Originally Posted by
Happy Feet
...I will say, for me personally, touring falls more into the skills camp than the equipment camp. It's about a way of being more than the stuff you possess and paradoxically that is often made better with less..
That's the quote to stick up on the fridge.
And you'll sleep better, knowing that loss to theft is a major inconvenience but is not financially ruinous, nor is it the loss of a one-of-a-kind collection of bicycle and gear that you have so much of your soul wrapped up in that you would grieve its loss. (The tandem my wife and I have ridden together for 12 years is in that category.) For that kind of a loss, the monetary "making whole" will still leave you feeling cheated and angry, by and at somebody. The idea that touring bikes (and gear) should be thought of as "risk ships" is a good one. Giving them all away at the end of a trip is even better.