Using a bike pannier as a shopping trolley: the B&W International B3 Bike Bag.

Normal pannier bags are great on a bike or trike, but they do have one major disadvantage.  Once they leave the bike you will need to carry up to two panniers using a thin strap that cuts off the circulation in your fingers. Cyclists' rooms in the five star hotel de luxe or youth hostel are always a long way away from the entrance up two or three flights of stairs in another time zone and by the time you get to the room you have numb hands and claw-like fingers. I realise that one can attach a carrying strap and sling them over the shoulder, but the panniers get mucky and wet. Carrying them then can lead to domestic strife. We once went by bicycle to the Mannheimer Maimarkt (a regional Ideal Home/travel/DIY/agricultural show). I carried a pannier bag over my shoulder in the halls to transport  pamphlets and anything else we could scrounge. When we returned to the bikes I realised that the inner, wheel-side of the bag was very dirty. The panniers were used several times a week and had picked up greasy road dirt. This had transferred to my shirt. I was not a happy camper. I was not popular with her indoors either. 
I am impressed with the B&W International B3 Bag. This is a pannier bag equipped with two wheels and a telescopic handle. It would solve the hotel/hostel baggage problem when touring. We would probably use it primarily as a shopping trolley. It can be filled in the supermarket and then attached directly to the bike/trike.  It weighs about 4lb for a closed volume of 35L. This is about 1lb heavier than two Ortlieb Backroller Bags (40L volume). However this extra weight will not make much difference to the total weight of you, your bike/trike and the contents of the bag.

A disclaimer I have not used this bag. I have just read a description and looked at specifications.  The company has not paid me in any shape or form to publish this note. The photographs are reproduced by permission of B&W International.

Clothing for triking

Thoreau suggested that one should beware of enterprises requiring new clothes. "If you have any enterprise before you, try it in your old clothes." He was warning against taking up sports or activities that involve purchase of new clothes. It has always struck me as foolish to buy all the gear before I am sure I enjoy the sport or occupation. You can cycle locally for example in street clothes. You don’t need to look like you are just about to climb the Cols de Vars, Izoard and Galibier in the Tour de France when you nip down the supermarket to buy a pint of milk. However sooner or later one wants to bite the bullet and buy specialised clothing.
We have just ordered a pair of recumbent trikes. We tried them last year and are looking forward to getting on the road this autumn. One of the less serious questions I am turning over in my mind is what clothing and equipment do we need to obtain when we start drifting round cycleways on three wheels?
Shoes are amongst most important items. You need to attach your feet to the pedals on a recumbent trike, because if your feet slip off the pedals and you get your legs caught between the frame and the ground while the trike is still moving, it can cause serious injuries. To quote an American friend: ‘"Leg Suck!" is what happens when you lose concentration for just an instant and fail to keep both feet firmly pressed against the pedals. It's only a few inches and a tiny fraction of a second before your heel touches the path and is immediately sucked back and under the cross-member of the trike frame. There are only two categories of recumbent trike riders: 1) those who ride clipped into their pedals and those who know their orthopaedic surgeon on a first name basis!’ (Thanks Stan!) You could also use toe clips with straps. Click pedal shoes cost 50 to 200 Euros in Germany. Toe clips are cheaper, but maybe less convenient in use. You can of course wear sandals, trainers (sneakers) or walking shoes, as you wish.
Most conventional cycling trousers and shirts have pockets at the back, which if these pockets are in use makes the clothing less than ideal for recumbent cycling. There don’t appear to be many European suppliers offering specialised triking clothing. Make sure you’ve got at least one zipped pocket as stuff can fall out onto the road. The only German company I have found is Icletta the ICE trike distributors (https://www.icletta.com/). The company sells some Bendit gear. ICE trikes offer a number of shirts and tops featuring the ICE logo: https://www.icetrikes.co/. Of course if you are riding a Hase delta trike or an AZUB, a KMX or a HPVelo machine you may not feel comfortable wearing gear from another manufacturer. The way around this problem is to buy neutral shirts from the afore mentioned Bendit. This American company manufactures a range of good looking cyclists’ shirts, shorts and trousers which is overjoyed ship its products worldwide (www.benditcycling.com). You will need to pay postage and customs duty. One complaint I have is that all of the company’s shirts are short sleeved and as a former skin cancer sufferer I would prefer longer sleeves. 
I have a strong suspicion that the running/jogging departments of sport stores could be a good place to start looking for triking gear, especially during the sales. One could pack valuables in what the Brits call a bum bag and our American cousins a fanny pack, if the running tights and shirts are without pockets. On our trip last year during a cold period in October we both wore running tights to keep our legs warm with 3/4 trousers over the top to give us pockets. This worked quite well. 
As for waterproofs it would be a good idea to avoid cycling jackets with a zipped rear pocket. Fortunately I have cycled in conventional walking jackets for some years now. Waterproof over trousers can be bought from outdoor shops. These are a good wheeze as otherwise your shorts or trousers get wet and the wetness diffuses up in to your neither regions.
I suspect a hi-viz waistcoat (vest) is not that useful on the trike. The seat will hide it from  traffic behind, but it might make you more visible to oncoming traffic.
OK the punch up question: Helmets. I notice that a lot of European trike drivers wear baseball caps or sun hats rather than a helmet (see “Tims trike trips” on YouTube as an example). I tended in the past not to wear a helmet when we were nipping down the supermarket, but did so when we were touring. What we are going to do when we start triking earnestly, I don’t know. One has less far to fall from a recumbent trike.
As we have enough conventional panniers to hang on the rack we won’t bother buying any new cool trike panniers. Many trikes have handlebar bags fitted on the side of the seat which let you have rapid access to camera and cheese sandwiches. However you need a support frame to carry it. Terracycle (https://t-cycle.com) and their German agents Icletta offer these as well as a wide range of gear.
Locks: I have a strong suspicion that we will carry our weight in locks when we are underway and try to only stop in Bed und Bike accommodation in Germany, where one is guaranteed lockable overnight bike storage (https://www.bettundbike.de/). 


