My mom still calls me most nights and asks if my doors are locked, if I'm scared, and tells me to go to sleep. Definitely if she's seen something about a murder or rape on the news. My biking does freak her out - but she's more worried about me being hit by car.

That being said - I do carry more than you do, especially on longer rides... and especially if I'm going alone. I do tend to ride in rural farm land, and the closest friends/relatives that I'd feel comfortable calling to come rescue me live an hour away. Now, I suppose there's co-workers who live near me, who'd be fine with coming to rescue me... But I feel bad about the "Yeah, I don't really hang out with you, but I'm willing to use you when I need help" and am not likely to do that unless I absolutely have to and if I absolutely have to, I'm probably injured to the extent that I need a first aid kit.

I tend to just keep a bag packed for biking, have another that I keep packed for hiking, and another for skiing, and there's a set in a dry bag for my kayak ... And pretty much they all have the same basic supplies.

I have a deuter race x air 1 backpack/hydration pack that I carry with:
- small multitool with knife in it (I have a couple different leatherman's... one stays in my hiking backpack, one stays in my biking backpack, one stays in my car)
- bike tool
- chain tool
- spare chain connector (I use sram chains, so their powerlock thingie)
- spare innertube, patches, a tire sleeve in case a tire splits (on longish rides, I will sometimes toss a spare tire in... just because I once passed some guy whose tire had split open and he was calling his sister to come get him)
- my cell phone
- a gps (I like having a track log)
- water
- a small first aid kit with tweezers & a suture kit
- some ibuprofen
- some duct tape (you can roll it around itself and use it for splinting or emergency repairs, whatever - and if you have to duct tape a wound closed, it works)
- a couple velcro straps
- a cliff bar or two, some cliff shot blocks
- one of those thermal blankets
- a lightweight wind/rain shell (I use the arc'teryx squamish pullover, extremely light... ), depending on the season I'll have a wool layer in my bag.
- a map
- a blinky light, a dot stick:
http://www.amazon.com/Sylvania-DOT-S...0016844&sr=8-1
- a headlamp for the bike
- a reflective striping vest
- a kit of waterproof matches
- road ID
- a credit card
- a few dollars
- safety whistles just attach to my pack.


My deuter pack isn't that big, it does have a vented back panel so my back doesn't get sweaty, and yeah, it's probably a few more pounds... but there's more than a few spare pounds on me and I like the peace of mind. And most things have been added to the pack in response to something on a trip and realizing "oh crap, it would have been really handy to have that..."