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What else do you bring along?

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Old 03-20-24, 03:27 PM
  #26  
Thulsadoom
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Originally Posted by indyfabz
No more burning through headlamp batteries.
These little gems:

​​​​​​https://www.amazon.com/MPOWERD-1004-...BoCR28QAvD_BwE

are pretty cool. I can prop it on my stomach and it's just enough light to read a book by.
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Old 03-21-24, 12:50 PM
  #27  
str
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Nothing, talk to locals with a bottle of wine or some beers.
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Old 03-22-24, 03:27 AM
  #28  
imi
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No other musicians? Not even a ukele, harmonica, or penny whistle?
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Old 03-22-24, 05:24 AM
  #29  
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Originally Posted by imi
No other musicians? Not even a ukele, harmonica, or penny whistle?
Yes, I’ve packed my Dixon penny whistle on occasion. Really annoys other campers and bears. Light weight though….

And an Analog magazine for night time and at breakfast.
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Old 03-22-24, 08:48 AM
  #30  
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Wife.

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Old 03-22-24, 08:56 AM
  #31  
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Originally Posted by imi
No other musicians? Not even a ukele, harmonica, or penny whistle?
You'll remember this thread:

https://www.bikeforums.net/touring/9...touring-4.html

(Note: most of the links seem to be broken. But the thread includes several posts by the immortal FietsBob, so it's got that going for it.)
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Old 03-22-24, 09:06 AM
  #32  
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Yeah, the Kindle. Route books, owner's manuals, camp recipes and cookbooks, local history and natural history guides, detail pdf maps and find-a-grave info, train and bus schedules, copies of tickets, IDs, passport, travel insurance, etc., the seven novels I've written, books "I'm going to get around to", the list goes on... Cool thing is, no matter what-all you put in it, it doesn't get any heavier or bigger.

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Old 03-22-24, 03:45 PM
  #33  
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Music? Musicians?

music

https://youtu.be/LnI_1DoS82s?feature=shared
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Old 03-25-24, 11:45 AM
  #34  
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Nothing feels as good for me at night as a regular home pillow under my head. This is one of those weight sins that I commit with pleasure :)
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Old 03-25-24, 02:43 PM
  #35  
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Originally Posted by gna
I get The New Yorker, but am often way behind reading them. Last summer on one of my short tours I brought 4 or 5, and read one every afternoon.
I usually bring a paperback novel and read that. Nothing very big, though I suppose Dickens or Tolstoi could hold you for awhile on a longer tour.
I forgot to mention--I bring a camp chair to sit in while I read, one of those lightweight Marchway ones. Usually strap it to the front rack.
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Old 03-25-24, 03:08 PM
  #36  
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Originally Posted by gna
I forgot to mention--I bring a camp chair to sit in while I read ...
I do too. See how relaxed Susan and I are in our Therma Rest chairs and how squirmy the others are! ...


Last edited by BobG; 03-28-24 at 09:51 PM.
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Old 03-25-24, 05:51 PM
  #37  
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Originally Posted by simonthread
Nothing feels as good for me at night as a regular home pillow under my head. This is one of those weight sins that I commit with pleasure
The Sea to Summit Aeros pillows are wonderfully plush, adjustable for firmness, packs down to a bit bigger than your thumb, and weighs nothing.
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Old 03-26-24, 01:38 AM
  #38  
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Sorry, no way :) - a "product" like that will never be like your home pillow :)
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Old 03-26-24, 04:42 PM
  #39  
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Originally Posted by simonthread
Sorry, no way - a "product" like that will never be like your home pillow
So, does that mean you are carrying your pillow from home?

The Sea to Summit pillow cyccommute posted actually works nicely. I use a different one from Klymit, and use it almost weekly for travel. It is very comfortable, and packs very small. I don't travel without it. It works well in a tent, on a plane, and unlike some pillows I have tried, it works very nicely in my Warbonnet Blackbird hammock.
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Old 03-26-24, 05:53 PM
  #40  
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I was planning a hotel tour so all I thought of was my street clothes, cycling clothes, tools and either laptop or iPad. And a lock, as I was asking in my thread. No camera, no book, no binoculars, no food, no tent, no cooking equipment, no sleeping bag. From what I just described it won't be any more than I commuted with.
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Old 03-27-24, 01:48 AM
  #41  
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Originally Posted by phughes
So, does that mean you are carrying your pillow from home? :rolleyes:
Yes sir! :) 30x30, not too big, not too heavy. Feel like home, they said...
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Old 03-27-24, 08:50 AM
  #42  
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Originally Posted by simonthread
Sorry, no way - a "product" like that will never be like your home pillow
Why is product in quotes? It really is an actual product.

