Bike Tour Gear Essentials

When it comes to your self-guided bike tour, the right cycling gear is non-negotiable. Start with high-quality padded bike shorts to cushion your ride and a moisture-wicking cycling jersey that keeps you cool and visible. A lightweight rain jacket or windbreaker is a must-have, as weather conditions can change quickly. Pair these with durable cycling gloves for added grip and protection, and, of course, you may prefer to bring your own helmet and pedals, for comfort and familiarity. If your self-guided cycling tour includes using your smartphone for navigation, pack a universal handlebar mount and a backup battery or portable charger to stay connected and on track.

Clothing Tips for Comfort and Versatility

Packing light yet practical clothing is key to any successful self-guided bike tour. Opt for versatile pieces that can double up for both cycling and casual outings. For warmer climates, bring breathable T-shirts, convertible pants or shorts, and a hat for sun protection. If your route takes you to cooler areas or involves evening exploration, include long-sleeve shirts, a fleece jacket, and a pair of comfortable walking shoes. Many self-guided cycling tours include stops at charming local eateries or cultural spots, so pack a smart-casual outfit to make the most of these opportunities.

Accessories for Self-Guided Cycling Convenience

Accessories can make all the difference during a bike tour. A small saddlebag or daypack is ideal for carrying essentials like sunscreen, lip balm, a reusable water bottle, and snacks. A personal first aid kit should include plasters, pain relievers, and any necessary medications. Other useful items for your self-guided bike tour include insect repellent, a bandana or cap for extra sun protection, and a waterproof cover for your belongings. To document your adventure, bring a compact camera or make sure your smartphone has ample storage and battery power.

Luggage and Organization

We wholeheartedly love Eagle Creek gear for its exceptional quality, innovative design, and dependability—perfect companions for the adventurous spirit! Their products are thoughtfully crafted to make travel easier and more organized, ensuring you can focus on the journey ahead. We’re thrilled to recommend Eagle Creek to our customers and even offer an exclusive discount, purely to enhance your travel experience. And rest assured, we receive no commission—our recommendation comes solely from our genuine trust in their gear and our desire to share the best with you. Pack anything, take it anywhere, and see everything. With Eagle Creek, experience is already built in.

Current Pure Adventures customers (2025 travellers only), contact us for a unique Eagle Creek discount code!

Practical Packing Tips for Your Bike Tour Packing List

On a self-guided cycling tour, packing light is just as important as packing right. Many bike tours include luggage transfer services, so plan to carry only the essentials while you ride. Choose multi-functional clothing, such as pants that convert to shorts, to save space. Quick-dry materials are helpful for minimizing laundry needs. Pack toiletries in travel-sized containers to reduce bulk, and use packing cubes to keep everything organized. Consider bringing a small toolkit with essentials like a tire patch kit, multi-tool, and spare tubes, just in case.

Final Thoughts

A self-guided bike tour offers the freedom and flexibility to explore at your own pace, and thoughtful packing ensures you’re fully prepared for every moment. Use this bike tour packing list and packing tips to gear up for an unforgettable journey. By focusing on comfort, efficiency, and adaptability, you’ll be ready to fully embrace the adventure, whether you’re tackling scenic trails, charming villages, or bustling cityscapes. So, pack smartly, hop on your bike, and let the joy of self-guided cycling tours lead the way! Happy pedaling!

Check out our complete self-guided bike tour packing guide here!

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Ready to start planning your dream self-guided bike tour? Let us help! Our team of passionate experts is ready to share their insights and guide you to an unforgettable adventure! Contact us today to start planning your next self-guided bike tour!

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In North America, we tend to use “walk” in the same way we’d use “stroll” – a relatively easy excursion, usually along paved roads. We reserve the term “hike” for a more challenging trek through rugged terrain. The UK and the Republic of Ireland, however, use “walk” to describe any trip on foot, whether it’s to the corner shop or up the mountainside. Particularly if you’re talking to an older person, you may also hear the terms hillwalking, rambling, or fellwalking. When you get a hot tip at the pub about a lovely walk nearby, don’t set out in sandals until you’ve asked a few followup questions about length, difficulty, etc.

