How To Be A Minimalist for an Over Night Bike Packing

The aim for every biker is to ensure you carry minimal, yet essential items. That is because it is very tiring to carry items you may not need while trying to ride up a mountain. Currently, riding has seen more professionals embrace this art.

On the contrary, the nature of personal items narrows down to personal preferences. Nonetheless, there are some particular items needed by every biker. Using a lightweight setup will ensure you carry as few items as possible. The following are some items you should put into consideration as you're packing.

Sleeping

Getting adequate sleep is essential for every overnight biker. Despite this, the type of sleeping bag to carry would depend on the season. For example, during the summer, the intense heat is still present at night due to terrestrial radiation phenomenon. Therefore, this would mean carrying a lighter sleeping bag as opposed to winter seasons.

During the summer, the most appropriate sleeping bag would be a feathered friends' lark sleeping bag (you can purchase this off many online stores). In the winter season, it would be appropriate to carry a Western Mountaineering Summerlite.

Kitchen

Road trips or hiking trips requires one to be in their best performance, thus the need to carry some food with you. Canned food are best since they require minimal preparation before eating. On the other hand, you may choose to carry some food (maybe considering buying a stake). In this case, carry some small alcohol stove to use in preparing the food. In as much as lighting up a fire may seem cool, it is easier to have something that instantly produces the heat required to warm up the food.

Clothing

Clothing is essential regardless of whether you are a day or a night biker. However, for night bikers there are specific clothing that may help you out.

Upper Body

Since you have higher chances of experiencing some cold, it is good to carry some cool, smart wool sweaters that have zips (just in case it may not be as cold as you imagined). The sweaters are better kept in the bag and used whenever necessary.

Therefore, consider wearing some light windshirt meanwhile. The wind shirt should be as light as possible allowing you to breathe properly while adding some warmth. An advantage with wind shirts is that they dry very quickly. Surprisingly, cycling using wind shirts is their ability to allow the wind to pass through them hence maintaining your speed even while cycling against the wind.

Hands

Bike gloves are another necessity even if there's no rain or cold. Bike gloves improve traction and reduce friction between your hands and the bike steer. However, for precaution sake carry some over gloves just in case it rains or becomes too cold.

Lower Body

At the lower part of the body, remember to wear some bike shorts. Don't just get any baggie short! You may also consider putting on some panel leggings. They keep you warm and allow you to comfortably ride while wearing them. When it comes to carrying the appropriate shoes, always look for shoes with a rubber-like sole. Plastic ones are not good for hiking and don't dry up quickly.

Spares

Forget spares can turn out to be one heck of a nightmare. Overnight rides may not turn out to be as planned. You may go out and have a flat tire on the way. Thus, it is good to plan prior the day scheduled. Some of the spares you can carry include:

a) 2 Tubes with removable cores.

b) Two bottles of stans sealant.

c) Multi-tool chain breaker.

d) Small hex wrenches.

e) Extra water cage bolt.

f) Nut and bolt.

g) Tire plug

h) Extra set of brake pads.

i) Rubber bands and safety wires.

Electronics

Going for adventure requires one to carry some form of digital media that can capture the moments there. Therefore, remember to carry a camera while you can. In addition, find an efficient battery pack for your phone which you can carry (just in case your phone's battery dies on you).