Packing for touring

We have just spent a few days touring along the Kocher-Jagst Cycle Route on the edge of the Swabian Alb and saw a modest number of other touring cyclists. What struck us was the amount of baggage carried by some groups with in some cases trailers. If you are camping then you do need a lage amount of gear, but over the years we have gradually reduced the amount of stuff we take with us to one set of evening gear, a spare set of cycling gear, not forgetting waterproofs, maps, guides, water bottles/s, something to read in the evening, a first aid kit and enough tools to repair a puncture as well as a spare inner tube all packed in waterproof bags - think Ortlieb. That's about it. That's all you need.
Don't forget though that if your bags are so tightly are so tightly packed that there is no room for anything like a lunchtime snack this could lead to problems. If you leave home in wet weather it is possible to forget that you will need somewhere to pack your wet weather gear when the sun shines. It is easy to do. I have done it and ended up buying a new rack pack on the next day to take my jacket and overtrousers.

Packing again

In recent years while cycle touring on the Dahon Speed TR I have carried all my gear in a Carradice saddle bag and a handlebar bag. We cycled the length of the Kiel Canal recently and in the run up to leaving the house to cycle to the station to catch a train to Hamburg, I popped an old, battered, small pannier bag on the bike in addition to carry the Dahon El bolso bags. We had to smuggle the bikes onto a DB (German Railways) InterCity train that carries bicycles, but as is often the case at weekends all the bike positions were booked. Once these places are full putting bikes elsewhere is verboten. As soon as we could, i.e. on the next day we posted the El bolso bags home. We didn't need them again on the trip and when folded the bolso bags are quite bulky. They do fold up to go into a small duffle bag cum rucksack, but neither of us likes cycling far wearing a rucksack. Afterwards we were both surprised at how useful a half empty pannier can be - carrying sandwiches, a litre pack of fruit juice or even a couple bottles of beer is child's play. I think we will do it again in future, but probably using a new pannier bag, if we can find one small enough. Bags for 20" wheels are not easy to come by.