Equipment and technology keep getting better, making bicycling safer and easier. Get on board with these changes, and update your tour packing list to keep up with these improvements.

Safety First here! Be sure you pick up a set of USB-rechargeable LED lights for your bike, flashing white at the front of your bike, flashing red on the back end. Great lights are now available for the cost of lunch. Be like the Tour Chief and have these lights in operation EVERY TIME YOU RIDE. No excuses on this one. Your safety on trails and on public roads is our first priority, and some high quality LED lights help show that you are a safe cyclist.

Bring your smart phone along, and be sure you’ve added a few apps for navigation (we have electronic navigation available on all our tour routes). We like Ride With GPS because it has great audible signals to tell you when to turn, plus there’s tons of data to play with then you get home. Map My Ride and Strava also are great apps for navigation. You already have the smart phone which works with the free versions of these apps. You might even select an app with a paid subscription to get more features.

If you’d like a tutorial on managing a ride app, please contact Tour Chief Jim for a cheat-sheet on this, plus a custom ride link near your home.

You’ve got a cell phone, but riding all day in the boonies can drain the battery fast. DO pick up a portable battery for your phone, so it will last for a full day of touring. We also recommend bringing along a charging block with 3 or 4 USB ports. Why so many ports? One is for your phone, two are for your safety lights, and the 4th port will be used for the spare battery pack. Do you have a bike computer? Bring it along and use it, just remember it’s one more device to keep up with.

Here’s a tip or two: Use Airplane mode on your phone when running navigation. You’ll still get navigation, and your phone won’t be searching for cell towers all the time. Also, remember to charge all devices as soon as is practical at the end of the daily ride.

Navigation on your phone is also a safety item, even if you prefer cue sheets and maps. Our recent experiments suggest that phone navigation is more reliable that paper maps, and it eliminates fumbling with paper- and for some of us it takes out the need for reading glasses!

You’ve got a nice bike, a few bike outfits and some riding shoes, and a helmet for safety. Don’t forget gloves, and bring your eye protection! Your local bike shop probably has some shades for you, and you might also look at safety glasses from your favorite hardware store. Be sure to add sunscreen and aloe to your toilet kit. Click here for our most current  tour packing list.

The post Update Your Tour Packing List appeared first on Bike Tour Vacations.