I bought a lot of equipment for this trip. Some of it I knew from experience as a bicycle commuter that I'd want. Much of what I purchased was recommended by the internet, and some by my friendly local bike mechanic, and some by folks who've done this ride in the past. I'll include as complete a packing list as i can remember, and may not comment on the items that I find uninteresting. Except for items I could mount on my bike and my tent and sleeping bag/pads, all of this gear fit inside a duffel bag that measured only 1 foot by 1 foot by 2 feet in total volume.

• street clothes
  • 1 pair jeans. yup, i wore 'em a lot.
  • 1 pair Merrell Chameleon Wrap Gore-Tex XCR shoes. comfy, durable, enough sole to ride my tiny pedals (intended only for bike shoes) without getting shredded or hurting my feet. also dried nicely after i had to portage a stream in them repeatedly.
  • 1 pair boxers - someone said you didn't need any underwear. i found one pair necessary & sufficient, and brought the fancy silk boxers to make everyone else giggle, and me stay comfy
  • 1 pair loose cotton pants - good for pajamas on the 3 nights it mattered to our hosts what our bedclothes looked like (host families)
  • 1 pair slippers w/hard soles - these things collapsed to the size of a 1/2" tall shoe sole (together). handy for quick jaunts outside the tent, washable!
  • 2 t-shirts - 1 texas4000 shirt for "official functions" and one non-t4k shirt for the nights i was out on the town and not representin'
  • 1 pair of long cotton socks - never used em.
  • 1 set polypropylene long underwear - should have used these instead of the loose cotton pants. it never really got cold enough to want them when i wasn't in bed already or on the bike (where i was adequately outfitted as below).
  • 1 pair shorts (i bought a second pair which could have been all i needed -- just make sure you have dark colored shorts! the beige looked nasty after one night of camping, the navy, almost never. durable--no buttons, just snaps! nobody wants to spend an evening with the sewing kit. or i didn't, anyway)
  • 1 fleece jacket (used a moderate amount. it does cool off after sunset as early as colorado. never got below 45 or so that i recall, though.)
  • a few pairs of socks. i took some cotton, some coolmax, and it never made an ounce of difference which i wore. i was happy to have at least 4 pairs so i never had to wear a pair more than 2 days (we got laundry facilities at least once a week; i washed my jersey in the sink or stream if it was more than 4 days gone)
• bike clothes
  • 2 team jerseys, Voler brand half-zip. i only used one until the last day. it was faded but not more dirty than most other peoples'. you definitely don't need more than 2.
  • 1 pair castelli super ergo bike shorts. these failed me within about 4 days--a big hole opened up on the left thigh (almost obscene-area) and i wrote castelli USA and they arranged for me to do a swap in boulder. the new pair, aside from being bright bright royal blue and making it through the rest of the ride, were slightly less comfortable than the other two sets of shorts.
  • 1 pair pearl izumi ultrasensor bike shorts. i had my mom send these to me in Bozeman once I realized there was no way I could ride in the tri shorts very consitently. they are very comfy and sturdy.
  • 1 pair zoot ultra biking-triathlon shorts. extremely comfortable--the most comfortable spandex i've ever worn. i can wear them for (literally) days at a time without taking them off except to go potty. the only problem lies in the lack of padding--i can do an 80 mile day on them, but not two in a row or even in close proximity. by the end, i was wearing them under other shorts (street or bike) so as to prevent chafing (under street shorts) or so i could take off my "real" bike shorts to swim without getting the chamois wet. they unfortunately didn't hold up well and have two holes where the sitbones go. uncomfortable++ on the saddle to have those two most sensitive skin areas exposed!
  • 1 pair Shimano SH-M225 mountain bike shoes. these were already 2 years old, but held up really well. my feet sometimes went a little numb/crampy when i went superfast, so i bought superfeet insoles for them and that helped a bit. but they were really solid and are still usable, ~7000 miles down the road! i never had to replace my cleats since they are mountain bike shoes and the cleats do not scrape when you walk. i don't understand why everyone didn't have shoes like these.
  • voler armwarmers - they slid down my arms but did a fine job of warming if i kept them pulled up, even without the fleece lining that some folks' pearl izumi armwarmers had. apparently my size L chest does not automatically indicate size L arms =)
  • pearl izumi bike tights (no chamois) - wore this over shorts instead of leg warmers for the most part. had to remove my shoes to take them on/off but didn't have to get naked. and they didn't ride up or down my legs like leg warmers. a $10 pair of stretchtights from academy would have worked just as well.
  • cute leg warmers. they fell down my legs (my thighs were oversized for their XL sizing chart, but apparently that was just a lie), so i wore them infrequently. they were too cute not to wear a couple times, though. they were the cheapest legwarmers i could find. some people liked fleece-y ones; i just wore rainpants + tights for warmth and was never too cold (except when my rainpants were lost!)
  • MEC.ca helmet cover - never used it. i don't really care if my head gets wet.
  • coolmax skullcap (i think these are they). wore this without fail under my helmet. kept my head cool in the warm (sweat went through, but not into my eyes!) and warm in the rain/cool. i really can't emphasize enough how much happier i was with this thing--it had a huge impact on keeping sweat out of my eyes. a headband would have worked as well but been less helmet-friendly.
  • MEC shoe covers. i liked these pretty well. they weren't entirely waterproof, but they held up as well as or better than other covers (the toes didn't wear through entirely), were easy to take on and off, were definitely windproof which helped wet feet stay warmer, and worked better than anything else except the amphib's from pearl izumi as far as keeping dry. i'll continue to use these. they are also the cheapest shoe covers i could find =)
  • rain pants - loved these! the brand was j&g. they were cheap and worked well and could come on/off without removing shoes.
