What I packed to Bike the Chief Ladiga & Silver Comet Trail (Atlanta to Anniston, AL)

This is my pre-departure list, along with HOW I packed everything, not just what I packed.

What I’m Listening to rn: GNX by Kendrick Lamar, Alice Phoebe Lou Radio, OOONS OOONS OOONS playlist, Back to Black by Amy Winehouse

What I’m Reading rn: Listening to Braiding Sweetgrass on Spotify

What I’m Watching rn: Season 17 of RuPauls Drag Race; rewatching Pose (I just finished it, maybe I’ll cancel my Hulu subscription?)

Products to Share: Branwyn merino products (these are essential for traveling!)

Upcoming Events:

This is a long list. Please view my webpage here for pictures from past trips, and here for all updated ticket links. I update information about my trips most actively on my Instagram!

Scheduled Events:

May 30-June 1 MOCO group bikepacking trip (3 days/2 nights in Maryland, out of DC)

July 4th-6th MOCO group bikepacking trip (3 days/2 nights in Maryland, out of DC) (booked with the historic canal lockhouses!)

July 17-20 Vermont group bikepacking trip (4 days/3 nights leading a tour with Color The Valley in Vermont)

July 25-27 Montreal group bikepacking trip (3 days/2 nights leading a tour out from Montreal and back)

July 29-August 2 Montreal to Quebec Group Bike Tour (5 days/4 nights cycling OR 4 days/3 nights)

Tentative Events:

Sept 11-14 Collab with 718 Outdoors group bikepacking trip (4 days/3 nights out from Washington Dc into Maryland/Virginia)

An overnighter in October (dates TBD) ( and back of Washington DC along the C&O Canal)

Another MOCO Lockhouse stay in November (dates TBD) (3 days/2 nights in Maryland, out of DC)

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I am halfway through my stay here in Atlanta, having taken the Amtrak down from Baltimore to attend an honor society event from my college, Emory, before leading a trip from Atlanta to Anniston AL along the Chief Ladiga & Silver Comet trail. This is a 3 day/2 night bikepacking trip on smooth pavement with one night of camping, one Airbnb stay, and plenty of fun. As much as I want to film a YouTube video going over everything I have packed for this trip, I do not have the mental bandwidth to do such a thing, so I will create a detailed list for you instead! As you read through this page, please use this as a potential template/guide/example of what to pack for any and all of your upcoming trips. Remember to pack according to YOUR needs and preferences (and remember that I’m a trip guide, so I tend to overpack to ensure everyone’s needs are met while cycling 😉)

With that being said, here is a description of the event, and everything I packed for it 🙂

The Trip Details

• 120 miles over 3 days (Komoot route here)

• Mostly a paved, multi-use path

• Medium elevation

• Camping night one at The Beautiful Rock Campground in Rockmart, GA, staying in an Airbnb the other night (there are no campgrounds/very few Hipcamps close to the trail for the second day. The Rock in Rockmart GA is the only legitimate site to use along the trail- many people opt for a hotel the second day, or just bike the entire thing the second day).

• Weather: low of 35F at night, high of 70F during the day, mostly sunny all weekend, some potential for rain

What I am Packing

This list contains affiliate links which pay me a small commission when you click and purchase from them. If you are interested in the items I have listed below, please click the links so show your support. These are all items I have used for thousands of miles- I only recommend products I love!

Additionally, I have removed all affiliate links to REI and Backcountry from this post because both companies- the biggest names in outdoor retail sales- have intensely problematic histories. As an influencer who uses affiliate links to promote products I love to you all, I find it harder and harder to earn any amount of commission (in an ethical way) given that the biggest names in the game use their power to stampede over the small and extract what they can from the environment. I don’t how to feel about the industry anymore… so I will simply leave some products and companies blank and let you determine where you will shop.

Clothes

• Two cycling jerseys (from Ornot)(I highly recommend this brand)

• Two cycling bibs (from Ornot)

• Sun sleeves

• Leg warmers (from Ornot)

• Self packing synthetic down jacket

• Convertible pants

• Merino sports bra (from Branwyn)(I highly recommend this brand)

• Merino underwear (from Branwyn)

• T-shirt & pajama pants

• Gravel clipless shoes

• Fingerless cycling gloves

• Sunglasses (I found some Goodrs on the ground one day and they fit perfectly over my regular glasses)

• Compression bag to store my clothes (from Sea to Summit)

• Mesh produce bags to separate my bike clothes from undergarments and non-biking clothes

