What are your "must haves"?

[cylegoddess]

I would like to add my two cents!

I agree with Zen, as to me - a 20 mile ride IS LONG. Im frail, still and although I would love to be able to get by with a banana and a bottle of electrolytes, it takes me a while to cycle that. I cant eat at cafes due to allergies so have to carry food stocks, like Im riding bush rides.

My work commute is about 45 - 50 min ( about 25 km) but I add for that( Im a pack rat linus person anyhow!)

codeine ( I get migraines too)
sunscreen( a nifty tiny tube, for lips ears and nose, as we have high skin cancer here)
contact lens solution( as my eyes turn bright red and scare the cafe people without it.)
a towel( to shower before work)
whatever work clothes I need
wallet( with too much crap in it.)

So its pannier time.

I do agree with the race chick, less can be good. Im working on that!
but I think taking bike into shops is a no no here( as much as I like the idea of not letting it out of my sight) the Mall is gonna have other ideas, sadly.( I mean , why shouldnt I take my bike? People take their prams, and wheelchairs but I digress..) A lock is essential sometimes. I do admire someone who breaks the non bike barriers, good on ya!
I dont carry patches, rather tubes as my best riding bud, said - those dont work so well for road bikes. Besides tubes are cheap.
Sadly, I get cold, even in summer so I am always carrying around heaps of clothes I am shedding and re-wearing, Its annoying but from a virus so cant be fixed. I was once insulted by a cycle shop mech who sneered at my pile of jumpers in a pannier , on a 28 km ride. I had a two hour wait,later at a friends and wore them all later that day. I would love to be someone who sets off like those gorgeously fast riders in packs that whip around in shorts and a jacket, on frosty mornings( and ride my commute in like 25 minutes!)

I also had a handsome guy rider give me a spare tube cap. People who have spares rock, if your one of them, I love you! I have ADD and I KNOW someday I will lose my rear ,even clutching it with both hands so someday, I may need you kind people!
And racers, someday I hope to be like you . Lean,mean riding machines with a banana and bottle of water( and NO BAGS!)

[ZenSojourner]

Sadly, I get cold, even in summer so I am always carrying around heaps of clothes I am shedding and re-wearing, Its annoying but from a virus so cant be fixed. I was once insulted by a cycle shop mech who sneered at my pile of jumpers in a pannier , on a 28 km ride. I had a two hour wait,later at a friends and wore them all later that day.

I get cold too, its being hypothyroid. I've never actually tried to carry around extra clothes because if it won't fit in my camelbak or the seat bag I generally leave it.

Although with the rear racks permanently mounted now, there's no reason I couldn't stick a sweater in a dry bag and take it with me if I'm on a ride where I'll be stopping off at a shop or restaurant.

People who don't get cold really don't understand people who do. Imagine being stuck in a walk in freezer for hours. The warmth just leaches out and the cold bites into your bones and you cannot get warm no matter what you do - that's what it's like for me more often than not. I am cold ALL the time, often even when I'm wearing a sweater and people around me are too hot.

Getting caught in a summer shower is like being forced to take an ice bath for me.

I hate it when somebody is rude to you like your bike mechanic. I am NOT thin and I doubt I ever will be again, but I get around pretty well nevertheless. I was on a SAGged ride a couple of years ago where this guy and his friends kept passing me, and every time he'd pass me, he'd come up from behind and start barking at me, "Woof! Woof! Woof woof woof woof WOOF!"

His friends weren't doing it but they weren't telling him to shut up either.

And btw, it just occurred to me, if he was all that as a cyclist and I'm such a dog, how the heck did I keep getting ahead of him? I didn't realize it, but they must have been passing me on the climbs and then I was passing them on the flats. Never heard a word out of them when I passed them, I guess that's why I didn't realize before how this was happening.

[Heifzilla]

I was on a SAGged ride a couple of years ago where this guy and his friends kept passing me, and every time he'd pass me, he'd come up from behind and start barking at me, "Woof! Woof! Woof woof woof woof WOOF!"

OMG, I would NOT have been able to keep my mouth shut and he would have been calling me the female version of "woof" at me afterwards

[ZenSojourner]

Well normally I would have too, but this was the first ride of the season, they were passing me on long climbs, and at that point I didn't have the BREATH to cuss 'em out, LOL!

[ny biker]

I didn't say you were hostile. I said you were snarky. You're the one who accused me of being hostile.

Frankly this is not a subject that ought to require a dialogue, but that's ok, someone else has done it for you.

Clearly you think it's OK to criticize someone else's choices and make personal remarks. That's fine (well actually it's not but whatever), but when you do so, you should not be surprised when someone responds unhappily.

I'm really curious as to why a tiny minority of people on here think it's ok to jump all over someone (me) for something that is clearly a matter of personal taste. I'm not the one telling anyone what to do here, all I did was report what *I* do. Take it or leave it, but it's frankly none of your business to "correct" me for what I choose to put in my seat bag, or whether or not I choose to use a camelbak, or carry spare valve caps, or anything else that was on my list.

