For anyone considering doing the ride, I have included my gear list plus my updates to the bike maps/book.
1) My full gear list with commentary.
When I did an assessment of the gear (without food and water, but including things I bought on the road) was ~35 lb. My surfing gear was 9 lb, which meant the rest of the gear was 26 lb.
So, in my assessment and my levels of comfort, 26 lb. of bicycling gear allows for a very comfortable trip. The 9 lb. of surfing gear is clearly a big indulgence, but I was happy to be able to surf along the way.
| Clothing | Comments |
| Baseball cap | See entry for Yana: http://bikeandsurf.blogspot.com/2014/07/wakonda-to-heceta-head-people-kari-jim.html |
| Biking shorts x2 | I bought these just before the trip (used to tour with normal shorts), only suggestion is to try them ahead of time |
| Overshorts x2 | These are for vanity, I don't prefer to walk around in lycra shorts... could have gotten away with one pair though |
| Sleeve warmers | I don't like these - bike shop guy convinced me to get them, I ended up buying a long sleeve shirt later |
| T shirt x2 | Doing over, I instead would have gone with two long sleeve shirts (for cycling) and one t shirt (non-cycling) |
| Lightweight pants | The quick-drying kind |
| Wool thermal shirt | Wool is good as it keeps you warm even if wet |
| Light fleece | I'd wear this over a tshirt to cycle in the mornings when cold |
| Medium fleece | For the coldest nights I'd wear a t-shirt + wool shirt + light fleece + medium fleece |
| Rain jacket | Must have, I brought my commuting rain jacket which is bright yellow |
| Rain pants | Very nice to have, I put them on at camp with my rain jacket - mosquitoes were stymied by this! |
| Long underwear | Lightweight silk |
| Helmet cap/liner | I liked this - kept me from getting burned on my scalp and was nice to be able to wash it easily |
| Cycling gloves | Very helpful for vibration reduction (mine have some padding) and reducing sun exposure to hands |
| Socks x2 | Thin polypropylene socks (polypro dries quickly) |
| Underwear x2 | Thin polypropylene underwear |
| Reflective vest | It's good to be visible |
| Helmet (bright yellow) | ditto |
| Sneakers (Vans) | I cycle in my Vans, super-comfy, I put in some shoe liners in them to give a bit more support |
| Stuff sack | For the clothes, used a thin material dry sack |
| Eyeglasses | Necessity if you need them :) |
| Sunglasses | Very nice to have, brought ones I could also take in the water |
| Flipflops | For using in the camp showers - some are a bit grimy |
| Mosquito netting | I had a bit from DownWorks, would wrap around my neck like a scarf when the mosquitoes were bad |
| Bandana | General purpose |
| On the bike | |
| Rear panniers (2) | For (1) tent, sleeping gear + pot filled with cooking stuff + toiletries (2) clothes + food + stove |
| Handlebar bag | Maps, papers, sunglasses, sunscreen, knife, PLB, long-sleeves, phone/camera, bandana, mosquito netting, lighter |
| Top tube bag | For tools and the lock, it did get in the way of my water bottles a bit, I think behind the seat tube is a better location |
| Stem bag | For little snacks - I didn't find this as helpful as I thought it'd be |
| Compression stuff sack | Surfing gear + sleeping pad + flipflops, on rear rack; doubled as clothes washing bag |
| Water bottles x2 | One large, one regular |
| Water bottle cages x3 | Two for water bottles, one for the fuel bottle(adjustable size as fuel bottles have a smaller diameter) |
| Robust lock | I got a folding lock... in case I had to leave for extended period in a city |
| Cable | To lock the front wheel |
| Small wire lock | Like a luggage lock, used for my 'ukulele and panniers |
| Seat cover | Waterproof (since my seat is leather) |
| 'Ukulele | Strapped on top of compression stuff sack |
| Cooking | |
| Stove | MSR Whisperlite Int'l - great stove, takes many fuels (white gas, kerosene, charcoal lighter fluid, unleaded gas) |
| Fuel Bottle | 11 oz., small capacity but it fit in the water bottle cage and I refilled it roughly every 1.5 weeks |
| Pot | Enough to cook dinner for two (in case someone needed some food) |
| Spoon | |
| Containers x3 | Screw top containers, could hold things like a tomato or onion or leftovers; used top for cutting board |
| Spices | Important, and refilled along the way |
| Olive Oil | In a small nalgene bottle |
| Soy Sauce | ditto |
| Bouillon | Great for cooking, had some vegan bouillon |
| Swiss army knife | Necessity - used every day for cooking |
| Refillable butane lighter | For lighting the stove |
| Matches | Backup to the lighter |
| Stuff sack | For the food and also used to hang the food |
| Cord to hang food | Long length for hanging the food to keep from animals |
| Sleeping | |
| Bivvy/Tent | I brought a bivvy sac which I found not great for damp conditions, eventually decided a tent is better |
| Sleeping Bag | Rated for colder weather than is predicted - I find they are generous with themselves in the rating system |
| Sleeping Pad | Old thermarest 3/4 length pad |
| Sleeping bag liner | Very nice to have - silk liner, can be washed easily, and nice when it's warmer at night |
| Pillow | Luxury, in past I used to roll up a fleece, but I liked having a little inflatable pillow |
| Earplugs | Important for when folks who snore pitch a tent right next to you (happened) |
| Eyeshade | If you want to sleep past sunrise (up north the sun rises early) |
| Mini-flashlight | Kept with the eyeshade/earplugs - earplugs + eyeshade + flashlight + extra chapstick in a small mesh pocket |
| Stuff sack | Dry sack - all of the above sleep gear went in the dry sack |
| Electronics | |
| Phone | Kept on airplane mode most of the time to conserve battery |
| Phone charger | Long cord is helpful as the plug locations can be awkward |
| USB cord charger | To connect to solar charger (could have been combined with charger but not the one I brought) |
| Mini water camera | For surf photos, I brought a gopro that was temperamental so wasn't too happy about it |
| Personal locator beacon | In case I fell off a cliff and no one could see me, mainly since I was traveling solo, maybe a bit of overkill |
| Solar charger | Handy, I used a small, inexpensive solar charger that I ordered online and it worked well |
| Headlamp (flashlight) | Very useful for camp at night |
| Toiletries | |
| Tooth brush | |
| Tooth paste | |
| Chapstick | |
| Chamois butter | I ended up giving the big tube away, but had a little bit on hand |
| Shaver | |
| Sunscreen | Important |
| Lense cloth | For cleaning glasses |
| Soap | Small bottle of Dr Bronner's |
| Hand sanitizer | Ended up with one with toiletries and one in handlebar bag |
| Stuff sack | Toiletries above in stuff sack |
| Chamois towel | (in clothing sack), I brought a small one (hand towel size) for drying off after showering |
| Mosquito repellent | Handlebar bag |
| Documents | |
| Wallet (ID, cards) | Kept in pocket of overshorts |
| Cash | ditto |
| Maps | Annotated (see prep entry at start of blog) |
| Small notebook | To write down folks' addresses |
| Journal pages | I've kept a journal for many years. Cut out some pages rather than bringing the entire journal. |
| Local maps | Often given to me by rangers - they have county campsites which is helpful. |
| Tide table | Very useful up north - big tidal swings, important if hiking along beach or surfing. |
| Pen x2 | only one really needed but nice to have an extra |
| First few days' itinerary | printed on paper |
| Tools | |
| Multi-tool | Very helpful to have, much more compact than separate tools |
| Pliers | Only thing I felt missing from the multi tool |
| Bike pump | Necessity. And nice to have one with a hose and pressure gauge |
| Patch kit x2 | Extra patches seem good to have |
| Inner tubes x2 | Some folks recommended three, but I felt pretty good about having two |
| Tire levers (2) | Important |
| Extra spokes (2) | On chainstay |
| Fiberfix | Neat thing to fix a spoke without removing wheel |
| Cassette remover | Got a combo tool that allows you to use the frame to lever off the cassette |
| Rag | Very useful to have for doing any work |
| Chain lube | Needed after getting through Oregon - chain needed lube |
| Zip ties | Just in case |
| Cord | Extra for lashing gear if needed |
| Hose clamps | In case something on rack broke |
| Nuts/bolts | Extra, again just in case |
| Spare brake/shift cable | In case |
| Electrical tape | Helpful for handlebar tape issues |
