Long Distance Competition/Ultracycling, Randonneuring and Endurance Cycling - Necessities fir long distance.

Just curious, when riding long distance, what are the absolute necessities that you should bring along?. I am gonna do my first century in a couple of weeks, and would like some input.

Thanks

You don't need a lot for a century, but it will all depend on the weather #1 and if there are resources (shops or stations) along the way. Pick the necessities from these (http://www.veloweb.ca/randopages/randokit.html).

If it's a supported century, you can get away with the bare minimum:

Seat bag with a tube, a patch kit, levers, and a CO2 (or a pump, whatever you prefer). They'll have water and food at all the support stops along the way.

I was gonna ride from san luis obispo, ca to santa barbara, ca by myself. Do you thinkit would be wise to bring more than one inner tube?

I was gonna ride from san luis obispo, ca to santa barbara, ca by myself. Do you thinkit would be wise to bring more than one inner tube?

I'm always paranoid, so my repair kit has 2 tubes and a Park GP2 patch kit.

For a century, the only thing I do different is bring 2 tubes instead of 1, but only if I'm going to be doing a loop that brings me far from home or where the roads are not as good as they are here.

resources along the way will dictate the food/water end of things. weather, the clothing. experience will be your best teacher, here - with the understanding that more than likely you'll do like i did initially, and bring WAY too much stuff on my first century.

my bare minimum:
1 tube and patch kit
multi tool
frame pump
a few gels
money
cell phone

Whatever it takes. I've been carted in four times that I can remember in 40 years on century riding.

One time -spent and broke and bonking - one time heat stress and bonking - one time a knee - after 300 miles - one time a crank arm broke. Don't know what I was supposed to "take" along....

Thanks for the advise...

For an unsupported ride, it depends on the weather. Like others have suggested, I would take a couple of tubes, basic tools, patch kit, frame pump, etc. Stuff that you can easily fit into a mid-to-smaller sized seat bag. I would also plan and map-out potential stops in my ride at gas stations, stores, and places like that. Knowing if there is a bike shop or store that sells things like inner tubes is not a bad idea, either. You may also need cool or rainy weather gear crammed into your jersey pockets, depending on the weather.

I do this sort of thing a few times a year, and I also either drive the route in a car the week before, or combine 2-3 of my smaller regular training rides together. The idea is to know in advance about things like places with broken pavement, construction zones, angry dogs, etc.

When I'm alone, I also prefer to drink enough water to have to stop every 1.5-2 hours to use the restroom. Dehydration can sneak up on you at those distances, and it is just a good idea to get off the bike and assess how you feel and look over your bike for a second when you don't have support or other riders with you to warn you about things like split tire side-walls that you can't feel, and stuff like that.

Have fun!

Not adding to anything already here, just another data point. I take the same things on all my rides, 30 milers during the week, and typically a century and another 50+ ride for the weekend:

Two tubes
Tire levers
Presta-to-Shraeder converter
Full frame pump (Presta)
Two charged Fenix flashlights for the front and a PBSF blinkie for the rear
Sigma computer
Cell phone
At least $20
Seat and handlebar bags sufficient to store whatever clothes I might need to shed

Often take a banana or two along with carrots and a bagel for the centuries, but I'm always buying food and drinks along the way. No water bottle yet. If you're pressing for a fast overall time, you'll want on-board drinks.

For a century, a few $5.00 bills.

The things that come to mind that haven't been mentioned so far:
- a few links of chain
- tool with chain breaker
- patch kit in case you need to fix one of the tubes you replaced (because you are a good person you took the old tube with you)
- Enough coins to make a long distance phone call from a pay phone or have a prepaid calling card
- Iodine tables or similar product to purify water (a bit extreme I know but I have done this on rides in remote mountain ranges)

The things that come to mind that haven't been mentioned so far:
- a few links of chain
- tool with chain breaker
- patch kit in case you need to fix one of the tubes you replaced (because you are a good person you took the old tube with you)
- Enough coins to make a long distance phone call from a pay phone or have a prepaid calling card
- Iodine tables or similar product to purify water (a bit extreme I know but I have done this on rides in remote mountain ranges)

Pretty good advice. Ever forgot something you wish you had? I say, it's better to have it and not need it, than need it and not have it. Within reason of course.

