Burton

I guess its pretty easy to get sucked into buying accessories - at least it was (is) for me.

The water bottle cages were all right, but the metal ones tend to scratch the bottles so eventually I went with plastic ones.

And water bottles! Tried plastic, stainless steel, thermally insulated. They all mildew if not cleaned and washed like any other food impliment and one the waters gone -they`re empty!

So if the ride is more tha a few hours I just buy Gatorade or bottled water and have done with it. A Camelback is OK for 4L of water in cool weather, but on a hot day it just stops the perspiration from evaporating off your back.

And racks, I guess you need a rack if you want to use a bicycle bag. Eventually I decided that the rack / bag combo probably weighed more than what was going in it. We`re not talking touring here so the most I usually bring is a jacket and a change of socks. OK and maybe a spare tube and a tire iron and small pump.

Discovered that all that will fit in a tiny kayak bag that can be rolled to fit the contents, clipped around the rear stays and held against the seatpost with a velcro strap. When its empty, it can be rolled to a ridiculously small size and the strap isn`t needed.

Of course I had to try one of those goodies that measured top speed, distance, average speed, candance etc etc etc. It got boring real fast. Who cares really? I`m not training - I`m supposed to be going out for fun!

A tool kit? The bike gets maintenaince so regularly that the only time I`d consider bringing anything other than a spare tube and tire lever and pump would be if the trip spanned several days - which hardly ever happens. And actually I only bring those so I can bail out someone else if necessary too.

Fenders are very much a necessity in the winter, and something I`d keep on if the bike was a commuter cause I`d have to drive in the rain. But for a recreational bike I`d rather spend the money on ice-cream.

So aside fom the water bottle cages - the only thing I`ve actually found that attaches to a bike and is really usefull is a mount for an iPhone on the handlebars. And thats only because using the GPS capability and the Google mapping functionality makes it a breeze to see where you are relative to where you want to go.

And thats only useful because I often have to drive to addresses that I`ve never been to before.

So the only thing you should really consider a priority besides a light if you drive at night is money for ice-cream. And the best place I`ve found for a light is on the helmet anyway.

On the other hand - some of those accessories do make good paperweights.