Long Distance Competition/Ultracycling, Randonneuring and Endurance Cycling - Drop bags

Just wondering what people usually pack when putting together a drop bag for cycling?

I would assume the obvious thing's such as spare clothing and food. But what else do you usally use if you use a drop bag system on ultra's?

I usually start (in the dark) with a minimal headlight, so in my drop bag I pack all the lights for the night stages (usually but not always longer than the morning darkness), plus a can of Red Bull or the equivalent for a late-ride caffiene boost.

That's for California doubles, where the food is otherwise provided.

Rick / OCRR

Just wondering what people usually pack when putting together a drop bag for cycling?One way to think about your drop bag needs is to place yourself in the same frame of mind you would be as if you had just completed riding.

I usually think in terms of all the things I like to do when I finish a ride. Stuff like slippers, clean up stuff as well as recovery snacks or foods. If you can remember what you need and like after a ride, you'll know what you're likely to want when you lay over on a brevet.

I've only ever used drop bags on 1200K events, and not even on all of them ... anything shorter and I carry it all with me.

But on 1200K events, I include:
-- a little bag of shower stuff (small towel, liquid soap, toothbrush & paste)
-- a change of shorts, jersey & socks, and sometimes a warmer cycling top
-- some extra tubes & a folding tire
-- some extra batteries
-- a bit of food, sometimes including a treat like a can of cashews or something
-- a very small sleeping bag

On 1200K events, I actually prefer fewer drop bags. For example, on an out-and-back event, I like one drop bag at about the 400 km point so I can hit that bag twice on the route. The reason I prefer fewer drop bags is because the more bags I have the more fussing with them I seem to do before the ride and during the ride. I end up wasting time with them, and I inevitably make mistakes by packing something in one bag which should have been in another ... or thinking I've got something in the bag at the next control, only to discover it's in the next bag up the road.

Depends on when and how often you're going to see your bag(s), and what your goal(s) for the ride are. How's that for vague? ;)

Mine tend to include tubes, food, batteries, replacement lights, a tire, extra CO2, cue sheets, extra cycling glasses, contact lenses, and some of the comfort items mentioned by others above. I also throw a variety of clothing items in there so I'm covered no matter what the weather is doing and I can make a "game-time" call about what to change into and what (if anything) to carry for the next leg of the ride. On the Shen 1200, I threw the charger for my Moab into the bag that I had for the second night, which let me recharge the light while I slept. I usually also pack clean, empty water bottles, since bottles tend to get nasty after a few hundred miles and washing bottles is low on my to-do list in the middle of a ride.

Note that on RUSA/ACP rides, you're required to carry your night stuff (lights, reflective gear) at all times (I believe the rule is for all rides 300K and longer, no matter whether you might be fast enough to ride the event entirely in daylight, but I defer to someone who can dig up the actual requirement). In UMCA and other ultra rides, stashing your lights and night stuff strategically so you don't have to haul it during the day tends to be permitted.

like others i stash the usual stuff (tubes, tires, food, etc) in my drop bag.

for this summers 600k's i used an ortleib backpack, nothing fancy. keeping it small allowed me to ride to some of the rides, and also not pack too much!

Note that on RUSA/ACP rides, you're required to carry your night stuff (lights, reflective gear) at all times (I believe the rule is for all rides 300K and longer, no matter whether you might be fast enough to ride the event entirely in daylight, but I defer to someone who can dig up the actual requirement). In UMCA and other ultra rides, stashing your lights and night stuff strategically so you don't have to haul it during the day tends to be permitted.

This does not appear in the RUSA rules for riders (http://www.rusa.org/brvreg.html), nor for either of the randonneuring groups that I ride with. Instead, the rules state that for night riding or other times when visibility is impaired you have to have the lights and gear on.

Other randonneuring groups may have more restrictive rules (BC randonneurs does have the requirement you state, although it is waived for rides less than 200k -- http://www.randonneurs.bc.ca/introduction/rules.html )

I was on a recent 200k that unexpectedly extended an hour into full darkness due to the 25-35 mph winds we encountered, and was very glad I had my lights and gear. One rider did not, but we were able to come up with a complete set of reflective wear and lights from the other 5 riders' spares, luckily, or he would have been in trouble.

Several years ago I was on a 300k with drop bag support in a neutral sag vehicle that was leap-frogging between controls. Three riders took advantage of that support to stash their lights for the day, lightening their load. As twilight came on they realized that the sag vehicle wasn't where they needed it, and they had to buy flashlights and borrow spares to be able to continue. Again everyone was able to continue, but their lights were minimal at best and they had problems seeing very well.

Mark W

Several years ago I was on a 300k with drop bag support in a neutral sag vehicle that was leap-frogging between controls. Three riders took advantage of that support to stash their lights for the day, lightening their load. As twilight came on they realized that the sag vehicle wasn't where they needed it, and they had to buy flashlights and borrow spares to be able to continue. Again everyone was able to continue, but their lights were minimal at best and they had problems seeing very well.


I've heard of similar things happening with jackets. People leave a jacket in a drop bag figuring they'll reach their next drop bag, or get back to that drop bag, before it starts to cool off ... and a storm rolls in, or something happens to delay them ... and there they are out in the middle of nowhere freezing to death and/or soaking wet.

Something like that happened on one of my mountain 600Ks. My father was supporting me, and at one control it was quite warm and I knew I had a lot of climbing coming up, so I handed over my jacket. Then my father drove to the next control. I topped the first pass, and encountered rain, hail, and snowflurries. I was scrambling to put together something to make the descent more bearable!!

Mark W, thanks for checking the RUSA rules on the lighting issue. I was incorrect in assuming that it was a RUSA rule; turns out that it's just been a rule with all of the rando groups I've done rides with. Some of them, in fact, have pretty strict bike checks and you'll be made to show your lights, reflective stuff, and spare batteries to pass the inspection. Best practices, then, is to check the rules of any group you're riding with to make sure that you don't get caught out by a local rule that's different from what your own local group does!