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What do I bring with me to bike across China?? 🚴♀️ Bike tour travel essentials
Bike Tour in China: Packing Your Entire Life for the Ride
How we fit our entire life on the back of a bike 🚲 Featuring our BAGSMART Getaway luggage and backpack as we pack up for the journey.
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How we fit our entire life on the back of a bike 🚲 as we pack up for the journey.
Editor’s note: Katherine takes minimalism to the open road, where a bike becomes both home and vehicle. In this episode, she shows how to pack an entire life into the bags strapped to her frame — every essential chosen with purpose, every inch maximized for long-distance cycling. It’s a celebration of slow travel, independence, and the freedom that comes from carrying only what truly matters. For anyone dreaming of a two-wheeled adventure, this is packing inspiration at its best.
How we fit our entire life on the back of a bike 🚲 as we pack up for the journey.
Katherine describes the equipment she and her husband carry on a bicycle tour through northern China. They have been traveling for months at a time and returning to their home in Hangzhou to rest and edit videos. Their route began in Heilongjiang, continued through the three northeastern provinces, then west toward Inner Mongolia, Hebei and Shanxi. In spring they set off from Xi'an, crossed Ningxia and continued through Gansu; they are approaching Xinjiang and plan to explore Central Asia after the bike portion. She shows how she sorts clothes and other belongings in bags, mentions washing machines at many hotels and inns she has stayed in, and explains why she carries a warm hat and towel. Her miscellaneous bag contains backup cash, while she says mobile payment is used in many places in China, including remote villages. She also shows a first-aid kit, wired and wireless headphones, a tablet, skincare and toiletries, contact lenses, sunglasses, and bags attached to the front and back of the bike. She carries face coverings for sun protection, a power bank that can charge her phone four times, tissues, gloves, baby wipes, snacks such as naan and dried fruit, and a raincoat. She says the phone is used for navigation and route tracking. The later suitcase segment includes product promotion and is not summarized here.
Katherine shows what she and her husband carry on their bikes while touring northern China, including packing cubes, clothes for changing weather, a towel, a first-aid kit, electronics, toiletries, sun protection, snacks and rain gear. She describes how they organize the bags, use mobile payments alongside backup cash, and keep a power bank near her phone for navigation and route tracking. Their route has included Heilongjiang, Inner Mongolia, Hebei and Shanxi, and they set off from Xi'an through Ningxia into Gansu. The video also mentions their home in Hangzhou and plans to explore Central Asia after biking Xinjiang.
Katherine walks through the bags, clothing, first-aid supplies, electronics, sun protection and snacks she carries on a China bike tour.
China Bike Tour Packing: Road Essentials for a Long Ride
1:17 Katherine says packing cubes helped her keep clothes and other belongings organized after she had been putting things in random places. She separates shirts and pants from dirty clothes, making it easier to find items in the bags on the bike.
1:38 On this trip, Katherine found washing machines in many of the hotels and inns where they stayed, especially rural homestays. She says they usually did not need to wash clothes by hand, though she has done so when necessary.
2:08 Katherine carries a winter hat even in August because the places they travel can feel cold after sunset, particularly when it rains. She also packs a small towel because some hotels she encountered lacked towels or provided disposable ones.
2:53 The bags she shows can expand when she has more to carry and compress when she needs to fit them into a bike bag. She also uses a separate miscellaneous pouch so small items do not get lost among the rest of her gear.
3:30 Katherine keeps some backup cash with her, but says mobile payment is used for almost everything she buys in China, even in remote villages. The cash is kept in a less-accessible bag because she does not use it often.
3:53 Katherine recommends carrying a first-aid kit on a long bike tour. She and her husband had not started with one, but later received a kit with bandages and wound-cleaning supplies; it helped when her cousin fell and lost skin from his thigh.
5:09 Katherine keeps her passport in an accessible pocket of her backpack. She also carries noise-canceling headphones for use off the bike, and specifically says not to wear them while riding because they make it harder to hear what is around you.
8:31 Katherine carries face coverings for sun protection and also has sunscreen. She says she uses sunscreen when only a little sun is out and chooses the face covering on full-sun days; these are her personal choices for this trip.
