If you are going to be cycling with luggage you will need to invest in panniers and possibly a bicycle trailer. The panniers can be supplemented with a stuff-sack on the rear rack to contain, e.g. your sleeping bag, camping mat and tent. Fasten the luggage with straps – either adjustable cargo straps or bungees. Don’t rely on the standard sprung clamp built onto the rear carrier. If you are taking a lot of luggage you should distribute it between the front and rear of the bicycle. Load approx. 1/3 of the weight at the front end in front panniers and a handlebar bag. Do not fix a heavy bicycle basket to the handlebars – this will make the bicycle too difficult to handle.
Sort your gear into bags: socks in one bag, T-shirts in another, etc. Use plastic bags if the pannier isn’t waterproof. Include extra bags for laundry. Pack the things you will need en route, such as rainwear, swimwear or eating utensils, at the top of your luggage or in the side pockets and front panniers so they are easy to get at.
How much to take?
The amount of luggage you need to take largely depends on your lifestyle en route: will you be staying at hotels or roughing it at primitive camps? Will you be preparing your own food or dining out every night? Are you going to be getting dressed up for the evenings, or are you ready to turn up anywhere sporting your cycling kit? Do you need to take a bicycle toolkit, or will you just rely on emergency assistance if anything goes wrong?
Some experts recommend max. 15kg luggage per adult. For a camping trip, however, it is practically impossible to keep within this weight limit, unless you don’t mind wearing the same clothes the whole time or sleeping in a very small tent. But you should try to keep the weight down to 15-18kg. For a holiday with hotel accommodation and eating out you should be able to get away with just 6-8kg in a set of rear panniers.
If travelling light is a main concern, you can easily shave a few kilos off your total load. Consider every item carefully and pick out the least heavy and least bulky. Put trousers, sweaters, etc. on the kitchen scales and choose the lightest ones. Choose multipurpose equipment and clothing. Pack things into small containers and take only as much as you will need. Buy a lightweight sleeping bag, etc.
You can soon find yourself with very heavy luggage if you are determined to be able to cope with every potential kind of repair en route. In principle you could end up needing everything from crank tools to spare tyres. But fortunately most people don’t experience major problems, and in Denmark the nearest bicycle repair shop for help or spare parts won’t be far away. But it is still a good idea to bring your own puncture repair kit and some spare inner tubes – and to know what to do with them! If the bicycle is in good condition before the trip you’ll rarely have any mechanical problems en route. And with new tyres and inner tubes, even punctures are rare.