I'm also paranoid. In my seat bag which I carry at all times, I have a tightly folded ultralight racing tire; a new tube in it's box to prevent punctures, 6 glueless patches (they work just fine), a boot patch, tire irons, QuikStik (very fast at removing (and replacing) tires once the irons start it), a Park MTB3 minitool, cheap pair of small folding pliers, alcohol wipes, minor first aid, spare bats for front and rear flasher (I always ride with the flashers, not on but just in case of fog, rain, or dusk conditions) and the computer, $50.75 in cash, phone (card not cell since most places I go don't have reception anyways), id and insurance cards, key to house. Of course I take a mini pump, and on trips more then 50 miles from home I take a frame pump as backup, but I also have a brass (don't get the plastic ones) presta to schrader converter attached to the front wheel valve stem which I leave on all the time.

If your going to be racing the century against other riders and not doing it for fun on your own, then you need to consider weight, thus only carry the bare bones essentials like a tube and some patches along with tire tools and leave the rest up to chance.

By the way, I don't carry spare chain links because I've never broke a chain and if one were to break you can still reassemble the chain minus a couple of links, and you can still ride the bike in every gear except for the lowest and the highest.

I use to live in So Calif and use to ride into some pretty remote areas (road, not off road) and I carried 3 24oz bottles of diluted Gatorade and a 70oz Camelback and that was usually enough to either get home or to find a small store to fill up again (which I would need a store anyway to restock on food for long distance rides).

On long trips of over 100 miles I take the headlight in case I get stuck after dark.

I also always attempt to repair the tube first thus saving my new tube in case of total failure of a tube or it's raining and there's no dry shelter to find to patch a tube.

Some things you can't really prepare for, like a broken crank arm or frame etc, but those things are extremily rare. They do make a fibre spoke that you can use should you break a spoke, but I don't carry them because I use 36 spoke rims, and if one or two broke I can just readjust the surrounding spokes and still ride it home; in fact I broke one once and didn't even have to readjust the spokes at all.

My main ride the 84 Trek has been really dependable so I never wished I had this tool or part because of this or that happening.

Just did my 1st yesterday.

A change of socks and bike shorts at the 50 mile mark was a real luxury.
I stopped every 25 miles for a little over 30 minutes but at the 50 mile mark I stopped for a little over an hour.

Food; drink and mineral supplements are absolutley nessesary. I'm a big fan of 3 bananas & 2 boxes raisins & 1 big snickers bar are worth the trouble to carry or buy them. I also ride with protein shakes in fruit juice. Chicken sandwiches (1.5) was not enough - I could have eaten another 1.5 sandwiches.

Plan your mineral supplements too, as well as your peed brakes. Biking near services or you car is very very helpful!

After tools,
Be sure to take enough food. Bonking takes all the fun out of it. You can still finish, but not nearly as enjoyable as it could be

A change of socks and bike shorts at the 50 mile mark was a real luxury.
I stopped every 25 miles for a little over 30 minutes but at the 50 mile mark I stopped for a little over an hour.

Curious why you changed your socks/shorts in the middle of your century. I have nothing against personal hygene, but it never occurred to me to remove sweaty clothes to continue to do an activity which would cause me to sweat a new set of clothes back up in a matter of minutes.

LOL ... you're absolutely right. Totally unnecessary. I was bored and looking for stuff to do. I needed the rest, so the time was just right, just had nothing to do. I guess next time I won't change them. I might even do it without changing bikes! :-)

Curious why you changed your socks/shorts in the middle of your century. I have nothing against personal hygene, but it never occurred to me to remove sweaty clothes to continue to do an activity which would cause me to sweat a new set of clothes back up in a matter of minutes.

While a change might not be needed after only 50 miles, a change of shorts in particular will help allay chafing on longer rides.

I'd say it's imperative after 3-400 kilometres and a clean up with baby wipes/antiseptic towelette. A clean, dry set of socks is also nice and will also defer chafing and hot foot.

While a change might not be needed after only 50 miles, a change of shorts in particular will help allay chafing on longer rides.

I'd say it's imperative after 3-400 kilometres and a clean up with baby wipes/antiseptic towelette. A clean, dry set of socks is also nice and will also defer chafing and hot foot.

Most of the tales I've heard from people's 600k rides (or longer) involve a change of shorts, except for the speedy few who are doing 600k in a sleepless straight shot.