What to Pack for the Ride

Here are a couple vital items that may not seem obvious at first, but...

Your Bike Shoes

If you are riding clip-in pedals, please double-triple-extra check that you have packed your bike shoes. Every trip someone forgets them, and...

Lights

In Montreal we will be going out for simple dinners that are about 5-10 blocks away. You can walk, and we'll run shuttles in our van, but if you want to pedal you should bring lights.

Helmet

You must wear a hard bike helmet at all times on the ride when you are pedaling.

No helmet/no ride/no exceptions.

Really.

Water Bottles

Bring TWO water bottles with you or you will dehydrate and die. Have a nice day!

If you prefer to carry a Cambelback or similar hydration pack instead that’s fine, but NO ONE should be out with just one water bottle.

Bike Lock

I think you're going to want to get off the bike and visit a bakery, have lunch, or tour a winery, so I would definitely bring a lock. Now I'm used to pedaling in NYC, where my lock of choice was a MONSTER chain and motorcycle lock that weighed more than the bike. I WILL be bringing a lock with me... but not that one. My goal here is not to guard against a master thief -- it's to stop a kid who can run really fast. In the evening your bike goes inside the hotel.

Rain Gear

We hate to even mention the word "rain" but we just did, so...  We head from town to town no matter what the weather. There are lots of different strategies for pedaling in the rain, ranging from "covered head to toe" to "I don't care!"  Bring what's right for you. Note that we will have our support vehicles standing by, so if the weather turns temporarily sour you can always catch a lift from us.

Gear

EVERYONE should have these items with them on the bike at all times while pedaling:

• MANDATORY -- A smart phone or bike-mounted GPS.  We will NOT be painting the route on the ground in lovely Canada. We will be mostly on no-car bike paths, and the signage is very good. There are stil a few turns that can be confusing, so everyone MUST have a smartphone mounted on their handlebars or a bike-mounted GPS. (Or ALWAYS be pedaling with a partner that has that stuff!)  If you don't already have a way to mount your smartphone on your bike you'll need one. I like this model, but there are plenty of other good choices out there.

Not to worry -- we can help you get the digital route files on your phone much closer to ride day.

• A small tire patch kit.

• Inner tubes that fit your bike  For this six-day trip I would pack at least six inner tubes in your luggage.  You should have TWO of those inner tubes with you on the bike at all times. If you're lucky you won't use any of those tubes and you can save them for your next adventure.

If you are riding an unusual wheel you already know who you are (650cc, recumbent, sew-up, folding bike, deep-dish rim that requires extra-long valve stems) You should REALLY stock up -- we won’t be anywhere near a shop that will have that stuff.

IF you are riding that unusual size wheel (above), you should also have an extra TIRE in your suitcase too -- we will NOT be able to find a replacement if a tire of an unusual size goes bad.

• A small tire pump or CO2 inflator. (If you're using CO2 cartridges pack them in the luggage that we will drive to the ride for you. If you're flying the airlines may not let you bring them on board in checked or carry-on luggage).

Even if you don’t know how to use this gear you should still be carrying it; someone else will.  If you get a flat (and ALL bicycles get flats...) you can be back on the road in 10 minutes if you are carrying this stuff.  It can be an hour or longer (MUCH longer) if you aren’t carrying the right gear.

E-Bikes

If you are riding an E-bike that's great. You should be sure to pack a long heavy-duty extension cord in your luggage, plus perhaps a power strip and an inexpensive three-prong adapter. You are responsible for recharging your bike overnight, and you never quite know where the outlets will be in your hotel room or what they'll look like. (Note that Canada DOES use the same sort of outlets we do -- you do not need a convertor.) Remember that we'll be transporting your luggage every day -- you don't need to carry this stuff on your bike.

All Your Charging Cables

No; we do not have an extra charger for a 1997 Blackberry, and we don't know where to get one.

Bathing Suit

Sunscreen

Clothing

Dress is always casual on this trip, but you're not going to want to wear your bike clothes ALL the time.

There is an evening or two when we dine in restaurants that are STILL casual, but a bit nicer, so you may not want to wear that T-shirt with the chain grease stains on it.

It CAN rain, and we could run into a cool evening.  ‘nuff said.

Shoes

If you ride bike shoes with cleats that’s cool, but you’re going to want to wear something else for walking around. On days where we ae touring a site (such as a winery) you can throw a pair of regular shoes into our support van and they'll be waiting for you at the snack stop.