Sounds kind of like me. I tend to bring way too much stuff with me...but it's certainly appreciated when one or more of those things are needed.

+1

My cell phone is always with me and it has it's own "contact list" of phone numbers plus my own phone number that Verizon can use to ID me to emergency personnel.

No.

I'm all for the Boy Scout creedo "Be Prepared" but you have to draw the line somewhere; "Be Prepared" for what? Everything that might possibly occur on a ride? That's ludicrous. Or at least impractical.

Every ride I go on, regardless of length, I have a multitool, a tire lever, & a pair of new tubes (all in the saddlebag that's always on the bike), at least one full bottle of water, and a cellphone, ID, insurance card, credit card, & >$20 cash in my pocket.

For a long ride (>50 miles) I'll bring a PowerBar or some ShotBlocks too.

Because on nearly every ride I've ever gone on, I've needed most of the above. And the extremely few times I've needed the insurance card, well, it doesn't take up too much room so it's not too impractical or too ludicrous.

But anything more? I've never needed a chaintool, or a First Aid kit, or a snake/insect bite kit, or a Dremel Tool, or a rivet gun, or a shotgun, or a pair of jumper cables, or an inflatable air mattress, or three unreleased recordings of Crosby Stills & Nash fighting in the dressing room of the Fillmore East, or an enchilada wrapped in pickle sauce... so why would I bring those on a ride "just in case"?

https://www.goldenpicklejuice.com/?pjsid=8

You never know when you'll run into a donkey.

Indeed there was, as well as a concurrent one on the C&A Forum, "Cycling newb needs equipment advice."

Funny, I know of a similar story. However, in this circumstance SHE forgot nothing. HE lost the key.

You tell 'em Miss Kenton!

That only works if the phone isn't password/pattern/etc. protected. If emergency personnel can't unlock your phone, they can't access your contacts.

Wait a minute! It's not at all an expression of distaste. I applaud that there are folks out there packing. Security is all about uncertainty...scumbags can't ever know precicely who is armed. All their actions must take place in the context of "Is He Armed". Carry...pack...enjoy... ...PLEASE!

For my part, somebody else is carrying the weight, legal responsibility, and danger to familty [let's face it, we end up shooting somebody in the family] while protecting me via the Uncertainty Principle.

Thanks, actually.

in my saddle pack/pockets, I typically have, multitool, wrench tool that has like 10 sizes of box wrenches on it, 2 tire levers, spare tire, patch kit, cotton ball for finding small things stuck in tire, bungee cargo netting for if I find something I need/want to buy (like the donuts I made the excuse to go out of the house for a 2 hour ride early saturday morning), keys, cell phone (prepaid tracphone, I don't do a cell in general, just for emergency type things - no one has the number), a map if I'm going somewhere I haven't before or think I might, wallet with small amount of cash, credit card, drivers license and insurance card, and water. Oh and chapstick. I'm a chapstick addict. Yeah, I'm an overpacker.

Edit: forgot to include nitrile gloves. I don't go anwhere without them anymore. Too many rides ended with black hands (and face when I scratched my nose) before I started that.

Hi, my name is Jim and I used to be a Chapstick addict. It started after after one ride in particular around 1971, and I was that way for at least 20 years. I think I went cold turkey and have been clean for at least several years.

One other personal item I can't do without is nailclippers for a hangnail. A hangnail takes center stage in my mind when it occurs, and must be eliminated immediately.

I carry some to most of the stuff listed on this thread so far (not all the time or at the same time) depending on the area I'm going to, or length of trip. But, I do carry one thing that I hadn't seen listed on this thread.

I carry a Walking Cane on my bicycle. Whether it be a full size cane, or a Folding Cane. I can ride a bicycle much better than I can walk, so if my bike suffers catastrophic failure (for whatever reason), and I find myself on foot, at least I can hobble easier with a walking cane.

Another cyclist into Zappa! YES!

I usually don't carry more than a basic tool set and flat repair stuff. My wife had a mild fall and scraped her knee, I stopped at a convenience store and bought band-aids and some Tylenol. Another in our group got bit several times by a horse fly on the face and crashed. More band-aids and tylenol. I felt like a hero.

I ride with the same people next week. I am not even bringing a tube.. Let them worry about it.. LOL.

Some food, wallet, cell phone, some food, tire irons, frame pump, some food, frame-mounted water bottle filled, some food, extra glasses, house keys, some food. Oh, and did I mention some food? What's the point of riding if you can't stop and eat?

For years I carried small wrenches, screwdriver, stuff like that. Finally decided if I'd keep the bike in good order in the first place I wouldn't need that stuff. I never used them anyway. Can't eat 'em.

Did I mention food? A Larabar, banana, dried or fresh fruit, sometimes a sandwich, chocolate, an extra water bottle.

+ 1 more

I play in a band that presents a LOT of Zappa music and in some major venues...for real.

I like your ideas of carrying some Tylenol, Benedryl, first aid kit, Glock 30 and maybe a second magazine of ammo.

I already carry tools, patch kit, paper towels, air pump, water, cell phone, debit card, small cash and even a Leatherman tool. I also have a vinyl shower curtain, some nylon parachute cord (for making a shelter in case of heavy rain storm) and several packets of honey that I got at a KFC, for quick energy boost if needed.

For years I have carried food on long rides (greater than 40 miles) such as Zone Bars, pretzels, and a yogurt-cereal mash with fruit that I make, and “eat” in the manner you describe For my past couple long rides though, I started to use a packaged high calorie gel called “GU.” I’m not a weight weenie or a non-stop rider, but I find I get an immediate boost, though I cannot completely exclude a placebo effect.

I’m an adherent of the Zone Diet, which mandates proteins be consumed with carbs, so I take the GU with some yogurt drink I carry called Kefir. It doesn't require as long a stop to partake, and then I go for the dining experience after I get home.