  • specialized sub zero gloves - these fell apart quickly and weren't very water proof. they were kinda warm, though. i think these are their follow-ons and are cheap for warm, waterproof, longfinger gloves.
• bike gear
  • Ixon main headlight. Worked when I needed it to. Eats batteries pretty quickly but the light is unparalleled in the replaceable-over-the-counter-batteries-that-aren't-the-size-and-weight-of-a-full-water-bottle department.
  • blinky headlights - i had a couple of fork-mounted LED blinkers. lights for drivers to see, not to see by.
  • main taillight - i clipped a cateye standard 3-bulb LED to my helmet so i'd always have it and it would be visible despite saddlebags.
  • blinky handlebar-end taillights - nashbar lovelies. bring extra batteries--they last awhile but occasionally get turned on accidentally and you don't notice for days :/
  • aerobars - ebay specials. i liked em tho! syntace C2 with the handlebar-size-adapter and speedometer holder accessories.
  • pedals - i don't think i'll ever ride anything except crank brothers eggbeaters. you might want the "candy" version if you like a little platform with your pedal. i can ride a few miles even just on the eggbeaters with normal shoes on as long as i'm not hauling up a huge hill--carefully.
  • brooks saddle - my poison was the champion b17 special, steel rails. a totally worthwhile investment. requires ~500mi of breaking in your ass to be happy with the saddle. but then it'll feel good for the rest of your life. yes, it will last that long.
  • generic bento box - kept my cellphone and camera in this. occasionally kept clif shot blocks instead of camera/phone
  • carradice saddlebag - my savior. i used the barley and it was definitely sufficient to my needs. i'd recommend skipping the saddle wedge entirely and just using this to carry raingear/tools/food.
  • rain jacket - decent midpriced midrange fella with pit zips and a back pocket: the o2 3flow. faded from bright to pale yellow by the end of the summer.
  • armadillo elite tires. these folded which i found to be quite handy--could store them in my saddlebag or duffel so they didn't wander off or get tangled in the huge stack of team rubber. extremely durable--i didn't flat often and i made it through the entire trip on 4 tires (i think one had a defect or it'd have been 3) and the tires on the bike still have some life left. i rode over some nasty stuff with no problems. highly recommended.
• camping gear
  • big agnes sleeping bag - encampment 15. was a little too warm for the some nights in the southern states, especially indoors with no AC. would recommend this style of bag, but in a higher rating (25-30 degrees) for this trip.
  • big agnes sleeping pads - sleeping giant mattress pad. i was entirely comfortable!
  • sleep sheet - usually used in combination with the sleeping bag if it was cold, otherwise, used alone atop the sleeping bag or just the pad. invaluable for the too-hot nights. i liked this one. avoid the cotton ones!
  • mountain hairdwear skyview tent. love it. it's lasted me almost 8 years now.
• misc
  • my favorite sunglasses ever. i also bought a cord to hang them on. i failed to lose them! i looked kinda like a dork. it was a fair trade.
  • Dr. Bronner's soap - almond flavor
  • superglue - you never know when you'll need it (unless you have crappy tires, then you'll need it EVERY DAY.)
  • mosquito hat - it looked dorky. it was a godsend. you definitely want one for ALL OF CANADA AND ALASKA!!
  • insect repellant - get as much deet as you can handle.
  • mary kay sunscreen - truly the best sunscreen i've ever used. does NOT sting if it gets in your eyes, leaves you feeling remarkably clean despite spreading goop all over your body.
  • spray on sunscreen - a little more portable, what i would take when i went unsupported and the best i could find to buy in canada (never saw bullfrog up there, which is my second choice stateside)
  • books - i took 2, read only one. there was more reading time and fewer bookstores up north.
  • treo 700p cellphone - my #1 favorite tool of the trip. routed us and me out of so many different pickles. did email and web and had better reception than almost anyone else's phone. took an extra battery, needed it occasionally, since i rarely turned my phone off except in the remote parts of canada where there was no cellphone service for a week at a time, sometimes.
  • compression sacks - made packing trivial. i had a couple of these. invaluable as well
  • bag of bags - i went through quite a few baggies (mostly on my cellphone as a rainjacket) and it was always nice to be stocking replacements whenever i had a blowout.
  • scrabble set - if only i'd had someone else as into playing as me. i ended up playing on my cellphone against the computer a lot.
  • paper, pen, business cards, pads - kinda handy. needed less than i took
  • treo (cellphone) fullsize folding keyboard - might have been nice if it worked better in combination with the internet connection.
  • toiletry kit w/firstaid bits - toothbrush, paste, deoderant, q-tips, pepto bismol, advil. also had cortisone, gold bond triple medicated powder, tegaderm, neosporin and bandaids. i needed none of the first aid stuff except gold bond on occasion. still rather have it than not, especially tegaderm for road rash!
  • extra batteries for everything. especially lights.
  • LED headlamp - nice for nighttime wanderings and reading in bed.
  • leatherman charge Ti - the multitool of champions
  • sleep mask and earplugs - was nice on occasion to go to sleep earlier than the rest of the group when we were sharing tight quarters.
• stuff i bought for the team to share and didn't keep in my bag
  • 1,000 q-tips
  • grease rags
  • laundry detergent
  • spray-n-wash for getting stains out of the jersey--worked like a CHARM. my jersey looked awesome consistently once i found this stuff! gets out grease stains of all kinds.
  • first aid items - ace bandage, gauze, massive bottle of advil, box of bandaids