Packing for World Championships with Only Carry On Luggage

I love you guys. I really do. But when the weather is gorgeous and watermelon is in season and my baby sister is home from Miami, I just don’t have as much drive to post as regularly. Summertime heat kills my creativity because I just want to be outside playing.

Speaking of playing outside, I leave this weekend for a vacation in British Columbia and Alberta. It is one of those perfect vacations where outside of scheduled time with some friends and the ITU Championships, I really don’t have an agenda outside of exploration. I have my bike, I’ll have some mountains and I will have some time. It sounds like a winning combination to me!

One of the things that I am trying hard to do as I get ready to go is to pack light because we will be driving through the mountains with bike bags and don’t have a lot of space in our vehicle for extra luggage.This means I am going to pack over 10 days worth of stuff into a very small space and may not seem like a huge deal to you, but on my trip last winter to Arizona, I packed a bag that I could fit in full of everything, including a tent and sleeping mattress. I don’t pack light.

Here is what I am doing this week to make sure that I am able to pull this off:

Planning ahead

I am researching my airline’s policies and making sure that my bags fit within that. I am making a list of the necessities that I need and making sure they fit comfortably into the bag.

Packing bike items in my bike bag

A bike helmet, water bottles, cycling shoes and flat kits can take up a lot of room. I am packing these pieces in my bike bag to make sure that I have as much room as possible in my carry on luggage.

Bring low maintenance, non-wrinkle clothing

Because this is an active trip, the majority of my wardrobe is spandex or wicking fabric but the other pieces I am bringing are easily able to be mixed and matched so I don’t appear to just be wearing one outfit for the entire trip.

Packing small versions of cosmetics 

I love the line of toiletries from Andalou Naturals and use them when I travel because they are a perfect size and smell amazing. The facial wipes and body lotion, in particular, are life savers! They are non-GMO, environmentally friendly and have fruit stem cell science in each product. This means it is good for my skin and I don’t need to use hotel products which are not very effective and can be hard on my skin and hair.

Pack intentionally

To maximize space, I am rolling my clothing, rather than folding to increase space. My shoes will serve as vehicles for holding GPS watches, jewellery, etc and I am using all free space in my bag.

Do you pack light? I just have never made an intentional focus on doing so and just packed things because I might need them. This often results in me not even wearing half of what I packed and lugging a lot of unnecessary things around.

This will be my last post before my trip but I will be sharing updates on Instagram as I travel.