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Bicycle Touring and Camping Toiletry Bag: Keeping Clean on the Road and at Camp

Humble as it may be, your toiletry bag will get daily use on your bicycle tour. A shower bag and pack towel need to be durable and quick drying, as both are constantly getting wet. On a bike tour, you will find yourself cleaning up in campground bathrooms, cheap hotels and hostels, and even while stealth camping with no facilities. Your toiletry kit needs to be versatile as yourself.

Tim asked me to write an article about carrying toiletries on a bike trip. Really, I think he saw my neat toiletry bag and realized that he spends far too much time hunting down his stuff. Tim's various stuff sacks look nearly identical by now. After almost ten years on the road, his bags are all of the faded black mesh variety. In a few years, mine may look the same, but for now I've got them coded by color and touch. I can find my possessions by look and feel, and if I pack right, position.

We both love to debate the merits of our luggage. Even though Tim won't admit to the superiority of my packing plan, I know he secretly covets my toiletry bag. I bought it ten years ago and it's lasted through five continents' worth of biking and backpacking.  I like it because it can hold  regular sized bottles, the little mirror is still intact, and it washes up easily. After a few squishy incidents, I look for the bottles with lids that close tightly. I stopped doing travel size bottles years ago.  Even on a short trip I run out of hair conditioner. Having long hair does require some sacrifice.

Some additions to adapt your bag to long term bike travel: Get a cover for your toothbrush and stop worrying about bugs crawling on the bristles at night. A pack towel (stored in a separate breathable bag) is good for drying hair and clothes. You can find one large enough to double as a cover-up, for that walk back to the room from the shower down the hall.

For a short trip, you might consider an all-in-one-soap. Back in my old hippie days, I was all about the Almond Scented Dr. Bronner's Magic Soap bubbles.  It's a nice idea: one soap for your hair, body, dishes, clothes, etc. Now that I'm deprived of health food stores, I buy bars of local soap and jam them all together in a plastic soap box.

One thing I hate about wild camping is showering with a bike water bottle. It can't really be called a shower. More like strategic squirting. A bucket shower is marginally better. As it's impractical to carry a regular bucket on a bike, you can get one of these collapsible buckets and ask Tim to heat up some water. Or use a solar shower if you've got the sun, some sitting time, and a little privacy.

Collapsible water sinks and buckets  I like a folding bowl or bucket for showers. I heat water on my stove or a fire and use one of my pans to pour water on myself.  Also useful for washing dishes and laundry.

Solar Shower For those of us who can't survive without a hot shower.

Backcountry Shovel/Trowel and Camping Toilet Accessories    A tiny shovel for your bathroom needs when you're camping with no facilities. Be a responsible camper and Leave No Trace.