Sport Comfort Bikes

[OakLeaf]

What you NEED is: (not necessarily in this order)
* a way to carry your stuff
* a helmet
* a pair of cycling gloves
* a mechanically sound bike
* a basic tool kit and basic mechanical knowledge (adjustments, tightening stuff that's come loose)
* a way to inflate tires (CO2 or pump), a set of tire levers, a spare tube and a patch kit, and knowledge of how to fix a flat
* a map
* a plan (which doesn't have to be elaborate, but you need to figure out whether you're campground camping, primitive camping or credit card touring, and select your travel gear accordingly, and have a good idea of how many miles you can do in a day WITH the load you plan to carry); and
* the determination to do it.

If you plan to carry a cell phone or other non-watertight electronics, then you need a way to keep it dry in the rain (which can be as simple as a ziploc bag).

Anything else is comfort and convenience.

My grandfather talked about touring in the Alps before the derailleur was invented. For all I know his bike was state of the art for its day. It had gears! At the bottom of each mountain they'd dismount and manually place the chain on the climbing cog. At the top they'd dismount and manually place the chain on the descending cog.

I did my first two tours (solo, camping, two weeks each) in gym shorts and floppy sneakers, on a bike that was too big for me, with gears that were probably too tall for some of the terrain. The first tour, I started out with 45-50 mile days, and as I got stronger, the days got longer. And you know what? I had an amazingly wonderful time.

Do what makes you happy! Trust me, there are ALWAYS ways to spend more money on bicycling, and some of those ways will definitely make you happier and more comfortable, but very little of it is actually necessary.