have fun!

[Becky]

Indy- that's a great comprehensive list. I will definitely want my ear plugs! We have head lamps, but one of those Nalgene bottle lantern dealies might be a good idea too.

Crankin, first of all, have fun in Spain! Post pics when you get back!
Good call on the tarp- I hadn't thought of that.
Fortunately, we only have to break camp twice- midway through the trip and on the last day.

This is good stuff, ladies- exactly the kind of info I need!

[Grits]

The only thing I would add to the list is to emphasize that you do need to be prepared to deal with wet stuff (+1 on the clothesline). Also, if no one has said this already, put everything in some type of waterproof bag inside of your luggage.

The tour I did (Bike NC), they threw the stuff off the truck in the open regardless of the weather. Anything that wasn't in a waterproof bag got wet. (Luckily, someone had passed that tip along to me.) The spacesaver bags another poster mentioned would be great. I just used large sized ziploc bags.

If I did it again, I would have my shower stuff more organized. Maybe actual in shower stuff in one little bag, outside of shower stuff in another little bag. A bag of some sort that could hang from a hook in the shower truck to keep everything in, or at least be able to lay on the bench or chair or whatever that could keep stuff dry.

You will have a blast. Here's hoping for excellent weather for you!