For instance, the tallest of the Connemara Mountains in Ireland, which we pass through on our Hiking the Western Way tour, reaches a maximum elevation of nearly 2,400 feet. Local guides may refer to the climb as a walk, or at most a “hard walk” or “hill walk.” All the same you’ll definitely want to bring hiking boots. Even less challenging stretches of trail may require appropriate preparations and footwear if the distances warrant. Especially at higher elevations, sunny weather can turn windy or misty on fairly short notice.

So how best to prepare for a day or more of walking, Irish or UK style? Hiking boots as opposed to shoes will give you the best ankle support and be suitable for the broadest range of conditions. If you don’t intend to carry a ton of gear, though, you won’t need the stiffest, heaviest variety available, backpacking boots. Some hikers even prefer lightweight, low-cut trail runners for the comfort and speed they offer. Either way a good fit is very important, so when shopping around make sure you try your intended pair on at the end of the day after your feet have had time to swell, and while you’re wearing the type of sock you intend to bring with you. Avoid choosing a pair so tight they chafe, as you should still have room to wiggle your toes. Speaking of socks, those need to fit well too in order to avoid blistering. Choose a thickness appropriate for the season – thick enough to give you some comfy cushioning, but not so thick as to be sweltering on a warm day. Merino wool is the go-to material for most hikers, sometimes blended with synthetics for durability and faster drying.

The standard outdoorsperson advice also applies to hiking in the UK, of course. Layering a t-shirt, fleece top, and jacket allows you to peel off as you warm up or stay toasty when the weather turns. A brimmed hat and sunscreen will probably leave you feeling less fatigued at the end of the day, and a spare pair of socks never hurt. Snacks, water, and a fully charged phone are reassuring additions to any pack. Just be aware that cell reception can be spotty on some stretches of trail, so it’s always best practice to download map data in advance or bring a good old-fashioned paper map along.

Lastly, if you’re referring to any guides written on hiking in the UK, you may want to make sure you’ve read them over in advance to make sure you haven’t glossed over any more unfamiliar terms (i.e. do you know a moor when you see one? Did you know a “permissive path” is a trail on private property which the landowner has granted access to?). If you travel with Pure Adventures, our local guides will bring you up to speed on anything you might need to know about trails or points of interest. Your job is to relax, enjoy the pastoral countryside and sweeping landscape, and then put your feet up after a long day’s ramble up hill and down dale. 

See all of Pure Adventure’s offerings in Ireland and the UK here.

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Wondering how to fix cycling hand pain? It comes with the territory that we will all experience some aches and pains from cycling, but aches and pains can become repetitive injury when not dealt with properly. There’s lots of areas to cover, but this blog will talk about the hands and how you can keep hand pain at bay.

Suffer from numbness, pain or tingling in your hands and fingers when riding? Here’s what’s hurting you and how to stop it in it’s tracks; let’s get your cycling hand pain fixed!

1) Watch Your Weight

You may need to adjust your ride position. Be conscious of how your leaning when riding and where you are putting your weight when hitting a turn. This alone may be enough to take pressure off your hands, easing pain.

2) Creating A Buzz

Transmission of road ‘buzz’ and vibration through the bars can cause discomfort in the hands all the way to the shoulders. To accommodate for this buzzing through your hands and arms, periodically loosen your grip slightly – this will break up the sensation and ease discomfort.

3) Shorten Your Reach

More often than not, the solution to hand pain is to shorten your reach, that way more of your weight will be borne by the saddle.

4) Good Padding

Cycling hand pain can also be lessened by wearing gloves with gel padding over the ulnar area, plus there are many good padded bar tapes available. Increase the padding and create comfy cushion between you and your bike!

