What to bring on the road for six weeks solo bike packing?

It's a bike trip. So there's a bike in the garage. As briefly mentioned above, I have a new bike - a Riese & Müller Superdelite. I call it Deli - Drea & Deli on the road again. A really great one for almost any situation. Yes, this time I'm riding with an electric motor - electrical support up to 25 km/h. Not really for any particular reason. I just have the bike and it's easier to ride with a permanent tailwind. But I also have to use the motor sparingly because I won't always have access to shore power. I expect a range of 130-180 kilometers. This means plugging it in every two or three days at the latest.

It is not an explicit touring bike. The typical lowrider with front panniers doesn't exist and it's difficult to fit anything extra in the frame itself. The batteries are in the frame and therefore it is thick and must be opened to one side each also. The rear suspension is in the way also. So I only have the front and rear rack. Additionally I have to take a suspension fork pump and the charger with me. It weighs 20 kg more than my other bike Touffy (14 → 34 kg). I won't be able to carry the bike up a steep flight of stairs quickly with my luggage (60 kg?).

In addition to the charger and suspension pump, there are also tools in the garage. I limit myself to the things I need to stay mobile and get to the nearest bike dealer. After all, I'm on the road in civilization and don't take any extra drive belts, steel cables, screws or brake blocks with me. It's just important that it can roll. An…

• air pump
• tire levers
• a small repair kit for flat tires
• an extra tube
• and tools to remove the axles and wheels

… are all I take with me, along with…

• duct tape and cable ties
• a bicycle multi-tool
• a Swiss army knife, which has multi use

... which I almost always have with me anyway.

The worst thing that can happen in the garage is that my bike is gone. On the one hand, it's insured against theft and I also take two good locks and a thick steel wire rope with me so that it can't just be carried away. The worst thing about traveling alone in my current opinion is: My touring partner and I can't just look after each others bikes while shopping or having a quick shower.

Functional clothing and the onion principle 🧅. But let's start from the bottom up and from the inside out.

🧦 I like running socks from Nike, take two. Then there are the hiking socks from Falke and Icebreaker - one thinner and one thicker pair. Four pairs in total will be enough.

🥾 Good hiking boots have proven their worth for me as everyday shoes. They are comfortable, sturdy, breathable, have a good, flat sole and are reasonably weatherproof. Then I take flip-flops for the bathroom, beach etc with me. And a pair of lightweight barefoot shoes that I can squeeze in somewhere in between to change into if the hiking boots get wet.

🩳 A pair of thin leggings and a pair of thick leggings for the legs. These are best for cycling. When it gets warmer, a pair of short leggings and a pair of sports shorts. So four in total again.

🩲I need underwear too. Four times again. They are small and better change once more.

🎽 There are also four pieces for the top that can be combined with each other: Undershirt, shirt/long sleeve and a thin and a thicker sweater. The important thing here is that it is really breathable and of high quality. For me, this is the most important layer of clothing because it protects the main part of the body. There's nothing worse than sweating and then cooling down in cold weather with damp clothes. I like merino wool, but also high-quality functional fabric. I think I'll take two merino shirts, the merino hoodie and the mountain sweater with ventilation options. 🐑 Merino also has the great advantage that I don't smell like a skunk🦨 on the second day.

🧥 On top of that, I take a large rain jacket and a thin down jacket 🪶 that can be put on under the rain jacket if necessary. If it's too cold at night, I also put the down jacket on in my sleeping bag.
I'm still unsure about the rain jacket. If it rains for a really long time, it gets soaked after a while. Then I have nothing to protect me from the rain except the tarp or the Tyvek. I think I'll take the ultra-light cycling rain jacket with me to change into. I find a poncho on a bike rather impractical.

🧤I manage well without cycling gloves, but I take my merino gloves with me, which are almost waterproof and warm. To make sure nothing gets through, I sometimes get some plastic diesel gloves from a petrol station to pull over. Then there are my rain trousers 👖 which have zippers on the sides so that I don't have to take my shoes off when putting them on and I don't fall into a puddle while balancing. Finally, the neoprene overshoes and a thin and a thicker buff🧕🏼. Having two buffs saves me a beanie and I can swap them if one is wet.

🌦️ A little tip if it's warm enough in the rain: Ride with just a jacket, shorts and flip-flops. Bare legs and feet. Everything dries much faster (b/c there is nothing but the jacket) and you don't get too cold when cycling. Just grab the towel during a break and you'll stay warm.

➡️ So my principle is to take two sets of long, warmer clothes and two sets of short clothes, which can be worn on top of each other and with each other depending on the weather. One set on the body and one set in reserve.

I keep it simple and robust here. No high-tech titanium pots and cutlery. And no dehydrated special foods that are far too expensive. However, I'm still not quite sure how I'm going to get the necessary and, above all, healthy calories over the whole period. Now I'm at 1900 kcal and maybe I've to double it when I'm outside and on the bike the whole day. I don't have much space in the kitchen and I'll be buying most of it on the go. In the beginning I will probably only take oat flakes, quark, honey, some snacks, nuts, a few bags of pasta with sauce, olive oil and spices with me.

Apart from what's inside, the pot is very important. I love the Billy Can from Zebra. It's made of stainless steel, has a handle which also holds the lid when closed, and has a small bowl inside. It's the perfect size (1 liter?) and I can even use it to bake bread rolls or scramble eggs. And if it is burnt on, the steel doesn't mind being sanded bright again. A little tip: burnt-on stuff can often be easily removed with boiling water.

I take the good old Trangia spirit burner with me. I would also have gas and multi-fuel, but the Trangia is super simple, always works (if it's warm enough and it is) and there's spirit everywhere on my trip to buy.

I take the Bushbox LF with me as a holder for the Trangia. The burner fits in here perfectly, the flame is somewhat protected from the wind and I can also make a small fire to drive away moisture and cold.

This combination of burner, pot and holder has proved its worth so far.
By the way, I would advise you not to experiment when going on a long tour. I feel safer if I know what I'm taking with me and if I know how to handle it. Imagine it is evening, you're almost dead from cycling up the hills, shops are closed b/c it is Sunday and many kilometers around is no restaurant or snack bar. But you can't drive away and leave the stuff you've already set up on its own. According to Murphy's law, this is exactly when the seal on the pump of the multi-fuel burner leaks. It's not really a bad thing that the kitchen stays cold, but the mood goes right down to the basement.

I take a real fork and a real spoon with me. I also take a foldable silicone breakfast box as bowl and a bamboo cutting board, which I have had let planed to a suitable thickness (or thinness in this case). The knife I use is the Swiss army knife I mentioned above.

All of this and some more food (apart from the pot and the bush box) fits neatly into a small, handy cool bag, which I put in a side pocket at the bottom. I have the kitchen in one hand and can get started with cooking and the meal really fast. It's also quick to tidy up and I don't have to rummage around in a big bag.

I've been a techie for ages and I take the action cam with me. And I'm on the road for a long time and just the smartphone in the digital world isn't enough with its mini display and touch keyboard. A second device is also something like a backup for the smartphone.

I can't help but take the MacBook with me after all. I thought about the iPad at first, but the laptop isn't really any bigger or heavier, but it's much more flexible. What's more, the iPad is just a very big iPhone with its iOS/iPadOS instead of macOS.