I like cycling. I find that riding a bicycle is a carefree and fun experience. It's a liberating and refreshing feeling, to leave the baggage of day to day life behind (both physical and emotional) and concentrate on a simple activity.
When cycling I carry three things; a phone (for emergencies), the house keys (for domestic access purposes) and some cash (for emergencies or beverages). I know that some cyclists carry a few more things than I do, my friend Bees carries a puncture repair kit, for example, and my friend Brad carries a pie (probably).
Today I got a puncture; fortunately I got home before the tyre deflated. So this evening I looked at an online cycling forum to see if anyone could recommend a puncture repair kit. In the thread I was looking at, one rider stated that in addition to carrying a puncture repair kit when he rode, he also carried a spare inner tube. The next man posted this response:
I carry this :-
I carry this :-
1 P*ncture repair kit
1 allan keys
1 set of tyre levers + 2 spare
3 inner tubes
Folding tyre
Tyre patches
1 small head torch in winter
marigold gloves
Small length of chain (3 inches)
1 small chain tool
Cassette tool and chain whip
Spare spokes
Kevlar spoke
hypercracker
Spare nuts, bolts, powerlinks
Wire cutters
Pliers
2 small screw drivers
Small sockets to fit screw driver handle
First aid kit with triangular bandage paracetamol, co-codamol, gaviscon tablets
Batteries for rear light and computer and bulbs
Small tyre pump (not mini)
1 Co2 pump
Zip ties
spare keys for house, bike locks
Phone
Pen and paper
10 sheets of kitchen roll
Very small bottle of hand cleaner
Insulation tape
£5 in small change
Small roll of gaffer tape
Brake and gear cables
Spare bite valve for camalbac
Small roll string
Spare gloves
I find almost every item on this list baffling, it raises more questions than I could possibly go into here, I'll limit myself to one query.
1 allan keys
1 set of tyre levers + 2 spare
3 inner tubes
Folding tyre
Tyre patches
1 small head torch in winter
marigold gloves
Small length of chain (3 inches)
1 small chain tool
Cassette tool and chain whip
Spare spokes
Kevlar spoke
hypercracker
Spare nuts, bolts, powerlinks
Wire cutters
Pliers
2 small screw drivers
Small sockets to fit screw driver handle
First aid kit with triangular bandage paracetamol, co-codamol, gaviscon tablets
Batteries for rear light and computer and bulbs
Small tyre pump (not mini)
1 Co2 pump
Zip ties
spare keys for house, bike locks
Phone
Pen and paper
10 sheets of kitchen roll
Very small bottle of hand cleaner
Insulation tape
£5 in small change
Small roll of gaffer tape
Brake and gear cables
Spare bite valve for camalbac
Small roll string
Spare gloves
I find almost every item on this list baffling, it raises more questions than I could possibly go into here, I'll limit myself to one query.
Marigold gloves + spare gloves (non-Marigold)? That's six gloves! That's too many. What are the Marigold gloves for anyway? I've encountered many things when cycling; cows, horses, badly driven cars, fallen trees. What I've never encountered is the washing up. Not even a couple of spoons and a bowl. Never.
If you wish to query any of the other items on the list, please do so via the comments section.
