Planning and undertaking a European bike trip.

Bicycle Touring in Europe

Part VI: Packing, Security, Traffic, and Safety

On this Page:

What Should You Pack?
Security.
Traffic.
Safety.

On related pages:

Why Bicycle in Europe? How much will it cost?
When to Go, By Commercial Group? Or, by Personal Tour?
Bring Your Own Bike or Rent or Buy? What Kind of Bike? Customizing Your Bike?
Trains and Bicycles.
Maps, Guidebooks, Hotels, and Tourist Site Information Sources
How far will you ride?
Best European Cycling Trips: Author's ratings, and when, where, and how to do them.

What should you pack?

Packing for commercial tours: On commercial tours with luggage transfers, you can pretty much bring whatever you want, and wear while cycling whatever you wish. You can choose to appear to others, on your bike, like a racer, a tourist, or even a lady or gentleman. At night you can dress as elegantly or plainly as you decide.

The author has his own opinions about the advantages and disadvantages of clothing types for biking, but has never succeeded in changing anyone else's mind. Major factors in deciding what to wear on your commercial tour are your body build, and the image you wish to project. Another factor is how many hours a day you are going to actually spend cycling, as compared to shopping, dining, and visiting tourist sights, and whether you wish to look like a cycle tourist while you aren't cycling. Another factor is your tolerence for heat, cold, and or prespiration.

You may choose to bring along, or not, some basic tools for adjusting your bike, and a handle bar bag or panier, depending upon your needs and what your group supplies.

Packing for self-organized tours: If you are taking a self-organized biking tour, your packing and clothing choices are much more constrained.

Saddlebags - Panniers: The number and size of panniers you will need depends upon the style and length of your bike trip. If it is a short, non-camping trip with minimal changes of clothing, books, and accessories, perhaps two bags of 15 x 10 x 5 inches (38 x 25 x13 cm) will do.If it is a longer, non-camping, trip, you will probably need two bags of roughly 16 x 13 x 6 inches (41 x 33 x 15 cm). It appears that volume ratings (liters or cubic inches) are not comparable between brands—some of the volume ratings may be substantially "puffed up". Therefore compare if possible before buying, or get actual dimensions.

The author uses (and mostly fills up) an earlier version of the Jandd Mountaineering's "Large Mountain Paniers". These are theoretically expandable to by 50% or more, but you should save most of that extra capacity for unexpected purchases along the way. The author also uses a large handlebar bag to carry his camera and lenses, snacks, and other items that he plans to access during the day.

For a bicycle camping trip, which requires a load of 35 pounds or more, four smaller panniers— two on the front wheels, two in the rear, are best, for both balance and aerodynamics. Some say it is better to ride wioth four panniers even on a non-camping trip, but the author prefers to stay with two panniers, for logistical reasons: Two are easier to carry to a hotel or on a train, and are also less time-consuming to load on a bicycle.

Your panniers need to be able to be attached firmly to your bicycle. The author has had bad experience with systems that use elastic cords or springs to attach at the bottom, or lightweight clips to attach at the top. His present bags (Jandd) use metal clips at the top and hooks at the bottom that are cinched by straps through clips and hook and loop fastners. They have never come loose.

Panniers and Rain - Although his panniers are not completely waterproof, the author's packing system (see below) keeps all his items dry..

Only one or two brands of panniers, notably the "Bike-Packer Classic" model of the Ortleib brand, made in Germany, are completely waterproof. These paniers, however, have less features than some other models, and cost 50 percent more.

There are probably other good brands on the market. You might want to discuss the issues of selecting paniers with a knowledgeable dealer. The following Internet sites (with which the author has no personal experience) may be helpful: For Ortleib: http://peterwhitecycles.com or http://www.altrec.com. For Jandd: http://www.jandd.com or http://www.performancebike.com/shop.

A final point about paniers: Do make sure that the rear rack of your bicycle is of a strong and durable type (many are not), and lengthy enough to allow clearance between your heel and the panniers. It is best, if in doubt, to test this while riding.

Packing Systems: Rain occurs (often unexpectedly) during many cycling trips. The author has never used saddlebags, or heard of any (see the exception above) that were truly waterproof (nor backpacks for that matter), and has always had water leak in around rain covers. Therefore, unless you do own truly waterproof paniers, the author highly recommends that you pack all of your clothing and other items in slider plastic bags.

The use of individual plastic bags has three other advantages: first, it keeps you organized—for example all white cycling socks are together, all maps and papers are easy to find ; second, it seems to help prevent the wrinkling, soiling, leaking, or messing up of clothing, papers, toilet articles, and so on; third, it allows you to "slide" items into tight spaces in the paniers. However, opening most all of the bags at night and closing them again in the morning is a real nuisance.

