Do you really need that ?

In this post I look at the things that you carry on your bike, some people carry a lot of unnecessary stuff, I did when I first started out touring / bikepacking . If you are going on a two day brevet or overnight adventure you really only need one set of clothes , plus rain wear in case the weather turns bad. Spare socks are great but if you wear merino socks you can easily wear them for multiple days without changing them , that goes for all merino clothing - it does not stink and keeps you warm .  A lightweight shelter or compact tent and a very basic cook set with keep your weight down do not waste your money buying some cheap bulky item as after a few trips you will only want to change it for something smaller and lighter. The Castle to Castle brevet is in mid June so that gives you 2 .5 months to get out on a few rides , load your bike up with what you will carry on the brevet and if time allows do a few over night rides as well. Even though the daily distances are not so great there is a lot of climbing so best to check out everything now and prepare yourself.  You can do a test pack at home and then decide do I really need that or will I even use it ?

In the picture below of my old bike a Kona Unit  single speed I  was carrying a 2 person tent and the poles had to be strapped to the top tube, as you can see the rear saddlebag is pretty big. I still own the two person tent but for bike packing trips I now use a small lightweight tent instead.