Having the right gear with you makes all the difference in the world when it comes to having a successful adventure travel holiday. This cycling holiday packing list sums up hours and hours on the saddle and on the road. But it’s not all hardcore.
These cycling essentials aim to help you enjoy your holiday as well. This is for active, adventurous bike touring. Not the Tour de France.
Let’s go!
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THE COMPLETELY USEFUL Cycling Holiday PACKING LIST
Lycra and other options
You don’t have to wear lycra. But you do need to have something that is going to be forgiving while you ride. The reason lycra cycling shorts are so popular is because they suit the cycling part of a bike tour so well.
But a lot of people feel uncomfortable walking around a museum or sipping a latte in a cafe wearing cycling shorts.
If you’re new to the sport, you may not realise that most cyclists also wear padded shorts to protect from, ahem, saddle sore.
So, here are your clothing options:
- Full on padded lycra cycling shorts
- Looser “bermuda shorts” with a hidden padded section underneath. Not desperately stylish but a good compromise between comfort on the bike and off.
- Normal shorts without padding. Looks better and feels more comfortable while strolling around town. Bottom unprotected on the bike.
However, it depends what else you have planned. You may be the sort of person to feel foolish in museums, restaurants, cafes and galleries in skimpy lycra shorts.
You are likely to get bitten if you stop for a picnic in long and wild grass.
My advice? Go for long trousers with a hint of stretch (lycra embedded.)
Avoid jeans, or anything that really, er, bunches on your saddle. And for the same reason, wear comfortable pants. (Actual pants.)
Cycling Jacket
This one sounds like a con, I know. Why not wear an ordinary jacket? Well, if you’re cycling in summertime in a sunny place then it doesn’t matter, you won’t need either. But when you cycle in the wet, the wheels throw a lot of water up at your backside. Cycling jackets have an extended, er, section to protect you from this (and if you’re cycling in wet weather where you need to leave your bike outside, a saddle cover may be a sensible investment for similar reasons.)
Plus, good cycling jackets have air vents and waterproof zips for carrying keys, phones and the like to prevent you needing to wear a rucksack (these progress from OK to annoying to rip-this-misery-from-my-back faster than you might imagine.)
Gloves?
Again, a wet weather option. You can get special cycling gloves with padding on the palms and fingerless options to let you access your map/phone/keys/hidden chocolate supply.
Sports Bra
One for the girls, obviously. But if you’re going at all off road, this will save you.
Shoes That Won’t Fly Off
Ah, yes, flip flops and summer sandals look so cute, so easy! They will become annoying in less time than it will take you to get from nought to sixty on a downhill mountain sprint. Wear flat heeled shoes that attach to your feet.
Glasses of Some Kind
Sunglasses if it’s sunny. Clear cycling glasses if not. You’ll be flying fast and catching bugs, just like the windscreen of a car. And if you wear contact lenses without protective glasses, there’s a chance for them to shrivel up and scoot off faster than a puncture can ruin your day.
Padded Shorts
Sneaky secret here. You can buy padded cycling shorts (lycra, all tight and exposed) with removable inner padding to be placed beneath normal sports clothes. Hurrah and huzzah.
CYCLING HOLIDAY PACKING LIST ESSENTIALS FOR THE ROAD
Of course, it’s not all about what you wear. You also need the following tools on your cycling holiday packing list:
A Puncture Repair Kit
Plus instructions on what to do with it if it’s been a while…Here’s a complete puncture repair kit you can buy from Amazon.
Cycling Helmet
Back in the day, I worked in A&E (ER.) Then in scientific writing. I have spent weeks of my life studying the evidence on this. Wear a cycling helmet.
Yes, “we all have to die of something” but who says we have to spend the last ten years of our life being fed through a tube on a neuro rehab ward?
W.E.A.R T.H.E C.Y.C.L.I.N.G H.E.L.M.E.T!
Water Bottle
Obvious. But…take two if you can. They don’t need to be high tech, as long as they don’t leak.
Fluorescent Clothes
This one’s kind of optional. If you’re cycling on the road, it helps if motorists can see you, what with them being bigger than you and able to crush you in the blink of an eye if they’re not paying attention. Take your pick from fluorescent jackets, vests, sashes, the lot. Tailor to your weather and comfort.
Lotions and Potions
Not one for the girls, one for everyone. Do you need sunscreen? Insect repellent? Remember that ears and the back of your neck get more attention from the sun when you’re cycling than they usually do.
Snacks
Depends where you’re going and how easy it’s going to be to forage for supplies. If you’re going off road, you’ll need something that can survive being squashed and shaken around. If you’re somewhere hot and sunny, you’ll need something that won’t melt (and in my experience, chocolate does.)
Lock
If you plan on cycling through cities, then it’s a good idea to add a bike lock to your cycling holiday packing list. Some locks fit onto the bicycle frame as you’re cycling, while others have to go in your rucksack. So bear that in mind when choosing your lock: you may have to carry it for a long time.
Map Holder
Yes, we live in the age of Sat Nav but often on cross country roads, that won’t help you much. You may need the old fashioned paper version. If all else fails, you can just use a sandwich bag to keep the map safe and dry. But, a device like this is an incredibly handy addition to your cycling holiday packing list:
Lights
Always a good idea to have some, just in case you get lost and end up cycling around in the dark. I love these Lezyne ones because you can add them to any bike in less than two minutes and remove them again at the end (bicycle lights have a tendency to go missing otherwise.)
Outdoor Toilet Provisions
Again, this depends on how wild you’ll be going. But if you’ll be away from civilisation for hours on end, remember to pack some toilet paper, hand sanitiser and plastic bags. There, that’s said and over and done with.
Panniers
These life savers clip on to your bike, freeing your back from lugging all this gear around “yourself” and tiring out your shoulders. Ideally, they should be quick release so that you can take them off at the end of each day, but not so quick release that they bounce off every time you ride over a bump. Waterproof is handy but not essential, the same goes for fluorescent marking.
A Bicycle
What?! Have I lost my mind? Well, I only mention it here because I learned something new when I went cycling in Austria this year: bicycles in countries that drive on the right have the brakes swapped around (so that you can use the rear brake while signalling to cross traffic: different in left vs right hand drive countries.)
So, you may prefer to bring your own bike with you, especially if you’re driving.
Happy cycling!
Bonus tip! The inspiring adventurers at the Family Adventure Project gave me this tip: take tea towels with you. If it’s scorchingly hot, soak them in water and put them over your head to cool down. Note, they also fit beneath a cycling helmet… A chic look? At certain temperatures, you just won’t care…
Disclosures, disclaimers and all that jazz. Yes, I am a doctor, but no, you shouldn’t be taking medical advice from a travel blog. So please use common sense and don’t ;-)
My top tip for comfort in the saddle whilst also feeling like you don’t look ridiculous sitting in the cafe or visiting the museums is to take some mountain biking shorts with a padded liner. All the comfort you need from the chamois liner but with the added benefit of baggy shorts. No need to feel self-conscious in a pair of these and they’re made for cycling so entirely practical too.