Bicycling or not, what items do you take with you that you never leave home without?
Originally Posted by
powerhouse
Whether you are on a bicycle ride or not, what items do you always bring with you or 'never leave home without? The list can be surprising. I'll start…
Originally Posted by
lostarchitect
Don't a lot of these things go without saying for the vast majority of people? Clothing (a jacket is clothing, too), footwear, keys, money, ID, cell phone etc.
It's probably more interesting to ask what non-standard things do people always have with them…It could also be interesting to ask which typically standard things do people usually NOT carry?.
Originally Posted by
genec
…On occasion I have forgotten my glasses... odd because I am quite nearsighted. But I walk around at home without the glasses as the tasks I may be doing sometimes require acute close vision…
My then-girlfriend-now-wife had a little litany she used to recite when leaving home to remember the most important necessities (mostly when departing to walk for college classes):
”Glasses, comb, pen, money, keys."
I have a flat mesh black bag, about 8 x 6 x 3 inches I call my “clutch bag” with some of my non-standard items I take everywhere, including bike rides:
- Nailclipper, I hate hangnails
- Callus cushions and tape for a callus over my fourth right metatarsal bone; occasionally hurts walking or pedaling
- Extra pair of eyeglasses with lens wipes and lens cleaner because I am so nearsighted. I was in a couple of bike crashes, and glasses got bent.
- Mints for dry mouth
- Hairbrush especially for helmet hair. I wear gel, and HH easily brushes out
I used to compulsively carry Chapstick after one windy ride long ago, but gave it up after a few years.
Washington Post
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Let's make a list of the important things you need before walking out the door: Wallet: Check. Cellphone: Check. Keys: Check. Lip balm?
You slap your back pocket. Nope. Rummage through your bag. Nada. Search the bedside table. Negative.
This is a problem. A huge, paralyzing problem. You are a lip balm addict, after all. And you are not alone.
Countless Facebook groups are dedicated to the "crackstick" in all its varieties: ChapStick, Blistex, Burt's Bees, Carmex. Any lip lubricant that comes in a tube or a tub. There are online quizzes that measure how addicted you are to ChapStick. (Question: When you are wearing only a bathing suit, do you have ChapStick on you at all times?) And there is a self-help Web site, Lip Balm Anonymous (
Lip Balm Anonymous), dedicated to helping lip balm addicts.
Also, for cycling or otherwise, I wear a backpack with space for lightweight extra clothes for temperature variations, to put on or remove (since I ride a carbon fiber bike). Yesterday I left for my 14 mile one-way commute and rode 2.5 miles until I realized I left home without it. The clutch bag fits in my always-attached seat bag (or into the backpack when not riding).