Equipment

I used my beautiful Rivendell Rambouillet. (It is the orange bike in the photo above. The other two are Chip's Bob Jackson tourer and Bernie's super-aerodynamic Canyon triathlon bike.) For the tour, I built up a somewhat beefier rear wheel than normal, using a 36-hole Ultegra hub, DT Competition 2.0/1.8/2.0mm swaged spokes, and a heavy-duty Mavic T520 rim.

I carried my gear in a Carradice Nelson Longflap saddlebag and a waterproof Ortlieb "Ultimate 3" handlebar bag with a camera insert. The Carradice had been on many previous trips, and it reconfirmed its worth. The Ortlieb was brand new, and it was a spectacular success: completely waterproof and well-padded (for the camera gear), it mounts solidly to the handlebars, converts to a shoulder bag in seconds, and has many useful pockets and compartments, including a big waterproof map pouch.

Here is what I carried in the handlebar bag:

• Camera equipment
  • Nikon D70 digital camera with 24mm f/2.8 lens
  • Nikon 50mm f/1.8 lens
  • Tiffen 0.6 graduated neutral density filter
  • Tiffen circular polarizing filter
• Documents: tickets, passport
• Money: cash, credit card, ATM card
• Maps: Michelin 1:400,000 scale of Switzerland, northeastern Italy, and central Italy
• Notebook and pen
• Cell phone
• Sun block
• Something sweet: candy, cookies, etc.

And here is what fit into the saddlebag:

• Cycling clothes
  • Extra short-sleeve jersey and shorts
  • Long-sleeve jersey
  • Arm-warmers
  • Long bike pants (tights)
  • Windbreaker and rain pants
  • 2pr rag-wool socks
  • Cold-weather gloves and skullcap
• Off-bike clothes
  • Lightweight wrinkle-free pants
  • 2 wrinkle-free short-sleeve shirts
  • 2pr underwear
  • 1pr socks
• Silk sleeping sack (small and light, useful in places that do not provide sheets)
• Personal hygiene items and medicine
  • Toothbrush, toothpaste, floss
  • Razor and travel-size shaving cream
  • Contact lens case and solution, eyeglass case, and eye drops
  • Comb
  • Inhaler (in case of allergies)
• Assorted electronics
  • Portable hard drive (Vista Digital Album) for storing digital photos
  • Chargers for camera, cell phone, and hard drive
• Tools
  • Patch kit, tire levers
  • Spoke wrench
  • Chain tool
  • Mini-tool with 4/5/6mm Allen wrenches and flat/Phillips screwdrivers
  • 2/3mm Allen wrenches for SPD pedals and Dura-Ace brake pads
  • 2 10mm wrenches for removing Lumotec headlamp (for air travel)
• Spares and materials
  • 3W halogen bulb for Lumotec headlamp
  • One pair of brake pads (Kool-Stop Red)
  • Inner tube
  • Tire boot
  • Film canister with grease
  • Small bottle of chain lube
  • Small roll of electrical tape
• Bicycle-size bag made of thick transparent plastic

The large plastic bag is useful for mixed-mode travel. On trains and buses, I disassemble my bike and place it in the plastic bag. When I arrive at destination, I reassemble the bike, roll up the plastic bag, and stuff it under the flap of the saddlebag (you can see it sticking out in the photo above). Very convenient. The same applies for air travel, except that I wrap each tube of the frame in piping insulation (available at any hardware store) to minimize scratches.