| Tent tape | To repair stuff sacks/bike bags |
| First Aid Kit | Ultralight backpacking first aid kit |
| Surfing | |
| Surfmat | Fourth Gear Flyer, Standard mat |
| Wetsuit, 2mm | Way too thin for the conditions (5mm would've been nice), but was trying to save weight |
| Swim fins + leashes | Kicks fins - quite lightweight |
| Fin socks | Prevent blisters, also helps for warmth |
| Contact lenses | Single use |
| Poncho | Really helpful - used for changing clothes (lighter than a big towel) and as a raincover for my bike at night |
| Swim googles (freediving) | Didn't end up using (didn't go freediving) - probably not necessary |
| What I shipped home: | |
| Parka | Felt I didn't need that much warmth - didn't except for one night |
| Camera accessories | ex. tripod, clamp mount, etc. - not worth the weight/trouble |
| Additional items bought on the road: | |
| Strap | To better secure my baseball cap to seat after losing the first one |
| Bowl | Luxury, wanted a bit more aesthetically pleasing bowl than my storage container |
| Fork | Could have made it without it, but made eating noodles easier |
| Scraper (for cleaning) | Nice to have, earlier I was just dealing with not fully clean things (bowl, pot, etc.) |
| Bottle for tabasco | Lighter weight |
| Monocular | I only had heavy binoculars and didn't think of it until later |
| Seat cushion, inflatable | For meditation, great as I was sitting on hard surfaces (logs, rocks) |
| Wool hat | Earlier parka had a hood, but I shipped the parka back home |
| Long sleeve shirt | Lightweight, for cycling (sun protection) |
| Additional charger | One charger for both the phone and water camera was not great, so bought one on the road |
| What I would have liked to have brought: | |
| Down sweater | A lightweight one to add just a bit more warmth than I had |
| Funnel | For filling the fuel bottle |
| Wetsuit hood | That water was super cold, would've been nice to have a hood |
Detail of my cooking gear. The green containers are really useful. As mentioned, the lid of the larger one is what I used for a cutting board. The semi-clear bowl is the one I bought instead of eating from the green storage container all the time. The red thing in the bowl is the cleaning scraper. The bottles are filled with olive oil, soy sauce, and tabasco.
2) Updates to the Bicycling the Pacific Coast and Adventure Cycling Maps (the standard book and maps that most people use along the route). Both of them could use some updating. Here are some items I thought would be worth highlighting:
- The fruit and vegetable checkpoint at the Oregon-California border is closed (and apparently has been closed for years). So it is *not* necessary to eat or throw out all fruits and vegetables before entering CA as it lists in the book.
- Hidden Springs campground in CA does not have an official hiker biker site, but it seems that the rangers there are quite accommodating (CA website lists that they will accommodate as needed)
- Scotia, CA has a great market with a nice selection of food
- Klamath, CA and Orick, CA have a very limited selection of food at the markets there - so better to buy groceries in Crescent City, CA
- Redwood Lily hostel in Arcata, CA offers a 10% bicyclist discount (for example, rate at the time for a bed in a shared room would then be $36 v. $40 regular rate)
- There is no longer a full service bicycle shop in Garberville, CA. However, if you ask for Robert at Allsports and Toy, he may be able to help
3) Gratitude
I have felt so, so fortunate to have had so many people help me along the way on this trip. I'm not sure if I am capturing everyone but I wanted to call out the following:
- Housing (Zac, Sue, Katie/St Paul’s)
- Ride and journey help (Zac, Sue, Ted and Lina, Rosemary, Geri and Sandy)
- Looking after my place (Ana, Tim, Joey)
- Advice (Dad, Tina, Aunty Betty and Uncle Stanley, Alice, Bill, Jason, Omari, Rob, Rich, Yeh, Jeff, Geoff, Hemant, Pierre, Amy, Jonathan, Brandon, Zach, Bosco, Matthew, Adrien, Grant, Rob, Lexi, Giles, Oliver, Per, Jon)
- Food (Sue, Marie)
- Fuel, soap (the Hardys, Caroline)
- Gifts (Louise, Yana, Sue, Agate Beach couple, Ariel)
- Inspiration (everyone I met)
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