Conference travel is probably a bit different from normal long-distance cycling. So add any specific tips you can think of, below.
General cycling kit
Very good suggestions from Alan:
- Have a decent bike, in full working order.
- Have a repair kit - don't rely on someone else having one.
- Know how to use said repair kit.
- Wear proper clothes for cycling.
- Cycle in daylight, unless absolutely necessary.
Bags
Altura's Morph backpack has a padded laptop pocket, and other slimline pockets: useful for electronics, paperwork etc. but not so useful for clothing! It has an elasticated panel that can be swapped round to hide the pannier fitting and turn it into a backpack.
The specialized Brompton C bag has a slim pocket for laptops, but it's not very padded.
Maps
Paper
The "ordnance survey" maps are excellent for UK travel (arguably some of the best). The large-scale ones can be quite expensive for a long journey.
Mapping/routing services
See the Tour de Drublin wiki page.
OsmAnd is good mapping, but its offline routing can crash on long journeys (too many decisions to make!)
Dedicated GPS
I've heard good reviews of the Garmin Edge 520 and 820. The former only does line-following; the latter can do on-the-fly directions.
The TomTom Runner 2 is good for just recording GPS; it doesn't do routing.
Remember that phone GPS can be good, but you do need a phone, as a phone!