From the article: Everything Else You Need on a Bike Ride
In addition to the lucky seven items you should always have with you on a bike ride (spare tube, tire levers, patch kit, pump/CO2, ID card, multi-tool and cell phone), there are lots of strange and wonderful things that people carry along with them that to make their bike rides safer, more comfortable or more convenient. Share what you carry to make your ride easier, safer, or more care-free. Share What You Carry
more ideas of what to carry
- I go out in the woods, so I usually have a small vial of bug spray and also a small binoculars for bird watching, since not only do I enjoy the ride, but also my rest times and the beauty of destination.
- —Guest Kate NH
not strange, just basic.
- Mobile, ID, drivers license, credit card, at least $10, headphones, water.
- —Guest Julian
Boy Scout stuff
- Added basic stuff: Safety pin (for ripped clothes, or to get a nanoshard out of the tire). Wet wipe. Credit card. Instant patch (for a quick roadside fix, it is easier than the glue & rubber kind even though it only gets you home). For the touring cyclist: Extra inner tube and CO2 cartridge. Chain breaker (try it out on an old chain to make sure you can actually use it). Spare chain links (when you installed your last one, save the excess). Extra screws, sized for cleats, bottle cage, and jockey wheel. 6-inch zip ties. Presta/Schraeder converter. 1st Aid pack (wallet size). Salt tablet. Tampon. Toilet paper. Sunscreen (if you are out for more than 4 hours). Spare spoke (make sure your multitool spoke wrench really works). Chain whip (in case the broken spoke is rear drive side. Get the little portable one, and try it out). Bike lube in an eyedrop bottle. Small roll of duct or electrical tape. Derailleur cable. Cable lock. Small vice grip with cable cutter that cuts bike cable
- —fullcommitment
Tube Trials
- Don't just put a spare tube in your seat bag straight out of the box. Be sure to take it out of the box, put talc on it, and repack it so the threads on the stem will not rub on the tube with road vibration. Also be sure to inflate the tube slightly when you first unroll it just to be sure there are no "manufacturer's defects" Before starting this ritual, I've had several occasions where my spare tube(s) was bad when I needed it most!
- —oldgrad
Grey Biker Ireland
- I have to take spare Glasses as I am Half Blind without them being Short Sighted. It might never Happen but If I was Tired and stopped to Wipe my Specs they could fall down a Hillside. On my latest Bike the Front Reflector is on the Handlebar and it makes an Excellent Holder for Wedging Tissues to, to Wipe the Sweat off my Head instead of Rubbing it with the Thumbs of my Cycling Gloves. I dont know about other People but with me on Long Rides especially Down the Country I get a Watery Nose and sometimes I get a fit of Sneezing and I always End up trying to Wipe my Nose off Something to Hand which is usually my Thumb on my Gloves. So having Tissues always to Hand on the Handlebars is Great. I never seem to have Kleenex Type Tissues at Home so I usually take a good Handful of Toilet Tissues with me and a Clean Linen Hanky for my Glasses.
- —Guest Jack
It helps
- to have a pen and paper. To write down the things you want to be sure you have the next time. A small spiral bound notepad is good. A short pencil can be carried in the spiral. rich
- —RichAllen
GreyBiker
- I forgot to mention Bring a Map and perhaps even a Field Compass and a Compass for Measuring the Distance on your Map it has a Pencil and Pointer. The Cheap Plastic Bic ones with a Pencil and Pointer Arm nothing Elaborate. Emergency Rations of EnergyBars Like Muesli Rice and Nut and Honey Bars or even some Dried Dates or Figs for Energy.Avoid the Bars with Salt or Fat or Additives.
- —Guest Jack
Grey Biker,Ireland
- You need Spare Batteries for your Lights or better still a Hub Dynamo for the Long Ride down the Country. In my Country outside the Cities it is Pitch Black, I was recently caught out in the Wicklow Mountains in Ireland when the front Light Failed. I had to keep turning off the ight when Walking up the steep hills to conserve Power for Cycling. I had to put on my HI VIZ Yellow Vest. I was glad of the Street Lighting when I came to a small Village or Town. The Light did not totally Fail but got Dim and Renewed itself after being switched off. I had no Problems with the Rear Light. I have bought a set of Reelights that has Magnets that Connects to your Front and Back wheels and has a White and Red Lights for Front and Rear. It is a back up for your main Lights and does not use Batteries at all but Induction and Twinkles on an off. They look a bit Daggy and I am afraid they do not switch off but it is a great Idea if Travelling in the Countryside .
- —Guest Jack.