What are you talking about?

I did not criticize you or correct you. I was not snarky. I asked a question, and I presented my thoughts which were in contrast to yours. And yes, it is okay to disagree with someone or indicate that you do things differently. What is not okay is to jump all over someone for responding with a differing viewpoint.

[SadieKate]

Sk-thanks for the coolio seat like Madame Snap has.

I forgot I sent that to the crazy lady down under.

All the long road rides around here have no food and water for purchase, so I started using my Detours High Tail more frequently and got very spoiled by not having all that weight in my jersey (not to mention I can actually pull something out of a pocket while riding). Love the thing. This coming from someone who was raised in a culture to use only tiny bike bags, your pockets and short white socks.

And I noticed DeTours now has tres cool new recycled bags. Hmm, I have a new mixte still be to be accessorized for maximum around town shopping expeditions.

[Brandy]

What are my must haves?

Flat repair kit (2 tubes, CO2, chuck, boot, one lever which are neatly bound by electrical tape) which I can shove in my middle pocket

ipod

gels (if it's a 3+ hour ride)

2 bottles

Showers Pass Protech shell (if it's cold and looking like rain) which I shove under my jersey when I'm not wearing it, though it could fit in a pocket if I have a free one.


I get by without a seat bag on most of my rides. If I ride in the mountains, I throw it on the bike because it leaves an extra pocket for additional gels.

[ZenSojourner]

What are you talking about?

I did not criticize you or correct you. I was not snarky. I asked a question, and I presented my thoughts which were in contrast to yours. And yes, it is okay to disagree with someone or indicate that you do things differently. What is not okay is to jump all over someone for responding with a differing viewpoint.

You know very well what I'm talking about.

This is a lot of stuff. You carry extra shorts and gloves on every ride over 50 miles?

I try to strike a balance between being prepared and keeping the overall weight of bike+rider to a minimum. I have enough trouble getting up hills without extra stuff weighing me down.

I responded that if you thought that little bit - everything fits in my seat bag or in my camelbak - is going to weigh you down so much that you won't be able to get up the hills, maybe training was what you needed?

That was ALSO posed as a "question", but it was no more a real question than yours was.

I found it to be sarcastic in a sort of petty way, which is how I defined snarky, and I snarked right back.

Note that I also started the whole response with a remark about MY OWN weight, so I wasn't really going after you anymore than I was "going after" myself.

Now if I had TRULY been pissed off - which I was not, just annoyed - I either wouldn't have responded at all or I'd have taken a long time to do so.

However, since then this constant bickering back and forth over two snarky postings, neither one of which should really ever have been posted, has gotten just plain silly.

So here's what, I should never have responded to the first posting. It was a minor, petty snarky comment and it was petty and snarky of me to respond in kind.

Mea culpa. I apologize.

Hopefully that's an end to it.

[snapdragen]

Mea culpa. I apologize.

Hopefully that's an end to it.

ZenS and nyc biker:

If it's not, I will step in.

Thank you.

[smurfalicious]

On a womanly note, if you have any sporadiac cycle issue, a compact size tampon is nice to have in the saddle bag.

Tee hee! <sarcasm> as a stick up my butt, elitist, spandex wearing, "you are not worthy to polish my carbon fiber with your ExOfficio panties" racer snob I've found that my IUD is a much better solution. Not only is it incredibly lightweight, but I don't have periods anymore. I find this to be insanely beneficial to my rigorous training schedule of "Hmmm, today looks like a good day for a ride," and my strenuous weight lifting program of long neck bottle lifts (6 reps thankyouverymuch!). </sarcasm>

Kitchen sink bringers might do well to avoid looking at this. I got this bag from the Topeak rep and I love it!

http://www.topeak.com/products/Bags/ProPackMicro

It holds a tube, my Park MT-1 "multi-tool," CO2 cartridge and levers. If I really beat on it I can get some chapstick in there. I suppose for anything above 50 miles I might switch to my slightly larger bag and take two tubes, two CO2 just in case.

Otherwise I throw my Jimi wallet in my back pocket with my phone, some grub in said pockets and call it good.

I can empathize with those who bring what seems to others as a lot of stuff. I was very much the same way for a long time and then inevitably I'd regularly forget something, or it would get taken out of the pack and a few rides would go by and I'd realize I didn't need it.

I took an outdoor living skills/survival class a while back and one of our outings was to simulate being lost on a day hike. We had to have our packs weighed beforehand, couldn't be over ten pounds. Essentially an extra layer or two and snacks was all we could bring. So we had to build and sleep in emergency shelters in November, at 3500 feet.