Reference: BikeRadar.com

About Pure Adventures: Pure Adventures has been providing adventure enthusiasts with custom, self guided bike tours for over 25 years! Voted “USA Today’s Best Bike Tour” in 2020 and an overall pioneer within the industry, our experts know the ins and outs of all things cycling. To browse our self guided bike tours, click here. Questions? Drop us a line and we can chat! Contact Us.

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On the Pure Adventures blog we’ve talked about how to avoid blisters, pick the perfect hiking boots and suggested ways to save on a hiking trip, setting you up for a memorable self-guided trip to Utah, Arizona or California.

The final piece of the self guided gear puzzle is picking a pack.

Because backpacking forces you to carry all your belongings on your back,  the natural idea is to pack as light as possible. Even when packing light, packs still weigh a lot – and feel heavier the farther you have to carry them – and it’s important to make sure you have one that fits well. So, how do you find a pack? Hiker Elaine Brewer shares her tips on how to pick a hiking pack.

Shop in store, not online

In this age of online shopping, it’s difficult for some people to pull themselves away from the computer and head out to a place that specializes in backpacking, especially if the pack you have in mind is cheaper online. It’s important to try the pack on in person to see how it fits. Next to your boots, it’s the single most important piece of hiker gear you will invest in – fit is critical.

 Abandon brand bias

Have a pack in mind? Because of the color or the brand name? Don’t let that bias your decision. Even if you have a pack in mind, test ALL of the ones in that volume class that are available at the store you visit.

Verify volume

Packs come in different volumes, based on length of trip and in what conditions (i.e. winter gear is bulkier than summer gear). Consider packs under 50 liters for weekend trips, 50 to 70 for multi-day trips (3-5 days), and 70+ liters for extended trips (6 to 10+). The volume size also depends on your packing style – are you a minimalist or do you need the kitchen sink?  If you’re unsure what volume pack you should be looking at, ask the pros at the store. All Pure Adventures’ self-guided hiking trips provide daily luggage transfers, and a pack under 50 liters is more than adequate for your daily gear.

 Size matters

Many packs these days come in different sizes within the model. Usually they are small, medium, large, and sometimes extra large. These sizes typically correspond to the length of your torso and/or your hip circumference. Work with store staff to determine the correct size, then try it on to see if it feels comfortable. Brewer suggests hikers look for these things specifically:

•  Free mobility of my arms. Arms are crucial in hiking and backpacking, especially if there is a scramble involved. When you sway your arms back, you don’t want to be knocking into the body of the pack.
•  I hit my head on the brain, not the structure of the pack, when I look up. When you tilt your head up, you don’t want to smack it into the structure, or frame, of the pack. Most packs have brains (the extra space sitting on top of the pack’s main body) that will rise to head level or higher on the wearer.
•  The hip belt is padded and fits nicely on my hips. Definitely look for a pack that has a padded hip belt. It may seem excessive at first, but your hips will be thanking you after your first day on the trails.

Fill it up

After the initial try-on, take off the pack and fill it with roughly the amount of gear you would use. Most outdoor sport stores will have bean bags to simulate weight in the pack. Put a light, bulky one in first, to simulate your sleeping bag. Then put some heavier bean bags in the middle, and again a light bag or two on top until the weight is something you think you’ll carry/want to carry on your trip.

Put it on

Put the pack back on (don’t just sling it over your shoulders like a school bag!), ask for help if you’ve never donned a pack before. The best way to don one, if there is not seat, is to balance it on your thigh with the shoulder straps facing you. Slide an arm through the appropriate shoulder strap and as you put it onto your back, lean forward so your back and not your shoulders are bearing the weight of the pack. Get your other arm in the other shoulder strap and secure the hip belt. Tighten it to a comfortable level, making sure the belt is snug and sitting on your pelvis. Stand up straight at this point, while you adjust the shoulder straps so the pack is not pulling away from your body. Secure all the bindings to a comfortable level – you want the weight of the pack to fall on the hips and not on your shoulders. The expert that the store can help you learn how to adjust the packs to fit as comfortably as possible.

