Double Century Checklist
 

I've looked around and couldn't find one using SEARCH.
I realize that we'll all have our own quirks, but here's the checklist I'm working on for my first double. I'm scared to death I'll forget something.


Bike (don't leave without this. Check to make sure front wheel is there too)

Garmin 305
Heart strap
minty boost garmin charger w/cord (recharges Garmin on the road)
camera
phone w/charger?
Alarm clock

large seat bag
bento box bike bag thing
2 water bottles
extra water bottle goes in jersey pocket
L&M bike light (take charger to hotel)
seat blinkie (has new batteries)
Large paperclip thing to hold directions on bike
Pump on bike


shoes
helmet
gloves
warm gloves
headband, for under helmet
buff (won't need it, but take it)
glasses (2 lens sets [night, day], bag to carry lenses)
glasses mirror
ID tag

socks
bibs
underarmour
jersey (take white one due to sun, heat)
jacket (in my dreams...it's going to be hot)

many bags of HEED, Hammer Perperium mix, pre-measured
cliff bars (5 in drop bag)

Money (cash during ride)
keys (just the car key)
credit card/atm card
ipod (just for the drive up)

Drop bag (2) one to leave light in at stop 1 with light, one to send to lunch stop.
Map to hotel
Map to ride start
print out form of payment

toothbrush etc stuff
prescriptions
ibruprophen
SUNSCREEN
lotion

clothes to wear home

gas in the car the night before i leave
Take big water good bottle of water to fill bottles in morning
Test out Starbucks double shot coffee for morning
Breakfast. Bagel and peanut butter, milk.
Floor pump to leave in car
check patch kit, tubes in seat bag before leaving

Trying hard to find missing items...

glasses cleaning cloth
lip balm
electrolytes, although DBC will probably have them at every rest stop
primed coffee pot night before
charged camera battery
double check tires for glass etc, and extract
insure chain is clean and lubed
insure cleat screws are tight

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I'd like to do this 200 miler some day, but am focused on the 375 miler 2 weeks later....

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SharpT

the list looks good, but these are some things i carry when doing more than 100km.

- chain tool
- spoke wrench, extra spoke or fiberfix spoke
- extra chain lube
- needle-nose pliers (for glass extraction)
- tire boot; a dollar bill, or maybe a piece of denim. or the park tire boot.

i'd bring a backup paperclip-thing too, i used one and it fell off in the first 30 meters of the ride!

mattm already covered my concerns about tools and spoke repair, but I can't reiterate how much of a life saver it can be to repair a spoke on a long ride.

if your L&M light is mounted on your bike instead of your helmet, then be sure to have a second light for your helmet to read cue sheet directions and to use if you're stopped at a road side.

if it's supported, and depending on levels of support/frequency of checkpoints, you might not need to have a third water bottle (personally, I don't like have that weight on my back for the long of a distance)

ditto about leaving the alarm clock at home. If you have a cell phone, I"d just use the alarm function on the phone.

I guess it's guaranteed dry weather since you have no rain gear or ziptop baggies listed.

What's a "minty boost garmin charger w/cord"? Also not sure what a "buff" is.

Yep, dry. And hot. I'm getting worried as the prediction is or high 90s. No baggies or ziplocks required.

Minty Boost is a battery pack that recharges the Gramin GPS on the road. It's a kit that fits in an Altoids container. Good for iPods too
http://www.ladyada.net/make/mintyboost/

Buff is a piece of headgear I use a lot for commuting. I won't need it in the heat, but they are great when it's cool.
http://www.buffwear.com/

in that case, you won't need the warm gloves on your list, either ... or the underarmour either if you've already got a jacket (assuming you're using that as a wicking layer below your bibs and/or jersey)

I'm certainly not one for being a weight weenie packer, but I also believe that the more unnecessary stuff one takes, the more likely it is that the stuff will get lost.

Also, personally, I've never taken the charger with my cellphone. If need be, just turn the phone off while you're on your bike.

The charger is NOT going on the bike, just to the hotel.
The warm gloves, jacket and base layer will go in teh bag, but I'm thinking I won't use them.
This morning my 6am commute was alreay warm enough I just wore a jersey and bibs. I'm thinking the ride will be even warmer at 4:30 as Friday is supposed to be amazingly hot.

My thought is, do you need 4 water bottles? I'm a water hog especially in hot weather and I'll only go through a bottle an hour at most and can stretch that if needed. If it's a supported ride and/or you pass through any towns, you should easily be able to refill water on the road in lieu of carrying that much weight with you. I didn't see one ESSENTIAL item (for most people) chamois cream. I lube up in the morning and then fill a film canister to take with me for a mid ride touch up especially in hot weather.

Rick

If it was me, I'd add:

Chamois butt'r (especially for a double)
Salt pills

You have no reflective gear on your list. At a minimum, you should wear reflective ankle bands and a reflective sash or vest in the dark. A reflective triangle is very effective as well.

I wouldn't want to wear a heart monitor strap for the duration of a double. I'd leave it at home and ride by RPE. You're going to want to keep your HR in a nice aerobic zone anyway, watching a HRM is just another nuisance. Sure it's built into the 305, but why bother.

After my first double (Solvang) I added the following to my list:
- windshell glove (something that goes over my regular gloves
- windcovers for shoes
- small pill container filled with Bag Balm
- small 2oz travel bottle filled with BioFreeze

Small container of petroleum jelly for blisters/sores.

do you mind if i add this double centurty checkliast to this site?

http://cycling.dingdangdo.com/equipm...c_kit_list.php

Jeez, no! Go ahead. A link to my blog might be nice...

If you need a "check list" to go for a ride - you're not ready for the ride. Typically, you should have already completed many 70, 80,or 100 miles rides. You should have already had your bike and gear setup ready for any emergency. Either you're ready for long rides or you're not - 200 miles isn't a reason for a check list.

Actually, I'd been on a many 100 mile rides before. But the double seemed like a large leap. I did need a check list. It helped me not leave stuff behind.

And I was ready or the double. I finished -- and even had a good time, despite the 100+ temps and the fact many more experienced riders didn't finish. It helped me focus.

Maybe they didn't have checklists :lol:
I ended up taking more to the start than I carried on the ride, but it was nice to know I was ready for whatever weather came up that morning.

Crap, does that mean I'm not ready to go to the grocery store either? I guess I won't starve as long as I can order pizza without making a list...

I have my ride checklist as a Google document so I can add to it if I think of something while I'm at work. And mine has categories: Do before leaving (i.e. night before at the latest), Wear, Bring (contingency clothes and supplies), Food, Non-bike-related (camera, stuff for the drive, etc), and Morning.

So yeah, never mind the checklist haters, and thanks for sharing your list.

Well, I'm just saying most of the riders I know have "setups" that they use regularly, longer rides make no difference unless maybe it's an over-night ride.

Good for you. Your checklist worked.