As to being like your home pillow, it can be as soft as the softest pillow in existence or rock hard or anything in between. Just put as much air in it as you like.

Originally Posted by simonthread
Yes sir! 30x30, not too big, not too heavy. Feel like home, they said...
If you want it to “feel like home”, never leave said home. Maybe go glamping. Weeks of riding a bike, sleeping on the ground, and eating bad food have never felt “like home”. Kind of the point.
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Old 03-27-24, 10:22 AM
  #43  
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Hihi, it’s been a long winter, now we’re arguing about pillows! 🤣
Actually, I think this is worthy of its own thread!

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Old 03-27-24, 11:17 AM
  #44  
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Originally Posted by simonthread
Yes sir! 30x30, not too big, not too heavy. Feel like home, they said...
Awesome for you, but don't discount the pillows posted. Many actually work well, and are easier to carry than yours. It's not about weight for me, but bulk. My inflatable pillow works extremely well for me, and can be adjusted depending on where I'm sleeping, tent, hammock, etc. Though my home pillow is very nice, it is very nice feather pillow, it would not work well in a hammock, and I would not want to risk ruining it on tour. I also don't want to carry the bulk.

We all do little things to make the tour more enjoyable for ourselves, and those things are as unique to each of us. A little added creature comfort, or a little bit of home is nice.

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Old 03-27-24, 12:28 PM
  #45  
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Originally Posted by BobG
Therma Rest chairs
I've considered them but ended up getting the crazy creek instead. Less expensive, and can double up as a sleeping pad extension (I sleep on torso-length pad.) Can also be used inside a tent (not sure that it is useful - I tend to lie down).

I' ve gone thru two Monarch - delicate creatures - wanted a smaller pack size than the Decathlon I've purchased on tour to replace the Monarch, and can't fathom spending a medium fortune on the helinox zero. My reservation WRT the thermarest is that you have to inflate/deflate your pad. Takes a while whereas the CC can be unfolded and at the ready in seconds.
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Old 03-27-24, 01:42 PM
  #46  
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Originally Posted by gauvins
I've considered them but ended up getting the crazy creek instead.
Mine is actually the vacant purple chair in the above photo. It was the economy Therma-Rest model 26 years ago when that photo was taken, used in combination with old style 3/4 length pad. Weighs nothing and takes no bag space wrapped around pad. I was just test driving someone else's deluxe model while they were up taking the photo! Yes, modern pads are more compact.

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Old 04-21-24, 05:26 PM
  #47  
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Deck of cards.
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Old 04-22-24, 03:49 PM
  #48  
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Originally Posted by cyccommute
I’ve force myself to read The Iliad and the Odessey
So sorry for this but as a former classicist I can't keep from this minor objection. The Iliad and the Odyssey are not really meant to be read. Better read than ignored, but they are meant to be whispered and shouted by a storyteller to an audience that is drinking, feasting, and shouting the lines back at the performer like a stadium singing back a refrain under the command of a rock musician. The repetitive lines, character tropes, and battle scenes make a lot more sense if one thinks of it as a hybrid of a universally known earworm pop song and a Marvel movie.
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Old 04-22-24, 08:13 PM
  #49  
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I like having music but that is generally just on my phone. Though if I had the money I would love to get one of those fancy MP3 players like something from Astell&Kern can't say I am a true audiophile because truthfully I don't listen to most music through the best of set ups but I do enjoy good fidelity and would love to have a better set up and use it but most of my money goes towards cycling, food and living expenses but that may change if business booms this year and beyond because I wouldn't mind a fat paycheck to buy one of those being able to have most of my music with me would be cool especially at lossless quality. I would also love to get a set up really top end wireless monitors for my ears rather than just some decent enough Skullcandy earbuds but I do on occasion drop them and don't want to lose something expensive.

Beyond that I usually just take a small pad and paper nothing too crazy. I guess I really don't carry a whole lot of fun stuff, the adventure is the fun for me.
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Old 04-23-24, 02:45 AM
  #50  
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Originally Posted by ericoseveins
So sorry for this but as a former classicist I can't keep from this minor objection. The Iliad and the Odyssey are not really meant to be read. Better read than ignored, but they are meant to be whispered and shouted by a storyteller to an audience that is drinking, feasting, and shouting the lines back at the performer like a stadium singing back a refrain under the command of a rock musician. The repetitive lines, character tropes, and battle scenes make a lot more sense if one thinks of it as a hybrid of a universally known earworm pop song and a Marvel movie.
Awesome post! 👏
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