Take a hike – figuratively speaking

Walk around the store with the pack (preferably with the boots that you’re planning on using for your adventure) for more than 20 minutes, if you can. If the store has an incline – usually in the shoe department – go up and down it a few times to feel how the bag shifts going up and down slopes.

Repeat ’til perfect

Repeat with all the packs that are the volume you’re looking for. Remember, even if the first one you try on is comfortable, there might be one that is even more comfortable. Your body will thank you if you take your time in trying packs on.

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Six Expert Tips for Perfect Fitting Hiking Boots

The most important hiking gear you will ever buy is a pair well fitting boots. Proper fitting boots will ensure that your feet will remain blister free so that you enjoy your hiking adventures, whether you’re taking on the trails around your home, or on one of our self-guided hiking tours in Europe, Japan, or the USA . After you’ve bought your boots, lacing techniques and dry feet ensure your feet stay healthy for the duration of your hike. Elaine Brewer, long time runner and boot fit expert, shares her tips for happy and healthy feet.

Surprising Boot Fit Tricks

Bring the socks you would wear out on the trails into the store and try on the boots with them. Despite how you may have bought or tried to fit your hiking boots in the past, don’t try to feel how much space is between your toes and the front of the boot (“now wiggle your toes…” –  it doesn’t work well. Instead, with laces untied, stand up and tap your toe on the ground a few times. Still standing, feel behind your heel. You should be able to fit two fingers comfortably between your heel and the back of the boot. When you lace up, walk around. There should be the slightest of lift on your heels. This is good and actually reduces blisters because you have room for your feet to swell (and they will swell!). Make sure there are no big gaps or tight squeezes between your foot and the boot. Walk around the store for awhile to get a really good feel. Head over to their pack department – if you can – and try on a weighted pack with your boots to feel the difference in weight.

Lace Up (and sometimes down)

Think Goldie Locks here – not too tight, not too loose…just right. Brewer tends to change up by lacing pressure as she goes from the toe of the boot to the ankle. If you do this, secure the pressure difference by tying a surgeon’s knot. This puts friction on the lace without putting an actual knot in it so that the lace doesn’t slip. She also tends not to tie the finishing knot at the very top of her boot since this causes a lot of pressure on the ankle and lower shin – which can cause host spots and blistering. Instead, she advises that hikers weave their laces from the top downwards. She actually ties her knots a level below what most hikers do.

Loosen Up (your laces that is)

Your feet swell the longer you are hiking. Every couple of hours, untie your boots and loosen the laces as needed. Do you end up with purple toenails that fall out after a big hike? You’re not alone! If you’re going downhill a lot and bumping your toes, try changing up the lacing pressure: put more pressure on the front of your boot, tie it off with a surgeon’s knot, and then loosen the rest of the way up. Your toes and their nails will thank you.

Keep ’em Dry

On really long or strenuous hikes, Brewer covers her feet with Body Glide before putting on her socks. Alternatively, you can use a foot powder. By putting baby powder on your feet before you put on socks, the powder can help suck up any moisture – moisture being a catalyst for blisters forming. On overnight trips, Brewer advises putting newspaper in your boots overnight – the newspaper helps dry them out.

Keep ’em Clean

Change your socks every day. Even if they look clean, there will be dirt in the fibers that can irritate your feet. You’ll appreciate clean socks even more if the socks you wore the previous day are still wet. Brewer recommends wool socks. When wet, wool socks will wick away moisture so your feet are relatively dry, compared to wearing cotton or synthetic socks.

With these six expert tips for perfect-fitting hiking boots, you are sure to keep your toes and feet happy as you embark on your next hiking adventure. If you would like some suggestions on some of the best places to go hiking, drop us a line and we can help you out. Our experts have been hiking all over the world and can put together the hiking trip of your dreams! Contact us to learn more!

Read about hiking in magical Madeira!

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