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Tuesday, June 25, 2013

Credit Card Bike Touring Gear

I'm supposed to be sitting on the beach at a motel in Key Largo. But I'm not. I'm sitting at my desk at home. Things got hinky before we could make our escape. Workmen called and wanted to get started on a job early. The weatherman jinxed our alternate get-away days. I cancelled our motel reservations, and I unpacked the bikes.

It didn't take long to unpack. Here's the road bike luggage I unpacked:
My big seat post bag (from Cannondale)

My Axiom handlebar bag and (behind the drops) my Axiom snack bag
This is ultralight overnight luggage, road bike style.

The handlebar bag on my mountain bike is way bigger. The seat post bag is a bit bigger. The seat post bag on the mountain bike also has the luxury of webbing on it's top.
My big handlebar bag from Adventure Cycling on my mountain bike

Fabulous seat post bag (KoKi) from REI
If we were going out for longer, say a week or so, we'd choose between the Topeak rear rack bag or the Ortlieb suitcases. The Topeak is OK, but the Ortlieb is my favorite. The Ortlieb even has a mesh pack that snaps on top, a surprisingly handy little bag.
Ortlieb suitcase (top) and Topeak rear rack bag (bottom)
Bottom of the suitcase showing the mechanism that attaches it to the rear bike rack 
Successful credit card bike touring is all about learning to travel light. This is the bike luggage we use to do that. I'll show you what we take with us on an overnight in another post.