The 335-mile C&O Canal Towpath and Great Allegheny Passage was my very first long-distance cycling adventure. In fact, the farthest I’d ever ridden my bike prior to this trip was a 55-mile day trip of the Oregon Coast Bike Route (and that was without any bikepacking gear). Thus, I learned a lot of lessons the hard way on this new two-wheeled adventure.
Scroll to the bottom of this list to see my discussion about the new gear I carried just for this bikepacking trip, what worked for me (and what didn’t), and what I’d do differently if I were setting off on another bikepacking trip again.
(Note: I publish my packing list after each trip because I think there’s value in seeing what gear other people actually used, liked, or disliked on a particular outdoor adventure. Any item with an asterisk beside it indicates a deviation from my standard long distance hiking gear set-up. Also, NONE of the hyperlinks in this post are affiliate links. They are merely provided as a quick reference for the reader. )
Bike SET-UP
- Bicycle* – Salsa Journey gravel bike (with tubeless 650b tires, flat bars, and flat pedals)
- Rear Rack* – Salsa Wanderlust rack
- Panniers* – Ortlieb Back Roller Classic panniers (20L each)
- Frame Bag* – Revelvate Tangle bike frame bag (small/3.5L)
- Top Tube Bag* – Topeak Tri-bag (0.72L)
Cycling ACCESSORIES
- Helmet* – Specialized bike helmet
- Tool kit* – Tire levers, mini multitool, allen wrenches, extra tire tube, handheld bike pump
- Safety* – Front & rear lights and warning triangle
- Bike lock* – Masterlock (with vinyl coated cable and word combo lock)
Tent & Sleep System
- Tent – Nemo Hornet 2P tent (semi-freestanding)
- Quilt – Enlightened Equipment Revelation down quilt (30-degree)
- Air Mattress – Therm-a-rest NeoAir XLite (size: regular wide)
- Sit Pad – Therm-a-rest Z sitting pad
CLOTHING (WORN)
- Bottoms* – Club Ride innerwear bike shorts worn under Patagonia Baggies 5″ shorts
- Cycling Shirt* – Club Ride Bandera snap front cycling shirt
- Undergarments – Patagonia Barely sports bra & underwear
- Gloves – Outdoor research sun gloves
- Socks – Wrightsocks double-layer cool-mesh II socks
- Shoes – Altra Torin running shoes
- Sunglasses* – Tifosi Swank XL running sunglass
- Watch – Timex Ironman watch
- Wallet – Webo wallet
OUTERWEAR
- Puffy – North Face Thermoball Hoodie (synthetic jacket)
- Rain Jacket – OR Helium II jacket
- Hat – Headsweats Race hat
- Headband – Buff CoolNet UV+ multifunctional headband
EXTRA CLOTHES/CAMP ITEMS
- Cycling top* (extra) – Roadrunner Sports tank top
- Cycling bottoms* (extra) – Terry Hi-rise Holster Bike Capri pant
- Sleep Clothes – North Face shorts & Icebreaker 200 long-sleeve half zip top
- Socks – Smartwool socks (1 extra cycling pair, 1 sleep pair)
- Underwear – Patagonia Barely underwear (2 extra pairs)
- Camp shoes – Crocs Swiftwater sandals
- Storage – Sea to Summit Ultra-Sil stuff sack (9L)
HYGIENE ITEMS
- Toiletry Storage – Lightweight stuff sack
- Dental Care – Travel toothbrush/toothpaste + floss
- Vision – Daily wear disposable contacts & glasses
- Cleaning – Wet Ones (travel size)
- First Aid Kit – KT tape, Body Glide (0.8 oz), bandaids, ibuprofen
- Knife – Swiss Army knife (w/ mini scissors)
- Skincare – Chapstick and sunscreen
- Toilet – Duece of Spades #2 trowel, TP, doggie poop bags, Kula cloth
- Trash storage – Large ziplock bag
FOOD/COOKING ITEMS
- Bowl* – Talenti jar
- Spoon – Toaks long handle titanium spoon (w/ polished bowl)
- Food Storage – OPSAK odor proof bag (12″ x 12″)
- Water filter – Sawyer Squeeze filter
- Water storage – 1L plastic bottles
ELECTRONICS
- Phone/camera – iPhone XR (128GB)
- Earbuds – Apple Airpods
- External battery – Anker Power Core 10000 mAh external battery
- Power – USB cables (x2) and Anker dual port 12W USB wall charger
- Navigation* – Official Trail Guidebook 18th Edition
- Headlamp – Nitecore NU25 headlamp (360 lumens)
- Electronics Storage* – Hilltop packs dual-pocket gadget bag
POST-Trip THOUGHTS
A lot of the gear used on this adventure were completely different from the what I would carry if I were hiking this same route – e.g., my bike itself, how I carried my gear, and comfortable cycling attire. But then again, much of my gear was the same too. In fact, my sleep system, outerwear, hygiene items, and electronics were exactly what I’d carry if I were doing this as a thru-hike. So let’s go over exactly what was new for this trip…
NEW GEAR I CARRIED ON THIS Trip
- The Bike. Obviously, the most biggest difference between my thru-hiking gear lists and this one is the fact that my gear includes a bike. I purchased this gravel bike back in 2020 with the intention of getting into bikepacking, but I never really got the guts to take it on a long adventure until now. Since the bike is a whole category of it’s own, I intend to dedicate an entire future post to my bikepacking set-up.
