Generic Touring Thread

Got back last night after my mini tour of northern France. Highly enjoyable and definitely will do it again.

Things I learned:

• Very little point taking a D-lock. I used mine twice and only because I knew I'd be away from the bike for a while. I reckon a cafe lock would have been fine but with only a couple of exceptions, I wasn't in built-up areas/major urban centres, so I'm guessing the risk of my bike being stolen was considerably smaller.
  
• Don't take a book, you aren't doing any reading. See also: a journal for jotting things down. At least half a kilo of deadweight there.
  
• Cobbles are a pain in the arse and to be avoided, especially when you have panniers on and are going down a twisty hill.
  
• There's always room for a few bottles of beer in the panniers to bring home.
  
• Comfy seat > lightweight saddle. I'll be replacing mine a.s.a.p.
  
  

I think I was lucky with the weather, although it was ruddy windy on a couple of days and that killed my 'speed'. Conversely, that helped when I washed my shorts and hung them out on the hotel room balcony rail to dry. No punctures either despite going over some pretty tricky surfaces.

I've no idea how you'd go about packing for a longer tour, though. Do you get less fussy with the state of your clothes? Or make sure you always plan a stay somewhere with washing facilities? I reckon 90% of the weight I was carrying was clothes and I wore the lot in five days/four nights.