Perhaps that has an impact on my minimalist packing. Sure I could bring a boo boo kit, but is a bandaid going to really make my scraped up palms feel any better riding home? Probably not. Major flesh wounds will be addressed with whatever piece of apparel fits the bill, and in that case my phone will do lots more good.

And to this day whenever I travel I bring oh, about ten pairs more socks and underwear than I could possibly need. Why? Because once when I was young I had to spend a week at my dad's and forgot underwear. It was awful and despite only being 15-20 miles from my mom's I didn't dare say anything to my dad because uh, well I haven't talked to him in 8 years if that says anything. Inside out underwear, not too terribly uncomfortable though.

[Biciclista]

I have to let you guys know that if i am going to be on a ride that is going to last more than a few hours and therefore, with more than one temperature, I'm going to bring extra gloves too. Why why would i rough it? gloves don't weigh anything. I might bring 2 extra pairs! and you know what, when it gets hot out, my hands get icky and sweaty. how nice to change gloves.

And bandaids? most of the people I ride with carry little first aid kits. Maybe I'm going to be home in 30 minutes, but maybe i'm going to be out all day. And just maybe, I'm going to run into a 10 year old who just crashed his bike! he might like a bandaid.

If i am riding with faster friends, I will wear a camelbak in the summertime even for a 25 mile ride. Why? I can drink at my leisure and in comfort.

I have a buddy who carries practically everything and the kitchen sink. He and a friend were on a 200k ride where something broke in the crank. My friend had EVERYTHING they needed to fix it and they completed the ride.
I REALLY like riding with that guy.

I agree with some of the other posters on here. Each of us is entitled to having our VERY own list of what we feel we "MUST HAVE" on a ride. I see no need to critique other people's lists. what they carry on their bike is their prerogative.

[Grits]

Along with the basics for fuel, tire changing and ID, I carry a baggie with some various sized bandaids, including some really big ones, some antiseptic wipes, a few ibuprofin, and a papertowel.

I was with a friend when she crashed, and we used just about everything in my little baggie. Fortunately, she was not seriously hurt, and it was not necessary to call an ambulance or anything, but it sure was nice to be able to bandage up that road rash. I scraped my leg one time on a ride, and the rest of the ride was much more enjoyable since I was able to put something on the cut and not have blood running down my leg and messing up my cute Sock Guy socks.

[Redhed]

Hello,
This is my first post, so pretty please be nice! I've been considering commuting to/from work (right now I only ride on the weekends/evenings on road/easy MTB trails). I work rotating 12-hour shifts from 5.30 AM to 5.30 PM (or vice versa), so depending on the time of year, one or both of my rides to/from work are in the dark. Given this, I was searching the web for must haves for nighttime commuter biking and came across this thread....

Does no one ride in the dark? No one mentioned carrying or having installed lights or reflectors on their bikes?! Are they just not helpful? Right now, I have two LEDs installed on the front and back of my bike and they are useful at dusk, but I haven't yet used them at night. Do you think they will be enough or should I get something else?

Any other helpful suggestions?

As for the OP's question, I usually have the following with me on any sort of ride:

helmet
sunglasses
gloves
ID
keys
$$
water
some sort of food
vitamin B
extra socks (I have a thing about sweaty socks)
bike lock (we frequently stop for beers at a brewery on the way back from a ride in a semi-seedy spot)

[crazycanuck]

hey there!

I'll be nice .

I think lights weren't mentioned possibly because: one has them on thier bike permanently or most folks were just thinking day riding?? For back lights, I have one on my bike & one on the back of my helmet. For front lights, I have a good set of Ay-up lights. Since I normally only use helmet lights (can't see with them mounted on my handlebars), these ones are great!

Yes, there are other brands but since i'm in Australia, Ay-ups are very very popular.

I would ensure that i'm visible front and back!!! Don't take your safety lightly when you ride at night. (ok, that's for all times as well but esp at night)

Just remember not to blind anyone with your lights.

Have fun wweeeeeeeeeeeee

[wildeny]

I started to ride a "longer" distance for pleasure in the end of Jan last year (I have commuted by bike since 2002). I had patch kit, tire levers & multi-tools in my saddle bag but didn't carry a pump This Feb, after bought my 2nd bike I carried a mini pump too. This year I ride more often by myself so I really need to be prepared.

What I must have:
* Mini pump (only 15cm in length)
* Patch kit
* Tire levers
* Multi-tools
* Plain water (one bottle for up to 30km and two for more than 30+ if I cannot refill somewhere)
* Cellphone
* Local map (optional -- when I explore a new route)
* a little money/key

I'm going to add an inner tube in my bag too. I'm thinking about carry a CO2 inflator as well, because I'm afraid that the mini pump is difficult to pump up enough pressure for road tires.

I wear helmet & gloves. My butt doesn't hurt much for a distance less than 100 km

I normally don't carry food for distance less than 60 km, but recently I start to put one or two candies for distance more than 40 km. Just in case.