The author's experiences over the years have convinced him of the following: (1) Large plastic garbage bags used as saddlebag liners make it impossible to access items during rainstorms without other things getting wet. Nor are they easy to use. But this is a viable option. (2) Zip-lock® bags, in saddlebags, do not stay zipped. (3) Larger individual plastic bags, sealed by rolling them up and holding them ith rubber-bands, are effective but are clumsy and not very compact. (4) Slider bags are effective, work very easily, and last for more than one trip; their advantages far outweigh their slightly higher cost. The author compresses each bag to get out excess air before sealing, and then usually puts one or two rubberbands around each bag, to help keep the bags as compact as possible.

There are various sizes of slider bags: Use the sandwich size bag to carry wallets and day-maps with you on drizzly days, and, in your saddle bag, to carry tissues and spare toilet paper. Uses the quart size to carry socks, handkerchiefs, belts, and underwear, as well as film and camera supplies. Use the gallon size to carry shirts, pants, pajamas, sweater, rain jacket, toilet kit bag, accessories and first-aid bag, guide books, maps and papers, and food items for snacks or picnics. Use the two-gallon bags to carry dress shoes, fleece jacket (in cool weather), and to protect a 35mm camera.

Biking wear: Assuming that your trip is a longer one, and that you would like to wear clothing that is clean and fresh, you will need to bring many changes of clothing, or do frequent laundries.

The choice of cotton biking clothing will necessitate either (1) that you bring along many changes, which will fill and weigh down your saddlebags, but, none-the-less, for tee shirts in summer, is feasible for up to a week; (2) that you stay more than one night in one hotel or camp ground, where your washed cotton clothing will have time to dry; or (3) if you are camping in dry summer weather, that you arrive at your campground early enough to allow your cotton clothes to dry in the sun.

In the author's experience, most European bikers—both local bikers out for an outing and touring bikers—wear polyester bike clothing

Polyester garmets breathe well, and dry overnight in most weather conditions. (However, their looks or feel are objectionable to some riders.) One cycling jerseys and one pants can suffice for a trip of any length if you wash them every night. You will probably need to do so, as synthetics tend to retain or even build up odors. Take along an extra jersey and pants if you wish to skip the washing routine occassionally.

When hand washing garmets, drying time is substantially decreased if each garmet (with excess water wrung out) is rolled in a dry towel (if available). The author always carries a thin nylon line and miniature clothespins (available from camping stores or catalogues), which he ties between firm supports in his hotel room (such as door hinges or TV supports), if the hotel does not provide adaquate hanging space.

In the fall, winter and spring, you will also need to bring at least one pair of removable leggings or over-pants. You will also need a sweater or fleece jacket. The author uses a helmet cover in cooler weather and for some long descents in moderate weather, and carries a hat for use when not biking. In all seasons you will need a breathable windbreaker-raincoat (if it is not breathable you may be warm, but you'll be wet from your prespiration).

You should definitely wear very large glasses, or goggles. The wind blowing in your face at normal speeds, including gusts from passing trucks, and swirling eddies, can damage your eyes. Not to mention the breeze during descents at 30 miles per hour. Your eyes also need protection from glare. The author has liked very well his oversized eyeglasses that darken in bright sun.

Evening wear: You will want to carry appropriate clothing for the evening: If you are camping or staying in any but the top accomodations, and if you don't exercise, a cotton or polyester collared shirt and pants, or blouse and skirt can remain usuable for up to 10 days, particularly if you can gain access to an iron or someone who will iron for you. If you plan to walk around alot or dance, or prespire profusely, you probably need to bring extra changes, or take extra days to do laundry.

If you plan to stay in chateau hotels and eats in starred restaurants, you may wish to carry a dress shirt, wool slacks and a tie; or a wool or silk skirt and blouse. A light sweater takes up much less space than a sports coat or dressy jacket, and also hides wrinkles in a shirt or blouse. Even very fancy restaurants will usually let you in with a sweater. You will also want to bring a pair of shoes for evening wear.

Non-Clothing: Apparel will take up most of the room in your saddlebags, but not most of the weight. You may have chosen to completely draw up your itinerary in advance; or, to play it by ear. Otherwise, if you are planning ahead by a day or a few days, you will want to carry a hotel and restaurant guide (or a camping or hostel guide), or, if you have the time to prepare, phototcopies of relevant pages. You will need to carry maps. You may well want to carry one or more tourist guide books. You might well want to carry a book or magazine, or a planner, or perhaps a portable phone, or some paper to keep a record of where you've been. What about a camera and film (store deep in your panier shielded from the sun), or the necessary electronic storage media if your camera is digital.

You will carry a selection of toilet articles (ideally in smaller sizes), plus, perhaps, a sewing kit, an eye glasses repair kit, any medicines and ointments, an oral thermometer, nail scissors, adhesive strips, safety pins, a sleeping mask and ear plugs, extra rubber bands, extra facial tissues, a small roll of toilet paper, writing pen, laundry soap, mini-clothes line and mini-clothes pins, spare batteries, and a short piece of rolled up duct tape. If you are staying in youth hostels, mountain huts (refuges) or the dormitories of Gites d'Étape you probably will want to carry a sleeping sack, which you can buy, or simply bring along a large, long, lightweight piece of hemmed silk or polyester fabric (say 5 x13 feet or 150 x 400 cm) which will weigh approximately 4 ounces (100 g).

