This is the edited list and thoughts from a friend who will be visiting/hitchhiking through Europe. She has hitchhiked biked and train jumped (hobo in an open boxcar) around the United States. She typed this on my Zaurus 5500 while riding up to Seattle for her departure.
The list:
backpack
mouth to mouth resuscitator
cheap light
REI first aid kit
small compressible 20 deg sleeping bag
cheap small old camera
light 6$ bike pump
extra bike inertubes
extra brake cables-gear cables
cheap sewing kit consisting of a lighter a pack of sewing needles and extra pack of dental floss
old double tent rain-fly folded tight
extra medium sized stuff sack...it can be us as a light day pack just add a belt or bike inertube for shoulder strap
one light weight Schwin bike
old bike inertube to strap the pack to the bike
basic hygiene stuff
emergency bivy sack...very light weight good for sleeping mat and for extreme weather for when your sleeping bag can handle extra insulation
LED head lamp, very light weight
keep your pack very light as light as possible make sure that nothing you have is non-replaceable
An overly heavy pack hurts your back. Your back is very precious once it goes out your basically f---ed, same thing with your knees an feet.
make sure you have a decent pair of shoes. Only bring one pair of shoes, multiple pairs of shoes means more wt. which means more weight to you back.
another way I figure out if my pack if correctly fitted is jog with your pack make sure your pack moves with you. if you need to run for any reason you are not slowed down by your pack, this is very important!
Bring proper bike tools, don't bring too many just the bare essentials same goes for everything you bring. Make sure you bring your passport, this is pretty important, when doing European or any travel.
Always make sure you have enough water on you and in you. Hydration is the key to staying aware of your surroundings. If you are starving, sleep deprived, delirious, or dehydrated you are not going to make good judgment calls.
I like the commentary about dehydration, about saving your back I recomend having a good hip belt on your pack.
