Credit card touring - absolute minimum

You wouldn’t need the undercrackers, wrap a towel round you while your shorts are being washed/drying.

Phone charger, depending on how long you were going for?

Hypothetically you could stay in your cycling clothes all day but realistically you’ll need t-shirt, shorts and flip flops

I'd be taking shorts, t-shirt and flip-flops as my non cycling wear, but would still fit in smallish frame bag or bikepacking seatpack.

You could skip the credit/debit card if you can get Google/Apple Pay on your phone.

Don't forget to bring a charger and charging lead if you do this!!!!

(I brought some very lightweight shorts and a t-shirt last time I did this as I wanted to be able to drink G&T in the hotel bar without looking like a complete dork. It was worth it for me).

Certainly shorts/trackies bottoms and t-shirt. I've never taken spare shoes or flip flops, but then my cycling shoes are not full on road racing clogs; 5.10 kestrels so quite walkable in.

I'd arrive late at the hotel having eaten, so I can just strip off; or if I was arriving early I'd need somewhere with room service (or a takeaway) so I can just strip off after it arrives.

In this scenario you are *only* cycling and sleeping. You're not taking a day off to see the sights etc. So I see no need to take spare clothes. We're talking the absolute minimum here for the hell of it, not what's most comfortable or the best compromise. I'm saying no luggage, no saddle bags beyond tube/tools. Probably two tubes just in case, as I'd be starting tubeless.

Wrapping a towel - yeah, that could work. I mean in an emergency situation i.e. fire alarm etc I could run back outside in my damp cycling shorts, for as unlikely as that is.

One possible problem - I have a small folding phone charger, but it's UK plug. If I were going to the continent it'd either need an adapter or a second charger, thereby adding weight. I could post my old one home and buy new when I got to France, or just take the Euro one, turn off mobile data and ride hell for leather for the nearest channel port and get there before the first charge runs out.

These work really well.

https://www.weirdosonbikes.com/product/toothpaste-tablets/

The same shop does a nice toothbrush.

I'd be taking shorts and a t shirt of some sort. Gym shorts with a liner would save on underpants.

Cycling shorts will not always be dry in the morning. 2 pairs.

And no going to the pub in your lycra please. Public decency and all that

More seriously tools and spares
Waterproofs
Extra warm layer

I guess it depends how much time you want to spend off the bike and what youre going to do with that time?
Are you gonna change from your chamois into some cotton pants and keep your shorts and jersey on in the hotel bar? how small can you pack down a linen suit?

Or literally roll in, get undressed and order room service in a bathrobe?

how long are you going for? and where? you can drop the toothcare for a day or so and no one would notice or care. Your teeth arnt going to fall out in a week.

I did a long day of land drilling as a grad, got covered in mud and decided i didnt fancy the 2hrs home just to turn around and come back again in the morning, so went and bought clean clothes on the way to the hotel and got changed in the car.
Ive always thought the ideas of "bug out bags" and "very day carry" were stupid if you have a credit card, there isnt much you cant solve with a little bit of plastic.

If money is no object, stay in posh gaffs where you get a hotel dressing gown. Perfect for an hour in the bar! 🤣
RM.

Cycling shorts will not always be dry in the morning.

Doesn't matter, they'll dry when I put them on.

I guess it depends how much time you want to spend off the bike and what youre going to do with that time?

And no going to the pub in your lycra please.

Sorry I edited. Absolutely nothing on this tour other than riding, sleeping and eating. As well as being an exercise in minimalism it's also seeing how much ground you can cover - before going insane, I suppose 🙂

This sounds about as much fun as doing it on Zwift!

if I was arriving early I’d need somewhere with room service

I'm in and out of hotels a lot putting kit in and there are always food delivery drivers turning up. Some hotels now just partner with one of the providers and don't do any room service in house.

You could skip the credit/debit card if you can get Google/Apple Pay on your phone.

I’m in and out of hotels a lot putting kit in and there are always food delivery drivers turning up. Some hotels now just partner with one of the providers and don’t do any room service in house.

Yes, Just Eat et al are the de-facto room service outsourcing 🙂

I was thinking the same. Ride from my house to Glasgow, WHW, then over to Laggan and back down the east coast.
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If you can do it in the summer over a couple of days with minimal chance of rain then:
Two bottles on the bike
Tubes, multitool, pump, chainlink.
Telephone and charger
Credit card
Ride in baggies so half decent in the pub
Lights on the bike just in case
Couple of base layers, dry socks, spare pair of gloves, a pair of shorts, toothbrush.
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Navigation. Maps or battery pack for telephone? I prefer maps, but would need half a dozen Landrangers and that's quite big.

molgrips

One possible problem – I have a small folding phone charger, but it’s UK plug. If I were going to the continent it’d either need an adapter or a second charger, thereby adding weight.

Plenty of chargers on Amazon that allow the 3-pin bit to be disconnected and euro pins attached, I have the one below which is way too bulky for your needs, but you get the idea.

Cycling shorts will not always be dry in the morning.

Use the hair dryer on them...

I think I would take some minimal first aid kit as well.

Lose the toothbrush and get those chewable capsules you get in the loo at the Motorway services?

Won't most places to stay have USB sockets these days? So a 10cm cable should be all you need.

Cycling shorts will not always be dry in the morning.

Doesn’t matter, they’ll dry when I put them on.

I'd have thought starting the day in wet shorts would be a direct route to tour ending chafing.

Doesn't sound a lot like a "tour" to me, it's more a multi-day ride if you're not stopping to take in where you are, YMMV. I'd have thought if you want to look at the distances possible you'd look at something like RAAM where everyone really is pretty much just doing ride, eat, sleep, repeat.

If it's absolute minimum it's the same as a short day ride plus a phone charger and tooth brush, cut down of course, sounds a bit shit though as if you cannot take a wonder have a beer/ coffees /ice cream and relax a bit.

I'm taking chamois cream too

Swim shorts that will double for the bar (and pool of course!)

Someone told me they preapply toothpaste to their toothbrush and then cling film it... Interesting idea but potentially messy... And do you recycle your evening toothpaste for the morning? 😂

Someone told me they preapply toothpaste to their toothbrush and then cling film it… Interesting idea but potentially messy… And do you recycle your evening toothpaste for the morning? 😂

Learnt from a mountain instructor I was working with the other week.....A bit of tooth paste squeezed into the baggies they give you in a covid lateral flow test. Pop the end of your brush in the bag and twizzle to load then reseal. Baggies would work for a bit of chamois cream, sun tan cream etc too. A bit of sudocream or similar for sores/bites is good aswell.

I'm guessing we are putting the bike in our rooms here (or finding hotels with secure storage).

If you're really staying in a fancy gaff you can just use the complementary toothbrush and paste from reception. Use the shoe cleaning kit to lube your chamois?

You prob do need a real credit card in case the phone runs out of charge, just as a back up

.A bit of tooth paste squeezed into the baggies they give you in a covid lateral flow test.

Baggies would work for a bit of chamois cream, sun tan cream etc too. A bit of sudocream or similar for sores/bites is good aswell.

Add in a bag of deep heat, don't label them, then playing baggie Russian roulette to add a bit of excitement to the trip.

I’d have thought starting the day in wet shorts would be a direct route to tour ending chafing.

They wouldn't be sopping wet, just damp. It's no worse than riding through a puddle mid ride, IMO. Quality well fitting stuff should be alright.

I’m guessing we are putting the bike in our rooms here

Yes, your typical Holiday Inn type place doesn't care. I was in one and a bloke actually rode through the front doors and up to the front desk on his Brompton. Noone cared.

yeah the irony being that, I’d still probably call it “credit card touring” but an actual CC is one thing I definitely wouldn’t bother taking!!

I would. Phones can run out of charge or break. A small piece of plastic is hardly a burden to carry.

I'd be inclined to bring a bivi bag of some description - even with the best intentions of staying in hotels/hostels/whatever, it's nice to have a backup strategy in case everywhere's full/you're in the middle of nowhere. Also handy in an emergency.

Also bog roll. Always carry some if you're touring.

Oh, and I'd upgrade the windproof top to a Shakedry jacket. Hardly any more weight/bulk, and an actual waterproof is kinda useful.

I would never go without waterproofs and a spare warm layer. Too long living in Scotland 🙄🤣but break you bike in a rainstorm and hypothermia is not far away

Also bog roll. Always carry some if you’re touring.

Nick some from each hotel every morning.

Oh, and I’d upgrade the windproof top to a Shakedry jacket.

Yeah ok I'll allow that.

You could skip the credit/debit card if you can get Google/Apple Pay on your phone.

See, I have less faith in phone based card payments being accepted than you lot, obviously. I've encountered enough places where it's card based that - for the sake of it - it'd be a physical card as well.

Dynamo hub and usb you can loose the charging cable

You could skip the credit/debit card if you can get Google/Apple Pay on your phone.

Numerous times I've tried to pay on my phone and it wants me to 'insert card'

I've not used an actual plastic debit card for at least two years. I've never had any problems using Google Pay with my current phone or the previous one. For backup though, I'd likely take a card for a second (credit card?) account too.

Did lands end to John o groats in this style and deffo needed the t-shirt/flip flops/linen trousers for eating/relaxing time. Meant you could go to restaurants properly and getting out of Lycra sooner reduced saddle sores. As above you should get it all in a small frame or saddle bag (bar bags are just an aero nightmare on a road bike imo)

I think you have to have a lightweight pair of shorts/t-shirt and some sort of footwear. It sort of defeats the point of going on a tour if you just end up camped in a hotel room each night and can't get out to see the place you've cycled to that day, just about anything else can be purchased/made dinky (toothbrushes/paste/etc) or simply bought as you go. But a guaranteed change of clothes to wander about locally would be a requirement IMO.

I suppose You could post yourself little parcels ahead to each stop, toiletries + civvies and a pair of flip-flops.

as above, you seem to be applying ultra-distance racing criteria to credit card touring 🙂

take spare cycle clothes for changeable weather (arm/knee warmers, svelte waterproof if you want to be sparse about it), t-shirt/shorts/light footwear for the evenings and mornings so you can walk about a bit a see where you are rather than be a prisoner in a hotel room, raid the breakfast buffet without looking like an idiot and more importantly to get out of cycling kit, chamois cream, toothpaste (decant these into tiny pots), deodorant (you can buy small pots of deodorant paste that are really very good) and folding toothbrush, buy an adapter plug with two USB ports in to charge phone and GPS

all of this will easily fit in a small bikepacking seatpack and these 'compromises' will be worth it by day three

If you're only going into the hotel to shower/sleep/breakfast, why do you need underpants?

And I'd add a Powerbank

https://www.themu.co.uk/collections/collection/products/mu-one-international

that was the perfect design for a lightweight charger. no idea what happened to the company, they seemed to have done nothing for 2 years :/ there's other "origami" chargers, but none that have changable heads

The Contact lens cases you get with lens solution are excellent for lotions etc, and they won't burst like a baggy can.

You certainly could do it with almost nothing but why would you want to? Honest question, not being a dick.

Surely the joy of touring is exploring, popping out in the evening for beers and a meal and enjoying where you are? Riding all day then sitting in your hotel with a towel wrapped around you while you wait for you kit to dry sounds more like a test of endurance than a fun trip to me.

You could take a reasonable amount of stuff with a frame bag and you can post stuff to the hotel ahead of time as well as posting other stuff back home when you don't need it anymore.

What about bike bag for the flight back home?

Try to squeeze in a CTC bag somewhere on the bike, or is there an even smaller option?