Packing list for the Ride around Lake Michigan

Our Lake Michigan Tour was not only fun to ride, it was also fun to plan. Part of the planning was to read other bike tours and see what other tourists brought. This is what I brought:



Sue carried very little for herself -- personal toiletries and some clothes; what weighed her down was children clothes and other equipment. Diapers and toys were mostly stored in the back of the Burley, but some of it was loaded on Sue's bike.
Because I brought so much work equipment (2 laptops, for example), I didn't take a lot of kid equipment.

My luggage was my Ortlieb Handlebar bag, a Nashbar trunk bag, and two Nashbar Panniers. The trunk bag held up reasonably well, and I use it on every ride; it cost $15 and although it's OK, I lust for the Nigel Smythe Big Loafer from Rivendell.

Sue and I both bought the Nashbar Panniers for $44 a pair, and we each had one fail on the trip. Mine failed in the first couple of days, and when I called Nashbar, they said I could send it back and get a full refund (the shipping would be on my dime). Then I could order another one and it would show up when it would show up and again, I would be asked to pay for shipping. So Nashbar's "100% Guarantee" doesn't stand up well in practice. I just used duct tape, and it didn't fall off too often.

My handlebar bag works very well, although it shakes in bumpy terrain.

I ended up leaving without a shirt -- I had nothing but bike jerseys until I bought a t-shirt in Zion, Il.

Pannier 1:



Computer equipment: Small laptop in padded case, charger, power strip, various usb and network cables, mouse. Also chargers for my phone, hearing aid remote, Garmin PDA and bluetooth headset.
Clothes: Bathing suit, Jeans (discarded a few days into the trip), shorts, underwear, t-shirts (left at home)
Contacts
First Aid Kit.

About the First Aid Kit: it had a picture of a bike on it, so that's the one I bought. I actually asked my Dr what kind of first aid kit I should get, and he thought that an eppie pen would be a useful piece of equipment, but had no idea about what first aid kit was any good or what should go in it. So I went with the picture of a bike, and Sue laughed at me until we used it. It was bulky, but not heavy, and had lots of stuff in it I thought might be useful. I also carried some of my contacts in there. I did not get an eppie pen, nor am I sure what one is.

Pannier 2:



Computer equipment: Large laptop in a padded case, charger, mouse, mouse pad, wireless card
Bike clothes: 3 shorts, 5 jerseys
(not shown) Toilet case with the usual, maps, power bars.

I like power bars on long rides. When there's nothing around and you're hungry, one of those is fantastic to eat and keep going. But I bought a few more than I needed because of a deal on Amazon, and instead of leaving most of them home, I brought them along. I think they weighed like 12 pounds for 24 bars and I ate about 5 or 6 the entire trip.

Trunk bag:



Clothes: Jacket, Street sandals, full finger gloves, headband
repair: lube, multi-tool, chain tool, patch kit, spare tubes, small parts (e.g., extra waterbottle screws, cleats), duct tape
Personal: bug spray, sun block, glasses

Handlebar bag:



Reading glasses, knife, lock, pen, hand wipes, notebook, cell phone, bluetooth headset, hearing aid holder and remote, flashlight, Kleenex, Sunglasses, wallet, protein drink mix, extra bug repellent, map case with today's map, (not shown) Garmin PDA/GPS, Camera

Everything packed:



On the bike:



Computer with HR monitor, water bottle, coffee thermos.

What I would change:
1. More street clothes, so I looked better off the bike.
2. Less laptops -- I think I could have done without one of the laptops.
3. smaller first aid kit (but don't tell Sue, I've been justifying the large one for a long time).
4. Fewer power bars and bug repellent. We passed a Walgreens at least once a day, so it would not have been hard to get what we needed when we needed it.
5. Maps: Sue and I never found the time to pore over the maps together before we left. I would have liked to spend more time jointly mapping the ride.
6. A hat.
7. Ortlieb or Carradice panniers.

What I would NOT change:
1. My bike
2. The company: Sue, Annie and Mark
3. everything else.

It is absolutely incredible how well all this equipment worked, and how few changes I needed to make on the road.