Preparing for a biking adventure, especially one as exhilarating as Trans Madeira, requires careful consideration of gear and packing essentials. From the choice of a bike bag to managing clothing, shoes, and other crucial items, the right decisions can enhance the entire experience. In this guide, we’ll walk you through key elements to pack efficiently and smartly for a seamless biking adventure!
Official Trans Madeira Pack List
Packing Advice
- Keep your packing light and simple.
- Get everything inside a large travel bag so that transportation is easier for you and for our team.
- Instead of big hard case roller bags, sometimes it’s better to use a good waterproof duffle bag where you can squeeze it all in.
- Avoid bringing electronics you won’t use such as laptops.
- Separate race kits for each day in individual bags (jersey, shorts, socks…) so that you don’t lose time in the morning color matching!
- Bring enough riding gear for five days of racing – you really don’t want to clean dirty clothing during the week… or smell bad!
Riding Gear
- 6 or 7 riding jerseys
- 3 or 4 riding shorts
- At least 2 base layers
- 1 (good!) rain jacket
- 1 or 2 pairs of riding shoes
- 2 or 3 pairs of gloves
- Mandatory protection gear is a helmet (we highly recommend wearing a full-face) and kneepads. We advise the use of gloves, goggles, or sunglasses.
- Some riders prefer going lightweight and just using a hip-pack; others prefer going ‘full-enduro’ with a backpack; some don’t take anything – it’s really up to you. Based on our experience it’s important for you to have ways to carry water, multi-tool, rain jacket, layers…
Other Stuff
- Sleeping bag
- Pillow
- Earplugs (for better night sleep)
- Flip flops and towel (shower and to go for a swim)
- Cycling padded shorts (no kidding…)
- Post-race casual warm clothing
- Multi-tool and specific spare parts for your bike (derailleur hanger is a must!)
- Headlight (for bike camps and adventure day)
- Sunscreen
- Water bottle
- Chain lube
- Powerbank (we have power stations but they can get busy!)
If you follow this list you should be pretty dialed! For some additional notes about what to bring keep reading!
Bike Bag
Initially, I was planning on just getting a bike box from a shop, but I am so glad that I had a bike bag. It made packing my bike, so much easier, more secure, and probably helped keep my bag underweight. If you don’t have a bike bag, I highly recommend either buying one or trying to borrow someone from a friend. I used the Dakine Bike Roller Bag which worked great! It was easy to use and kept my bike free of damage during the journey to and from Madeira!
AirTags In Your Luggage
I highly recommend putting an AirTag or similar tracking device in your bike bag and duffel bag. My bike bag didn’t show up in Madeira because I had a 45-minute layover in Lisbon. Having the AirTag in the bag was a big help. I was able to track the bag’s progress without having to call the airline for status updates. Half the people in our group had lost/missing bags, so there is a decent chance that your bag will get lost in the shuffle too. There was one participant whose bag bike bag never made it to Madeira and he rode a rental bike all week long.
Riding Kits
I seriously recommend packing a riding kit for every day. This means 5 to 6 pairs of shorts/pants, 5 to 6 jerseys/shirts, and 5 to 6 pairs of socks. The reason is there is no way to dry or clean your clothes. Putting on a fresh pair of clothes in the morning was essential. If you’re like me and don’t have 6 pairs of riding shorts, I recommend buying some used ones on Facebook Marketplace or eBay!
Riding Shoes
I ended up bringing two pairs of shoes due to advice from other riders, but I would advise against it, and here’s why. When you leave your wet shoes in your bag all day, they are going to start to smell pretty rank and like mildew. When I went to put on my shoes on day three I decided not to because they smelled so bad. I would just stick with one pair of shoes for this reason.
Sleeping Gear
Trans Madeira provides you with a tent and sleeping pad but you need to bring your own sleeping bag/sheets. I opted for a rumple blanket and a non-fitted sheet which ended up being really nice to have. I’d recommend just getting a cheap one off Amazon, and tossing it at the end of the race because mine was pretty disgusting by the end of the week with blood and dirt stains all over the place. If you are a light sleeper, bring some earplugs!
Smaller Bags For Organizing
Another tip I have is to have a couple of those big, vacuum seal, plastic travel bags. You can use one for your clean, non-riding clothes, one for dirty laundry, and another to keep your riding kits, which I recommend packing into individual bags.
Waterproof Duffel
For my duffel bag, I used an NRS Dry duffel, which was perfect. Most riders put their duffel bag in their tent at night, but since mine was waterproof, I just left mine outside of the tent, which was super nice, because the tents are a little bit tight one important note is that you don’t have access to your bike bag during the event. You want to make sure that your duffel bag can fit everything you bring. We heard stories about people, who packed a bunch of stuff in their bike bag for the flight, but didn’t have enough space in their duffel when they needed to consolidate all of their belongings!
Backpack vs. fanny pack vs. nothing
Deciding which of these to bring is a challenge. In my opinion, you can get away with bringing a fanny pack or nothing on most days except the big adventure day on day three you cannot count on being able to fill up your water bottle between stages, but you can fill up your water at the lunch spot every day , so keep this in mind when deciding how much water to bring each day. Occasionally, the staff would have a water jug between stages, but it was very hit or miss on the big adventure day. I would highly recommend bringing a backpack. You’ll need it to be able to bring enough water, but it also makes putting the bike over your shoulders a little more comfortable.
Full-face vs. half-shell
You’ll see riders are wearing mostly wearing full-face helmets with about 30% wearing half-shells. I took a bunch of crashes and was very happy to wear my full-face helmet. I would highly recommend wearing a full face over a shell.
Tools and Replacement Parts
Having a decent tool set on you goes a long way. It will help when it comes to building up your bike on arrival and breaking it down when you leave. I brought a full hex set, shock pump, rags, and lube. For replacement parts, I brought an extra derailleur hanger, chain, tire, and sealant. I didn’t end up needing to bring the lube and rags because the mechanics provided them. I would bring a torque wrench for assembling your bike!
Electronics
Bring a power bank and a converter to keep your stuff up all week! I also recommend getting a SIM card at the airport, which was helpful for wanting to get online, text, etc. It was 25 euros for a 10 g SIM card.
Packing for a biking event like Trans Madeira demands attention to detail and an understanding of what makes for a comfortable, hassle-free journey. From the reliable bike bag to the practicality of waterproof duffels, the gear you choose can help you enjoy the adventure to it’s fullest potential!
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