With temperatures increasing, the day light longer, we’re seeing more and more longer days on the bike. Longer days requires more supplies and a better preparedness if something goes wrong.
There’s no denying I love riding my bike, and having a plethora and variety of bikes to choose from, I can take my adventure in any direction (except west) I want. Feeling up for a road adventure? Sure! Gravel, mountain bike? Anything I want I can do and I’m lucky to live in an area that allows me to do such things straight from my doorstep.
So say I’m planning on a multi-hour adventure with my bike, what type of supplies and tools do I bring with me, and how do I carry it all?! You’ll see a lot of carry over with each ride style, but how I carry the goods changes depending on which bike I ride.
When I go out for a long road ride, what do I bring with me? Since my road bike can carry plenty of water, and I don’t want a pack on my back for road rides, I stick to 2 forms of on the bike carrying. A saddlebag and a handlebar bag, plus my jersey pockets! When I go for a gravel ride I wear a small hydration pack that will carry the contents from my saddlebag (except for my tube, that gets strapped to the underside of my saddle). Mountain bike rides will carry all the contents I need in a larger hydration pack.
What’s in my saddlebag/hydration pack?
I use the Ortlieb Micro Two saddle bag. It’s waterproof for those wet days, and it fits everything I need to put in it, plus more. When I go for a gravel ride I like to use a smaller vest style hydration pack. I use the Osprey Dyna 1.5 running vest. Why a running vest? I love that it has pockets in the front for my snacks, and it also sits high enough on my torso that it allows me to still access my jersey pockets. Some mountain bike specific vests from other companies I have tried didn’t fit me well and covered my jersey pockets, a major pet peeve of mine! The only downside to this small pack is it doesn’t fit a lot of extras. So any extra clothing I bring doesn’t fit. When I head out for a longer mountain bike ride I lean towards packing up my Evoc CC 6L hydration pack and usually carries everything I’ll need for the ride (you’ll see in my list below).
I always carry a tube even though I run tubeless.
A small bottle of Stan’s sealant + valve core remover. My preference is to run tubeless, so my tube is my last resort to fix a flat.
Stan’s dart - tire plug for extra large gashes where your tire needs a little more than sealant alone.
An extra derailleur hanger, because you never know.
Quick link for my chain, again, you never know!
Multi-tool. I use the Crankbrothers M19 since it has so many options and everything I could possibly need.
I always keep a couple dollars cash in there as well, and it’s where I’ll stash my I.D. along with a C.C.
If it’s going to be a hot day and I’ll be sweating a lot I’ll toss in a sunglass cleaner/wipe as well.
I’ll stash a “just in case” Clif bar back there too, especially if I know the day is going to be long!
For extra long off road rides in dry places I’ll stash a little WD-40 BIKE Dry Lube sample into my pack for a mid ride maintenance.
What’s in my handlebar bag?
I run the Ornot Handlebar Bag Mini. I felt like since I ride an XS bike, the normal size would be too big for my bike, so I went with the mini. By all means, you can run a bigger handlebar bag and you could fit even more goods in there! I keep my handlebar bag to my drop bar bikes, either my road bike or my gravel bike.
There is where I stash my Epipens. I’m allergic to bees, and since it’s bee season I can never be too prepared. I also include some Benedryl in there as well.
In times of COVID-19 I keep a small hand sanitizer in there as well.
This is also where I like to stash my snacks! I can fit so many snacks in here! This is so great because it leaves my pockets less stashed and full. Who likes riding with overly weighted pockets anyways?
My mini-pump. I use the Crankbrothers Gem. It’s small, compact and does the job. Plus, I haven’t lost it yet!
Chap stick. ALWAYS!
In times of COVID-19, a mask!
What’s in my jersey pockets?
When I mountain bike around here I stick to baggies because spandex sticks out like a sore thumb, so I generally don’t have pockets full of store when mountain biking. I do have a warning, the cargo pockets on the side of your baggies are NOT for multi-tools or phones. They’re simply for looks or squishy food items. Crashing on a multi-tool doesn’t feel good. Take it from me.
My cell phone. Always.
In times of COVID-19 I carry a flexible water bottle in my pocket that will squeeze down once empty. With water fountains being shut off in my local area, and not really sure what stores are open, I find it best to rely on only yourself.
FOOD! I’ll do a separate post on what I eat because that deserves it’s own post! Generally consists of Clif bar product, and handmade snacks.
My Go Pro! Sometimes I like to pack my Go Pro on rides to capture any solid video or photos of epic adventures.
What about extras?
Depending on where I plan to adventure for the day, for how long and the temperatures, I like to bring along a Steripen. It’s a little UV light pen that sterilizes water so its drinkable. When looking for water to fill your bottles, make sure you fill with clean running water, not stagnant pond water. :)
A first aid kit is also not a bad idea to pack for full day adventures, you never know what could go wrong in the woods.
Bug spray! Mosquitos love me, and I don’t love them, so I typically have bug spray in some form with me when I go into the woods in the summer.
If you’re into changing your suspension air mid ride, a shock pump is another tool you could toss into your pack.
Now that you have all the tools you need, get out there an adventure!!!