So....
Going to a wedding solo in July in Surrey
Thinking of being silly & riding from London
Shoes, shirt & trousers in a backpack
What else do I need?
(Bearing in mind I'm dead cheap)
Bar bags, frame bag, saddle bag (for dropper)
Tent Phoxx1 cheap in go outdoors
Aldi have some ultra light sleeping bags in atm... https://www.aldi.co.uk/ultra-light-sleeping-bag/p/823758728149400
Sleeping mat?
Bike security if I'm in a tent? - an alarm?
And where, is it feasible to wild camp in Surrey hills,?
Or should I just travelodge it?
How far are you going, and are you proposing rocking up at the wedding covered in mud after a night in a hedge?
Shoes, shirt & trousers in a backpack
What else do I need?
An iron?
Travelodge. Don't waste your money buying "adequate" kit for one trip.
Bit of pressure pulling should see you right for the second night. 😉
Travelodge. Don’t waste your money buying “adequate” kit for one trip
Seconded. A small trip like this is an ideal way to test the waters to see if you catch the bikepacking bug or not. Spend your time and energy on enjoying the route with the kit that you have - you'll have time to ponder your future plans while you're riding.
Which bit off Surrey? how far are you actually travelling?
Travelodge. Don’t waste your money buying “adequate” kit for one trip.
+1
Otherwise work on a principal of taking less s***. You need a pump, tubeless worms, an innertube and patches, a multitool, and chain links. You're not doing anything you wouldn't do on a normal ride, so you definitely don't need any more spares than usual. On top of that you just need enough stuff to survive an evening.
I've an aldi sleeping bag, or maybe it's lidl as a 2nd option to my winter bag. Weighs about 750g and cost a tenner, which falls into the range of being light enough to not worry too much that a £300 down bag would be 300g lighter. Check the forecast though, if it's below 10C overnight or you camp in the open or at the bottom of a valley it could get uncomfortably chilly.
Sleeping mat, again for a one off the bog standard roll up foam mat is more than fine if a bit bulky. Supplement with the cheapest, uninsulated thermarest/exped knockoff you can find if you want depth/comfort (again aldi/lidl have had these in the past).
You'll want a bivi bag too, army suplus for £25. Never buy anything 'new' in an army suplus shop, it's crap Walter Mitty stuff for carp fishing and airsoft. Get one of the real surplus ones with patches and someone's name sharpied in the hem, they're great.
And a lightweight down jacket. Maybe spend a few quid on something nice-ish from decathlon. It'll do a good job keeping you warm if the sleeping bag doesn't.
Eat at a pub.
You don't need a lock. If you camp somewhere where people find you then either you've camped way too close to the path/road. Or you're accidentally in a dogging spot and it's not the bike they're interested in riding.
Have a plan for at the wedding, where's the bike being left, where are you getting showered/changed, ditto afterwards, no one wants to see you interrupting Auntie Dorris's doing the Harlem shake in 2 day old sweaty lycra. I've not tried it at a wedding but when going to training courses/conferences hotels have been happy to give me a roomkey from someone's who's checked out and a fresh towel (or I guess they may have a gym/pool you could access) and left the bike in their store room.
Or do it like Audaxers have been doing for decades, two wheeled tramp style in a bus stop. Cuts the kit needed in half if you aim for a rural bus stop or bird hide.
Post your clothes for the wedding to someone and just basically do a couple of long day rides with a night in a proper bed?
Plenty of places where you could bivvy discretely with a bike in Surrey - immediate thoughts are along the Greensand Way or Northdowns Way - both run along wooded ridges with roads across rather than along. Pitch late and strike early being the rule - avoid the dead-end lanes and parking spots unless you want to meet others interested in ‘outdoor pursuits’ 🤣