My packing list

EVOC travel case: 22Kg as packed

• Bike with bidon and pump, phone case
• Hex driver set, pedal spanner, zip ties
• Underseat bag with tube, tyre levers, multi-tool, inflater, puncture kit
• Container with chain lube, degreaser, tyre sealant, chux, spare CO2 cylinders, spoke tool, valve tool
• Spare tyre and spare spokes

Salewa backpack: 7Kg as packed

• Knicks*2, jerseys*2, gloves*2, socks*2, cap,
• Arm warmers, spray jacket, baselayer, 
• Helmet
• Socks, hankies, knickers (3+)
• Hat, swimmers
• Shirts (3+)
• Shorts
• Trousers
• Cycling shoes

Salewa day pack:

• Electrolytes, chamois cream
• Tail light
• Handlebar bag, GPS, map case
• D-lock
• Cycling glasses in soft case
• Bathroom bag+basic pharma+sunscreen
• Detergent for four washes
• Camera spare battery, wifi module, charger and gorillapod, USB chargers
• Fresh shirt and undies

Pacsafe shoulder bag: waiting on phone, glasses and wallet

• Wallet, passport, ticket
• GoPuck with the three USB cables, second microUSB cable
• Camera and second lens
• Phone, headphones, Kobo
• Glasses in case

Wearing:

• Light jacket, LS shirt, shoes, socks, knickers, trousers with plaited belt

Dress rehearsal

I travelled by plane to spend Easter with my parents. As well as being about seeing them it was also a dress rehearsal for the Italy trip.

• My touring bike in the Evoc case travelled safely, and even including helmet, shoes and cycling clothing in the bag it was 22Kg.
• The route was plane to Brisbane and then train to the Gold Coast, very similar to the luggage handling I'll have to do via FCO. Coming back there was track work and so we had to change to bus from South Brisbane to Roma Street... no problem.
• The bike case wheels pretty well.
• I rode three days in a row, and the first two days were pretty similar in profile and distance to the first two days from Viareggio to Greve in Chianti. I felt pretty good after each day's ride.
• The camera coped well, especially in terms of battery life. I can easily get two days of moderate use out of a battery, so with two fully charged I'll be in good shape.
• On thing I will have to take to Italy is the charger cable for my Pebble. Not needed for five days but certainly required for two weeks!

All in all a successful trial run. Now I just have to stay in some sort of condition over the winter.

At least I have a few events planned for May and June, the NSW Discovery weekend at Bateman's Bay and Melburn Roobaix and another trip to the Gold Coast in August.

On-bike luggage

First there is the stuff I need every day which is mounted on the bike:

• Bidon
• GPS
• Pump
• Tail light
• Saddlebag with tube and tools
• Phone in waterproof mount

or will be in the handlebar bag:

• Map case with cue cards
• Camera
• Wallet
• Bike lock
• Sunscreen
• GoPuck and cable

Depending on the forecast:

• Arm warmers
• Jacket
• Cap
• Sandals

Weighing it all up

Luggage Allowance

The checked luggage allowance is 30Kg. Based on the Gold Coast trip, the touring bike packed into the EVOC travel case, with wheels, pump, spares and tools is 20kg.

So for my remaining ten kilograms...

The Salewa backpack with the day pack zipped off is 2.3 kilograms. That means seven kilograms of clothing etc. Then I can use the Salewa day pack as my carry on for 6.5Kg of denser stuff (shoes, toiletries...). I'll probably put my cycling shoes in here too.

I will also take one of the Pacsafe shoulder bags, probably the larger (blue) one to hold most of the electronics.

When I arrive at Fiumicino, I'll recombine the two packs, giving me two hands free to handle the bike! Then in Firenze, it will be time to repack into on-bike and off-bike so that only one bag needs to be carried from town to town.

To carry or to hire?

One significant unanswered question is what bike to ride. If I take a bike should it be my road bike or my touring bike? The same question applies to hire bikes although I have yet to see a "light touring" bike like mine for rent.

The road bike's advantages are that it is lighter, has better brakes and a smaller "Q" factor. The Touring bike is more robust (cro-mo instead of carbon), takes a rack and hence panniers and has wider gearing. On the balance I think the touring bike is more likely. I can mix and match wheels and tyres as I see fit, with the 28mm Continental 4 Seasons a likely choice. They survived Melburn-Roobaix just fine. I'm willing to risk the road bike so long as I can carry enough stuff. Maybe I'll do a trial pack into the largest Ortlieb underseat bag and the largest handlebar bag to see whether that feels like three days' worth.

Hire or carry?

The other consideration, probably more important is to leave my bikes at home and hire in Firenze, but that depends on whether I can get exactly what I want from a hire company. In general they do not seem to be very flexible but I guess I have a year to negotiate :-) Because it makes the logistics so much easier this would be my preference, but I'm not riding 400km on a bike I don't trust and enjoy.

Almost every day I am exchanging emails with Lia at http://www.florencebybike.it/index.php?lang=en and we are slowly coming to an understanding.

Our heavy touring bikes are what you need.
You can't fit Ortlieb handlebar bags to our road bikes.
Our road bikes only come with 23mm tyres.

We'll get there maybe!