Picking gear for your first tour can be intimidating and frustrating. Furthermore, the gear that one tourist carries may be considered frivolous by other cyclo tourists.
Some people go the minimalist approach — cutting the handles off of toothbrushes, sleeping in a bivy sack, never cooking, etc.
Other people load up the panniers and pull a trailer, carrying everything they can think of, including their pets.
We have done a lot of touring and backpacking. Inevitably I tend to bring too much and slim down as I go on.
Below is a list of what we brought on this tour, the costs, and the items we sent back, discarded, or threw off the side of a precipice in frustration. This is a living list while we are on the road and I’ll try to update as I have time.
Almost everything was bought online and on sale. The prices include shipping and taxes where appropriate.