To get an idea of what I should pack, I consulted books and read several web journals of West Coast riders. I've also been on other bike tours and know that it is best to pack less than I think I might need.
Several sources suggested that I take a "shakedown" overnight ride to experience what it was like to actually pack everything in panniers, ride it to a campground, set-up camp, and then ride back the next day. This was a very good idea and one that I whole-heartedly recommend.
Originally, I wanted to take a camp stove for cooking. However, after the trial run, I wanted to cut weight and I decided to leave the stove and cooking gear home. I also got rid of the levis and heavy belt and took a pair of lightweight nylon pants, instead.
Here is the list of things I packed.
Street Clothes: 1 pair 100% nylon long pants (convertable to shorts) 3 pair underwear 5 pair white socks 3 T-shirts 1 sweatshirt 1 cotton overshirt 1 rain coat 1 pair long underwear 1 pair street shoes 3 pairs black socks 1 ball-type cap Biking clothes: 3 biking pants 3 biking jerseys 2 head sweats 3 hankerchiefs bike vest leg warmers arm warmers 1 pair bike shoes 1 pair biking gloves 1 pair sunglasses Toiletries: small bottle liquid soap small bottle shampoo bandaids antiseptic salve sewing kit lip balm razor + 1 extra blade cassette tube of aftershave cream 1 small bottle sun screen 1 small bottle bike butt'r tooth brushes and paste 1 large pack baby wipes 1 camping towel Camping Equipment: 1 down sleeping bag 1 2-person tent 1 tent ground cloth 1 blow-up sleeping pad 1 blow-up pillow Bike Equipment: 2 front Orttlib packs 2 rear Orttlib packs 1 Camelback 2 water bottles 1 rear-light 2 replacement tubes 10 bungee cords 1 small U lock 1 36-inch lock cable 1 front-light/flashlight Bike Tools: wrench pliers tire levers pack of hex wrenches screwdriver extra chain links extra nuts and bolts 6 latex gloves 1 bottle chain oil 1 patch kit Miscellaneous: 1 Digital camera 1 Swiss army knife 1 box matches 2 Adventure Cycling maps 10 pages copied from Bicycling the Pacific Coast Tape player 2 music cassettes Book on tape (20 tapes) 2 extra batteries Paperback novel Small notebook Pen Electrical Tape Food: peanut butter rice cakes nut mix (1 lb) raisins (1 lb) powered Gatorade chocolate bars energy bars
Estimated weight: 45 pounds
Next time, I won't take an extra pair of street shoes unless I will be spending rest days touring some city or national park. I rarely wore anything but my biking shoes. Instead of the the street shoes, I will pack a pair of slip-ons or light sandals. I will also take some shaving cream and bug repellant. I had to spend most of one evening sitting in my tent to avoid swarming mosquitoes.
Because I like to listen to books on tape when I do my local rides, I decided to take a 20-tape book to listen to on the way down. I also took 2 music cassettes. I found that the book was quite boring and only listened to the first 4 tapes before giving up on it completely. I listened to the music tapes quite a bit and the next time I will take 4 or 5 of them. Given the weight of tape cassettes, it would probably be better to take CDs. However, the CD player I have doesn't have enough volume to hear clearly on a bike and it is a bit awkward to deal with. My tape player fits into a jersey back pocket and is easy to stop and start. Also, the tapes fits into my Camelback but CDs wouldn't. The tunes came in handy on long climbs!
I think I could have gotten by on even less clothes. Probably, one less pair of underwear, socks and T-shirt. Everytime I put those clothes on, I had just taken a shower and I didn't keep them on long before I went to bed. On the other hand, it was nice to occasionally have clean clothes to put on.