Finally asking for help after 6 years of tours

Hello all. I decided to make a reddit post about my experiences with biketouring after doing it for a while without any consultation. Most years I have stuck to touring Finland, but have gone abroad within the EU twice.

This year I might end up going abroad once again, but with a companion who is quite clueless about touring on a bike. 

I suppose I am hoping to receive advice, questions and ridicule for the sake of learning something useful.

Most importantly I'd like advice on how to avoid getting too much pain in the knees. Feels like I overdo it year after year and end up needing painkillers.

Anyways, here are some pictures:

1. A bus stop I slept on before getting camping gear. My starter setup was just tying my school backpack with minimal gear on the bike rack with a singular bungee cord.

2. My travel hammock and “rain shield”, I have since gotten an actual tarp. I mostly wildcamp during travels outside of the occasional visit to a hotel or a friend. Maybe I should try out proper camping sites in the future?

3. I thought a funny way to tour Finland was to visit every outlet of this grocery store chain. That goal was completed for about a month until they opened a new one. oh well.

4. Just curious if any international travelers might actually recognize this tree without me even giving away the location.

5. Upgraded my backpack to a bigger one. Feels like I end up with more and more gear every year. Notably, despite using the same shoes for my 2nd year abroad, my big toes got infected with pus and I had to buy sandals to keep them from getting worse. On the first international trip shoes we not an issue, but I also got sick very early on(possibly even covid). Thankfully I managed to continue. 

Related: How important are travel insurance and vaccinations for touring within the EU?

1. The backpack may or may not have been overloaded(useless red circles i know i know)

2. Ended up having to wrap the backpack into my “survival blanket” for the rest of the trip, which was what I was doing on rainy days anyways(so almost every day, of course). Also i had realized that my drink holder is perfect for holding a can of pringles.

My travel diet consists of some of the most unhealthy items imaginable: junk food, chips/peanuts, pastries/cookies and bananas. Maybe i should carry some rations instead of shopping for “food” and eating out every day, but I really don't like the idea of increasing the cargo even further. However when travelling in a group, maybe there will be extra space. How does everyone else eat during their travels?

1. Last year I ended up travelling with a duffel bag instead of a backpack. The space in bag was just about perfect. However, I recall that summer trip being quite wobbly, but maybe I was just loading it poorly. Should this be the year I finally budge and acquire some panniers?

Sorry for such a long post. I hope everyone has a great summer!