- Cycling Accessories. All of the cycling accessories listed above were new to my packing list for this adventure, and I attempted to go as small and lightweight as possible with these items. Luckily, I didn’t have to change any flat tires myself (my only flat occurred before I started the trail) or use the majority of these tools during this adventure. In fact, the only items that saw regular use were my Allen wrenches – which I used to adjust my seat post height during my trip – and the cleaner/lubricant for my bike chain.
- Bags. I did a bit of mixing-and-matching in terms of style between bikepacking gear (e.g., my frame bag) and bike touring gear (e.g., my rear rack and panniers). My goal with this combination was to remain fairly light and nimble, while having the capacity to carry most things I thought I needed. I used two 20L waterproof panniers on my rear rack to carry the bulk of my gear, including my sleep system, clothing, food, electronics, and hygiene items. Even though I had room in my panniers for my tent, I chose to carry it on my rear rack using a bungee cord, just in case it was wet when I packed up each day. I also used my 3.5L frame bag to carry the items I thought might need access to throughout the day, like my toolkit, rain jacket, hat, etc. Finally, I had a tiny 0.7L tri-bag on the top of my frame near my handlebars, which I primarily used to store my phone and snacks.
- Cycling clothing. Another major change on this gear list is the clothing I wore throughout this trail. In particular, my bottom layers had to change so that I had padded bike shorts. I didn’t want to look like. spandex-clad cyclist when I rode into town or stopped in restaurants, so I opted to wear a Club Ride innerwear bike short underneath my normal Patagonia Baggies 5″ hiking shorts. This was a good casual set up for me, and on two of the cooler days of my trip when I needed some extra warmth, I swapped these bottom layers out for my Terry capri-length bike pants. My top layer was a Club Ride Bandera snap-front cycling shirt – the same type of collared shirt I used for my 2019 AT thru-hike. I didn’t use bike-specific riding gloves either. I just repurposed a pair of my fingerless sun gloves to protect my hands.
- Footwear. For this adventure, I didn’t have to worry about blisters or how many miles I was putting on my feet, so I opted to wear my normal running socks and shoes while riding my bike. I wore the WrightSock CoolMesh II Tab-back socks and Altra Torin road running shoes, and I used flat pedals on my bike – so I could transition between the bike and town seamlessly.
- Food and cooking gear. Normally I bring a MSR Pocketrocket stove and titanium pot for cooking on my long-distance hikes. But given the short duration of this trip (9 days), the season (early summer), and the fact that I would probably go through a town on a daily basis, I decided to just go stoveless. My food plan was to eat a cold breakfast (dried mango and granola bars), then grab my lunch/dinner when I rode through the small towns along the route. Why carry too much heavy food when I could ride into town so regularly? Overall, this plan worked out well, with one exception. I really, REALLY missed my hot coffee in camp each morning.
- Navigation. Unlike my recent hiking adventures, I had cell service virtually 100% of the time I was out on this trail. Moreover, it’s nearly impossible to get lost when you’re on a trail that’s wide enough for a vehicle to drive down! Nonetheless, I’m still glad I carried the official Trail Guide for this adventure. It provided a ton of information I wouldn’t find on using GoogleMaps – including the trail distance to the various campgrounds and some of the points of interest along the route. This handy, compact (5.5″ x 8.5″) guidebook allowed me to flexibly plan my upcoming days with how far I wanted to ride, where I could stop and grab a meal or groceries in town, and the locations of any bike shops (when needed). My favorite aspect of this resource is the fold-out map that comes with it. One side of the map is dedicated to the C&O, while the other side is solely for the GAP.
WHAT WOULD I DO DIFFERENTLY?
- Underwear. This topic may fall into the “too much information” category (feel free to scroll down without reading). But honestly, I really wish I’d had someone to shared this information with me so I could have avoided some serious butt pain. Let me begin by saying, I’ve never done a long-distance bike ride before. And the idea of putting a dirty, sweaty chamois directly against my lady parts day-after-day did not seem hygienic. So I decided to wear underwear beneath my bike shorts for the first four days of this ride. This was a HUGE mistake! The elastic on the underwear painfully chafed my groin/butt as I cycled, and it got to the point that I wanted to cry each time I began riding. I eventually adjusted my attire and ditched the underwear, but the damage to my tender skin was already done. As a result, I had to use many, many applications of Boudreaux’s Butt Paste on the chafed skin to alleviate my pain. So ladies, if you don’t want saddle sores, read this article, and then consider using a thin panty liner (if desired) rather than wearing underwear.
- First Aid Supplies. I didn’t put a lot of thought into my first aid items when planning this trip. I just grabbed my same minimalist kit that I put together for my hiking trips. in hindsight though, I probably should have spent a little more time on this detail. I really didn’t need to carry nearly as many bandaids and foot care items. But, I wished I’d packed some butt cream for the chafing I experienced under my bike shorts and perhaps some additional ibuprofen or Biofreeze for my legs.
FINAL THOUGHTS
This bicycle adventure was a nice change of pace from how I typically approach a long-distance trail, but I’m definitely not ready to ditch my trail shoes just yet. Hiking is undoubtedly still my favorite way to experience the outdoors.
If you’re interested bikepacking or in reading about other aspects of this trip, here’s a few more blog posts to whet your appetite: