A few people have asked what we are bringing with us on our winter bike tour of 100-ish days, so I thought I would do a post on the topic!

Some quick notes:

• This won't be a full inventory of every item we packed. The thought of writing things like "16x zip ties of varying sizes" and "2x toothbrushes" just wasn't very appealing to me, and I didn't think they'd be that appealing to anyone else either. This post is focused more on the overall logistics and approach than the individual items.
• We are not expecting to be in heavy snow or really cold temperatures. Our lower limit, temperature-wise, is probably -5 degrees Celcius with no more than moderate rain, moderate wind and/or light snow. If the forecasts look wilder than that, we have a few options, e.g. doing a shorter segment, starting during a milder window during the day, taking a rest day, or detouring.
• We are not camping. Every night is being spent somewhere with a warm bed and hot shower, as well as power and water. We do carry some rations that can be cooked with boiling water or a microwave, just in case we arrive in a place where we can't or don't want to go out to find food, but we no cooking equipment beyond a spork and pair of emergency chopsticks. (On every trip where I left chopsticks at home, I regretted my choice - so now, chopsticks are always on the list.)
• While we have packed fairly light, our setup has been optimised as much for ease of use as it is for weight. Some guiding questions are below.

Guiding questions

• What will we need to access the most frequently or easily?
• How do we organise everything so their locations are logical and easy to remember?
• What will we need in wet weather, and how do we avoid getting dry thing wet?
• How do we enable speedy packing in the mornings - including the ability for Bruno and I to pack in parallel - so we can hit the road within 15 minutes each morning if we need to hurry?
• How do we aim to we have everything we need and nothing we absolutely don't need (i.e. a trim packing list), while maintaining autonomy and some flexibility for each of us?
• Where should we have redundancy in our supplies, given that we do some stretches through rural France where things are closed for winter?
• How do we distribute the weight fairly evenly between us, while working with each of our preferences?

Overall setup

My bike:

• 1x 10L Ortlieb e-trunk bag (details below)
• 2x 20L Ortlieb back rollers (details below)
• Small frame bag with personal supplies (e.g. tissues, alcohol gel, energy chews)
• Handlebar / frame mounts: 2x bottle cage, phone, light

Bruno's bike:

• 1x 35L Dry sack, strapped on the rear rack with a cargo net (details below) - some residual space
• 2x 12.5L Ortlieb sports rollers (details below) - some residual space
• Small frame bag with the most commonly used repair supplies (e.g. multi-tool, gauge, puncture spray)
• Handlebar / frame mounts: bottle cage, Garmin, gel seat cover
• Backpack with valuables like passports, cash, laptop and camera gear, plus whatever Bruno wants to carry (technically on Bruno's back, but mostly resting on top of the dry sack)

Side panniers

• Back roller #1: My clothing goes here. I have everything separated into a few smaller bags: cycling gear, non-cycling gear, undergarments, sleeping stuff, and dirty clothes. Generally, this bag should remain closed during the day.
• Back roller #2: Bruno's clothing goes here, also separated and expected to remain closed during the day.
• Sports roller #1: This pannier holds our wet weather clothing and bike locks, split across several dry sacks. The idea is that we will need to open this pannier in the rain, which means that water may get in - and we don't want everything to get wet, so things are isolated by category. On dry days, this bag can remain closed at night (making packing simpler); on wet days, everything will get taken out to air.
• Sports roller #2: This pannier holds the chunkier bike gear that we may occasionally need on the road or on maintenance days - things like spare tubes, zip ties, lube and so forth. It also holds our ebike chargers and a waterproof double bike cover that can double as a tarp that we lay on the floor of our accommodation before carrying the bikes in. Again, items are isolated in separate dry sacks, as this bag is expected to be opened, both on the road and every night.

Trunk bags

• E-trunk bag: This bag is by far the easiest to open among our panniers, and its semi-rigid shape also makes for easy access an organisation. In here goes our first aid kit, medication, essentials (e.g. sunscreen, insect repellent), some electronics, snacks, lunch supplies if we are carrying any, plus some of my personal items. In the mesh pocket on the outside goes the alcohol gel, tissues and a zip bag for waste. On the strapping above the bag, I stash any wet gear or warm gear I've removed (the latter in a dry bag). On the rear, I have mounted a light and a bottle cage. This bag is my most essential one.
• Dry sack: This bag is by far the least accessible due to the fact that it's strapped on by cargo net, so it holds the gear we only expect to use at night. The deeper you go into the bag, the less commonly used the items are. In rough order from top to bottom, there is my pillow, our food bag, spare toiletries and supplies, laundry supplies (e.g. laundry bags, detergent sheets), and our sandals. Along the side of the bag is a big U-lock, because it forms a stable resting place for Bruno's backpack so its weight can sit off his shoulders.

And that's it! We made some tweaks over the first few days, but I think we're now settled into our setup. It's not terribly different from what we did in New Zealand, though that trip involved more food supplies, less winter clothing and more accessible sandals for creek crossings - as well as more weight sitting with Bruno than with me. (That trip was rather stressful to pack for, though, because we hadn't anything quite like it before, and my spreadsheets felt very theoretical compared to what we might face on the road. This time was a breeze in comparison, at least in terms of the mental effort involved.)

I suspect our future bike tours may follow a similar approach, just with minor adjustments based on the route and weather. That means we'll be able to increasingly work off muscle memory - which helps a lot with packing efficiency both pre-trio and on the road. It will change if we switch over to proper bike-packing with tents and such, but that's a game for another day.