Training Camp Wash Bag: What to Pack for a Week of Riding

A training camp wash bag needs less than you'd think: one thing to wash hair, body and face, plenty of sunscreen, an SPF lip balm, toothbrush and toothpaste, deodorant, a little travel detergent for your shorts and a pair of flip-flops. The trick isn't the list, it's the rhythm. A week of riding means a shower after every ride, sunscreen every morning and kit drying on every chair in the room. Pack for that and the bag stays small.

This is the wash bag chapter of our cyclist's hair and body care guide. We make 3-in-1 bars, we're not doctors or airport staff, so every rule and health point below has a source, listed at the end of the article.

What goes in a training camp wash bag?

Seven or eight things, and most of them are small. Mallorca in February, Girona in March or a block in the Ardennes, the days look the same: ride, shower, eat, sleep, repeat. The bag only has to cover that loop.

Item	Why it's in the bag	Hand luggage?
Wash for hair, body and face	You'll shower after every ride.	Bottles count as liquids. A solid bar doesn't.
Sunscreen	At least SPF 30, reapplied every 2 hours.	Liquid.
Lip balm with SPF	An SPF of at least 30 for lips.	Tiny. If in doubt, liquids bag.
Toothbrush, toothpaste, deodorant	Dinner is a group event.	Toothpaste and aerosols count as liquids.
Travel detergent	Clean shorts for every ride.	Liquid.
Flip-flops	Wear them in changing rooms and showers.	No limit, just awkward to pack.
Aftersun or unperfumed moisturiser	One of these if you get sunburnt.	Liquid.

Add chamois cream if you normally use one, plus a comb and hair ties for the daily battle with helmet hair. You'll notice the right-hand column says "liquid" a lot. That's the real puzzle, so let's deal with it first.

Can it all go in hand luggage?

Yes, if you're strict about what has to be a liquid. The EU rules for air travellers say liquids in hand luggage must be in containers of no more than 100 ml, inside one transparent, resealable one-litre bag. Gels, aerosols, pastes and lotions all count.

So sunscreen, toothpaste and aftersun are in that bag before you've packed a single thing to wash with. Add shampoo, shower gel and face wash and the zip won't close. Something has to give, and it shouldn't be the sunscreen.

That's the moment a solid bar makes sense. A Rinsed bar is one solid 3-in-1 bar for hair, body and face. It isn't a liquid at airport security, so the litre stays free for the things that only come as creams.

Checking in a bike bag anyway? Full-size bottles can ride in there, well wrapped. Airports differ, so check both ends of your trip. We go deeper in can you take soap on a plane and hand luggage only toiletries. Which brings us to the one liquid you'll want more of than the rules allow.

How much sunscreen do you need for a week?

More than one travel tube. The standard health advice is that adults should aim for around 6 to 8 teaspoons of sunscreen to cover the whole body, reapplied every 2 hours. Kit covers part of you. But picture arms, legs, neck and face every morning, plus a top-up at the café stop, seven days running. A 100 ml tube is unlikely to see out the week.

You'll probably need it more than at home, too. UV levels are higher closer to the equator and rise by roughly 10 per cent with every 1,000 metres of altitude. That's a lot to ask of arms that have just spent a Dutch winter in sleeves.

So take one small tube for the first ride, and put a big bottle in the bike bag or buy one when you land. More in our guide to skin care for long days on the bike.

How do you keep shorts clean all week?

Fresh shorts every ride, and out of them quickly afterwards. That's the standard cycling advice: always wear clean shorts for every ride and change out of them as soon as possible. For multi-day riding, the advice is to bring enough pairs or a travel-friendly detergent. Physiotherapists say to get out of your wet chamois as soon as you finish and wash gently. So the coffee on the hotel terrace in your bibs, lovely as it is, comes after the shower.

Seven pairs of bibs is a lot of luggage, though. Three pairs and some detergent do the job. Wash today's pair in the basin after your shower, roll them in a towel to squeeze the water out and hang them by the window. If the saddle area is already complaining, see saddle sores and chamois hygiene.

How do you share a small bathroom?

Keep your own things, keep them few and keep your feet off the floor. Most camps mean a twin room, one shower and two riders who both want it at three o'clock. That's why flip-flops are on the list. You can catch athlete's foot by walking barefoot where someone else has it, especially in changing rooms and showers. The standard health advice is to wear flip-flops there, not to share towels and to dry between your toes.

Then there's the shelf. Two people's shampoo, shower gel and face wash on a ledge the width of a paperback, and one bottle always ends up on its side with the cap open. One bar each is simply less stuff. Let it drain between showers, out of the spray, in a ventilated tin or mesh pouch. Our guide to storing a soap bar has the details.

Whatever ends up on the shelf, the bigger win on camp is speed: off the bike, out of the shorts, into the shower, then food. That routine is in how to wash after training.

How do you pack for the trip home?

Give everything a chance to dry, and separate what can't. You know the last morning: one more short ride, a fast shower, checkout at eleven, and suddenly damp bibs are going in with your clean clothes.

Wash the last shorts the night before, and bring a spare zip bag for whatever is still damp. If you're using a bar, leave it on the windowsill during breakfast, then pop it in its tin. It's solid, so there's nothing to leak on the way home.

A quick word from Alexandre, our founder: I sell bars, so of course I'd say bring one. But honestly, if you already own travel bottles you like, bring those. The bar earns its place when your liquids bag is already full of sunscreen.

For everything else in the suitcase, see our cycling holiday packing list. Riding there with everything strapped to the bike? Bikepacking toiletries is the lighter version.

Summary

A training camp wash bag is short: a wash, sunscreen, SPF lip balm, toothbrush and toothpaste, deodorant, travel detergent, flip-flops and something for sunburn. EU rules limit hand luggage liquids to 100 ml containers in a one-litre bag, so save that space for sunscreen. On camp, the standard advice is clean shorts for every ride and flip-flops in shared showers.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

The facts in this article are based on the sources below, checked in October 2026.

1. Information for air travellers. European Commission, accessed 2026.
2. Sunscreen and sun safety. NHS, 2026.
3. How to apply sunscreen. American Academy of Dermatology, 2025.
4. Radiation: Ultraviolet (UV) radiation. World Health Organization, 2016.
5. Avoiding saddle soreness. British Cycling, accessed 2026.
6. Ask the expert: What can I do about saddle sores?. Cycling UK, 2020.
7. Athlete's foot. NHS, 2024.
8. Sunburn. NHS, 2025.