Originally Posted by armyrider
I ALWAYS carry: a knife, a portable tire pump, a bottle of water, and a bike pouch on the back, bottom of my seat with my wallet, ID's, cash, a matchtube that is water-tight with matches and a striker, an emergency blanket, a whistle, sunscreen, & a few power bars.
This may seem like a lot, but in reality ...
But in reality it
is not a lot of stuff, but
is a lot of unnecessary stuff.
You haven't mentioned the length of your rides. On a ride under approx. 50 kms (a nice after work/school distance) there should be absolutely no need for a knife, matches, striker, emergency blanket, and whistle unless the area you live in is somewhere around Inuvik, or unless you are riding in the dead of a Canadian prairie winter. And sunscreen you can apply at home and it will last you the whole ride.
If the rides you are referring to are much longer than that, or are tours ... then maybe you might want to bring some of that stuff. Chances are you won't ever need it, but there might be that one day where an emergency blanket or a small bottle of sunscreen might come in handy.
But you've left out so much useful stuff for both short and long rides!!
-- You included a pump, but did not mention tubes, tire levers, patches, or a spare tire.
-- You have no tools at all for on the road repairs to get you going again, although I suppose the knife could be used as a screwdriver for the few bolts that have a blade head.
-- What about a jacket? It's a whole lot more convenient to put on a good quality rain jacket and keep riding, than to try to wrap yourself in an emergency blanket and keep riding when the weather turns bad.
-- If you are referring to longer rides, then at least two bottles are a good idea ... one for water, and one for sports drinks.
-- A flashlight is a very inefficient light source because it does not light up the road very well, and because you have to use one hand to hold it ... a proper bicycle headlight and/or helmet light are much more efficient both for riding in the dark and for lighting up the area if you need to do repairs.
Here's my packing list. This list is was designed with ultra-distance rides (randonnees) and cycling tours in mind, but could be used for shorter rides as well. On no ride do I bring all of that ... I pick and choose items depending on the length of the ride and the potential weather conditions.
http://www.machka.net/packinglist.htm