Bike Items: You should carry a tire patch kit, a spare tube, extra brake pads (water resistant type) , extra spokes (particularly if you bring a an older, non-metric bike) and tools. Strongly consider buying a kit of multi-size combination bike tools, which save both weight and space. The author keeps his tools, oil, some paper towels or clean cloth, and a few rubber gloves (purchasable at pharmacies) easily accessible in a small kit in the top compartment of one panier.

Know how to adjust your brakes, derailleurs, handlebars and seat, how to straighten a wheel (bring a spoke wrench), how to change break pads, and how to repair a flat tire. These are the most common problems by far, and they are not hard to master. It is helpful also to be able to repair a broken chain.

Carry a heavy, sturdy bike lock (or more than one if you plan to leave your bike on the street at night).

Food and Water: You will want to carry at least a liter (quart) of water with you, more if you do not plan to patronize cafés and it is summer. You will want to carry food for quick energy snacks (the author likes chocolate) or perhaps food for meals: In Europe, your choice of wonderful treats—from cheeses to pastries to smoked fish and meats to fruits and nuts—as well as staples, is very large.

Security:

Bring a heavy, strong bicycle lock. If possible, lock your bike to something fixed. If you are planning to lock your bike outdoors at night, particularly in larger towns or cities, bring an extra lock for the front wheel, and cable for the saddle. Remove any items that can easily be taken, such as pumps or trip computers.

Contrary to intution, your bike probably is in greater danger of being taken when it does not have touring baggage attached. It will be much easier to ride, and much less conspicuous. Paricularly in cities and at major tourist attractions, make sure your bare bike is locked to something fixed. The author knows of examples where bikes were stolen when this rule was ignored.

Normally, the author doesn't bother about his luggage, or attaching his bike to something fixed, when going during daylight into a supermarket, food shop, tourist office, restaurant, or modestly visited tourist site—except that, as a precaution, he may carry his good camera with him. Thus far, nothing has ever been taken.

When visiting major tourist sites on route (with hundreds of visitors) where you will be far from his bicycle, and can't watch it for extended periods, to arrange to put his bike somewhere where it will be out of sight, or watched, or indoors.

If this cannot be accomplished, remove your bags from your bike, and consign it somewhere. Often, there are official check rooms available. For example, at a major château in the Loire Valley that the author was determined to visit, bicycles were not permitted to be left inside, or in front of the building. The author felt compelled, therefore, to ride his loaded bike right up to the château entrance; lock it; unload his bags and carry them inside to the checkroom; unlock his bike; move it about 300 yards away to a bicycle park by the parking lot; and lock it to a pole there. Then, like any other tourist, he visited the château for two hours. When the visit was over, the author reversed the above process.

When there is no official place to check items, it is usually possible to agree with the seemingly trustworthy manager of a hotel or restaurant or shop to watch your bags for several hours. (Even though you offer to pay, and do pay, or perhaps eat at a restaurant, the manager needs to be profusely thanked.)

The author always tries to lock his bicycle up inside at night, both to protect if from theft and from possible night storms. Almost all hotels outside the larger cities can arrange this. At campsites, obviously, the bikes will remain outside.

Special warning: In Amsterdam and other large cities of the Netherlands, bicycles are stolen almost as a sport, and sometimes regarded as "social property". In central city areas do not leave your bike outside at night—or even for more than a few minutes during the day. This site will give you a bit of the flavor of things: http://www.phys.uu.nl/~esn/utrecht/utr_city/bike_repairman.html.

Traffic:

The page reach by this link discusses the authors traffic ratings, used in many of the itineraries.

Safe Cycling:

Obviously bike riding is, like many sports and other activities in life, more dangerous than sitting at home. In setting out on a bike—whether on a short ride or on a long tour, you have decided to accept these risks.

To the usual rules of traffic and personal safety, the author adds only a few: When in doubt, walk your bike. Generally, ride far out from parked cars, and watch them very carefully (as car doors, and cars suddenly pulling out, are, in the author's experience , by far the greatest dangers a biker faces). Don't follow closely a cyclist in front of you, unless you are both used to, and competent in, pack riding. Wear a helmet. If your bike gets out of adjustment or loose, stop and fix it. Always check the road surface ahead, and glance away only momentarily; to look at sights, stop by the side of the road. Don't veer suddenly out into the road. If you become mentally or physically exhausted, stop, rest, and eat some high energy foods; feel rested before continuing.

In years of bike touring, the author has never had a security problem, or a safety problem worse than a scraped knee. While no guarantees can be given, with some care on your part, you should have a secure, safe and enjoyable trip.

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