Camp Gear

• Inflatable pillow with pillowcase (from my hoard of random items)

• Backpacking pots & MSR stove top & half-used 8 oz isopro gas canister

• Pot scrubber and eco-friendly soap

• Mini microfiber cloth (for wiping items down)

• Collapsible mug

• Matches & Lighters

• Spoon-Fork-Knife attachable set

• A mini container of miscellaneous good (tea, instant coffee, hot sauce/mustard packets, hot chocolate packets)

• Sleeping pad (Nemo folding pad- inflatable pads have caused me too many problems in recent years)

• Flashlight & headlamp

Bike Gear

• Mips certified helmet

• Front & rear lights

• Frame pump

• Wahoo GPS

• Bag of: zip ties, string, velcro, random screws, electrical tape, washers, nuts and bolts

• Bag of: CO2 + adapter, tire levers, patch kit,

• Spare tube

• To-go sealant

Toiletries

• First aid kit

• Toothbrush, toothpaste (I just bring a whole tube because why spend extra money on something super tiny)

• Mini hairbrush

• Nail/cuticle clippers

• Pepto bismol? Whatever meds or products you may need!

Other

• Multi use cord with 3 charging port types

• Wall plug

• Small portable battery

• Large portable battery

Bike Bags to Store Everything

• Rear and front rack panniers

• Outer Shell frame bag (use code LIVINGBYBIKE for 10% off your purchase! They are San Francisco made, 1% for the planet, highly durable, and an essential part of your trip)

• Outer Shell stem caddy (use code LIVINGBYBIKE for 10% off your purchase!)

• Outer Shell top tube bag (use code LIVINGBYBIKE for 10% off your purchase!)

• Outer Shell voile straps (to strap my tent to my front handlebars) (use code LIVINGBYBIKE for 10% off your purchase!)

Things I decided NOT to bring

• Shampoo/body soap/conditioner (not needed for such a short trip)

• Collapsible bowl (not worth it)

  

How I Packed Everything

When I go on trips, I get flustered when it comes to packing, and one way I’ve found that makes me feel more sane is to make a chart and write out everything I have packed and where it has gone. That way, as I am packing over the course of several days, I know what I already packed, and where it is. See the chart below for where I’ve stored everything, and my notes about how I stored it in each bag as well.

*tip: imagine you are standing over the top tube of the bike looking down. There is everything stored on panniers to your left, items in bags in the middle in front and behind you, and items in bags to the right. I use this birds eye view to remember where everything is, and I follow this structure on all of my trips*

• My sleeping bag’s bag doesn’t fit into my gravel read panniers, so I just decided to stuff my sleeping bag (with no outer bag) into the pannier. Don’t worry, I rinse out my panniers after every trip I go on, so it shouldn’t be too dirty!

• All my toiletries go into a toiletry bag EXCEPT my hand sanitizer, which goes in my feed bag (for easy access when eating meals). This bag includes:

  • toothbrush & toothpaste, nail clippers, hand lotion, first aid kit, tiger balm, hairbrush etc.

• All of my clothing goes into a compression sack before going into my rear pannier. Sometimes I use mesh produce bags to separate dirty clothes from clean clothes, and undergarments from the rest, but since this was a short trip I didn’t need the small mesh bags. For items I take on and off during the ride, I usually just throw them into one of my front two bags

• I use camping drawstring bags to hold my smaller camp items. The following drawstring bags include:

  • Drawstring bag: Large battery pack (fully charged), 3-prong charging cord, wall outlet, headlamp, collapsible lantern, GPS (when not in use), GoPro mounts, batteries, GoPro uploading cords (for iPhone and USB-C)

• I put the following items inside of my backpacking stove: matches, lighter, gas canister, stove top, collapsible mug, scrubbing brush w/soap, microfiber cloth, scrubbing cloth

• I put my spoon/fork/knife set on the left side of my half frame bag- it’s incredibly easy to access for any roadside meal I may have

• I use durable plastic baggies inside frame bags to separate my smaller emergency kit items. The following baggies include:

  • Baggie of: electrical tape, zip ties, string, velcro straps, screws/nuts/washers, reusable quick link, rubber bands)

  • Baggie of: tire levers, CO2, DARTS

  • Baggie of: spare tube (I take the tube out of it’s box and put it in a baggie to save space while also giving it a small amount of protection from being punctured by something random)

Hope this helps you envision how I organize (mentally and physically) for my trips! Hope to see you on the next one :)