What to bring

THE BASICS

First thing you need is a properly working bike, preferably light and fast, with good gears and good brakes, reflectors, lights and a strong rear rack. Please check your bike at home for old, worn or broken parts, so that you will not have to struggle with that on the road. Experience shows that people with racing bikes tend to have a lot more problems with their bikes than mountain bike owners.

Bring a small repair kit (at least some glue and patches), spare inner tube, extra spokes of the right size for front and rear wheel, bottle carrier and bottle, mudguards (friendly for the person that will drive behind you) and a bell, horn or a siren.

Then you need waterproof panniers to store your stuff in. Better get the good ones, as the cheaper versions tend to disappoint you sooner or later, or make panniers yourself. Also make sure that the method of attaching them to your bike is secure and that they aren't going to jump off when you go over bumps. It's also better for you if they don't take ages to fix to your bike since you will have to remove either them or their contents every night. Try to divide your luggage over the front and back of your bike, for better weight balance, or better still don't bring too much stuff.

Very important is also your place in a tent. Either bring your own tent or share one with someone else. If you do not know anybody to share with but do not have a tent, ask on the mailing list. Don't forget your sleeping mat & -bag.

Take as little luggage as possible, since you have to carry it all by yourself, but be sure to bring: warm sweater, long trousers, T-shirt, short trousers, sox, underwear, towel, toothbrush & paste, sandals, teddy bear, (people who can’t sleep without a pillow could take just take the pillow bag and stuff it with clothes.), plate/cup, spoon, knife, fork... Passport, visa, some money and the travel- and health insurance-papers (e.g. E111) as well as any medicines you might need!

HIGHLY RECOMMENED
Rain protection: raincoat, rain trousers, some strong waterproof bags big enough to pull over your shoes, spare shoes, trousers, shirt, waterproof bags for your luggage (or strong and big enough plastic bags to put over your luggage.).
Sun protection: sun cream with high UV numbers as we will be cycling during the day and will not always have shade as a natural protection. Know your skin sensitivity; nobody is looking for skin cancer, right?

Take care for your knees - wear pants which cover them while you cycle in cold to modest weather. Especially if you go to a colder country than your is do not underestimate the effects of could weather. Your knees are the most vulnerable to the unknown exercise of 50, 60, 80 km cycling a day. The windchill they suffer from is stronger than you expect, and you might additionally have bad cycling habits - a wrong seathight or you pedal too slow. It is easy to hurt your knees, because they are used so much, they have to cary all the power into your feet. But it takes some weeks of rest to cure them. Quite some people had to quit from biketour because they could not stand the pain in the knees anymore.

Then: cap, bandana, hat, sun glasses, an airy shirt with long sleeves, scarf, gloves...Mosquito protection: well, it is up to your harmony with the nature! But if you are not sure how patient you are, bring some natural scent mosquito repellents. A good lock! Bike thieves can be everywhere, especially in bigger cities.

ALSO RECOMMENDED
Helmet, alarm clock, 100% recycled toilet paper, sewing kit, washing powder/soap (preferably biodegradable, we will have campsites in some sensitive nature areas), swim suit, flashlight, pocket knife, drying-line, camera/video camera, notebook + pen, compass /GPS system (!), good maps (compared to the photocopied shit we will provide you with), phone-cards/mobile phone (don't forget your charger), lighter/matches, candles, veggie recipes, instruments, info about your organization/project, songs or food from your country, card-games, binoculars, bike decoration like a big biketour flag attached to your bike ...

Help to reduce our mountain of waste and ask your bike dealer for used inner tubes instead of buying spanners! Best are the thin racing bike tubes - they are stronger, much more flexible and last longer than spanners. You can make hooks from old spokes. And take one more tube than you would need, its a great material o fix all king of things.