When planning your first tour on a bicycle it is very easy to go crazy about buying all sorts of bike touring gear for it. You don't want to miss anything. We know it. We've also been in that situation and yes, we made the mistake of buying too many things. There are many great resources out there explaining every piece of gear that is useful when traveling on your bicycle but not so many about what is really important. Obviously, it will depend on your personal preferences but there is certainly some equipment that is considered essential, others things