9:16 Katherine keeps a power bank within easy reach of her phone, which she mounts on the handlebars for navigation and route tracking. She says this power bank can charge her phone four times.
9:46 Her front bike bag holds tissues, gloves, baby wipes, snacks and a raincoat. She says the wipes are useful when there is dirt, mud or dust, and that naan and dried fruit are among the snacks they carry.
1:17 Katherine says packing cubes helped her keep clothes and other belongings organized after she had been putting things in random places. She separates shirts and pants from dirty clothes, making it easier to find items in the bags on the bike.
1:38 On this trip, Katherine found washing machines in many of the hotels and inns where they stayed, especially rural homestays. She says they usually did not need to wash clothes by hand, though she has done so when necessary.
2:08 Katherine carries a winter hat even in August because the places they travel can feel cold after sunset, particularly when it rains. She also packs a small towel because some hotels she encountered lacked towels or provided disposable ones.
2:53 The bags she shows can expand when she has more to carry and compress when she needs to fit them into a bike bag. She also uses a separate miscellaneous pouch so small items do not get lost among the rest of her gear.
3:30 Katherine keeps some backup cash with her, but says mobile payment is used for almost everything she buys in China, even in remote villages. The cash is kept in a less-accessible bag because she does not use it often.
3:53 Katherine recommends carrying a first-aid kit on a long bike tour. She and her husband had not started with one, but later received a kit with bandages and wound-cleaning supplies; it helped when her cousin fell and lost skin from his thigh.
5:09 Katherine keeps her passport in an accessible pocket of her backpack. She also carries noise-canceling headphones for use off the bike, and specifically says not to wear them while riding because they make it harder to hear what is around you.
8:31 Katherine carries face coverings for sun protection and also has sunscreen. She says she uses sunscreen when only a little sun is out and chooses the face covering on full-sun days; these are her personal choices for this trip.
9:16 Katherine keeps a power bank within easy reach of her phone, which she mounts on the handlebars for navigation and route tracking. She says this power bank can charge her phone four times.
9:46 Her front bike bag holds tissues, gloves, baby wipes, snacks and a raincoat. She says the wipes are useful when there is dirt, mud or dust, and that naan and dried fruit are among the snacks they carry.
0:00 Introducing a year of bike touring
0:59 Sorting clothes into packing cubes
1:38 Laundry at hotels and rural inns
2:04 Packing a hat and a travel towel
2:53 Compressing bags and sorting small items
3:24 Backup cash and a first-aid kit
4:37 Headphones and the bike's rear bags
5:03 Organizing a backpack for the ride
6:46 Clothing, skincare and toiletries
8:16 Sun protection in the front bag
9:11 Phone charging and roadside supplies
10:00 Snacks and the rest of the bike gear
10:31 Looking ahead to the next leg
0:00 Introducing a year of bike touring
0:59 Sorting clothes into packing cubes
1:38 Laundry at hotels and rural inns
2:04 Packing a hat and a travel towel
2:53 Compressing bags and sorting small items
3:24 Backup cash and a first-aid kit
4:37 Headphones and the bike's rear bags
5:03 Organizing a backpack for the ride
6:46 Clothing, skincare and toiletries
8:16 Sun protection in the front bag
9:11 Phone charging and roadside supplies
10:00 Snacks and the rest of the bike gear
10:31 Looking ahead to the next leg
What does Katherine carry on her China bike tour?
She shows clothing, toiletries, a first-aid kit, electronics, sun protection, snacks, gloves, baby wipes and a raincoat packed across the bikes' bags.
How does she keep her belongings organized?
She uses separate packing cubes and pouches for clothes, dirty laundry and miscellaneous items, and says the cubes helped her find things more easily.
Why does she carry a towel and a warm hat?
She says some hotels she encountered did not provide a regular towel, and evenings on their route could become cold after sunset, especially in rain.
What does she use her phone for while riding?
She says they need it for navigation and route tracking, and keeps a power bank near it; the power bank can charge her phone four times.
What route does the video mention?
Katherine describes traveling from Xi'an through Ningxia and Gansu, after earlier riding through Heilongjiang, Inner Mongolia, Hebei and Shanxi. She says they are approaching Xinjiang.
