mschwett 

i like to ride light. still, i forget something about one in ten times i walk out the door.

the right side covers all but one ride every week. shorts, shirt, shoes, socks, helmet, gloves, HRM, phone, and card key or housekeys. shirts vary in sleeve length or color. for a very cold day i'll add a shell jacket (not pictured!), that's probably one out of ten rides in a year.

for the weekend, if >35 but <90, add credit card, transit card, some cash, bottle w/gatorade, some fruit strips. >90, add multitool, co2, inflator, quick link, tubeless plugs, battery.

i've never had to use anything in the tool bag - the one ride i might have benefited, i had a different multitool which didn't have chain pliers.

what does everyone take with them on rides?

caloso

You don’t take a flat kit or multitool unless it’s a 90 mile ride?

DonkeyShow

Bluetooth speaker, tablet, vape pen.

mschwett 

no. in 10,000+ miles on road tubeless i have not had a single ride-ending flat. for the 1,000 miles i rode with tubes, i had 5 or more flats and then gave up on tubes. during that time i rode with a flat kit but it honestly kind of ruined the experience for me, usually with somewhere to be after the ride, i'm f'ing around on the side of the road. never got good enough at it to make it routine.

if i'm less than 30 miles from home, the bike will just go in the back of an uber. obviously not what i would do on a multi-day tour, very far from home, etc, but i haven't had time for riding like that. i do around 100-150 miles a week, 3x20-30 and 1x50-100.

SoSmellyAir

Me too. I think you can save a few grams by taking a light weight garage remote (clicker) instead of your keys or program your phone to open your garage door with one of these:

myQ Chamberlain Smart Garage Control - Wireless Garage Hub and Sensor with Wifi & Bluetooth - Smartphone Controlled, myQ-G0401-ES, White - - Amazon.com

Or get a smart lock for your door. I likewise don't bring tools or a spare tube. In > 5 years of riding, I have called my wife once (RD shift cable broke), taken an Uber XL once (saddle came loose), and walked home once (flat from riding over a brick). I suppose walking is no longer an option when I am riding my road bike with the new SPD-SL pedals.

eduskator

Me too. I never carry anything else than my cellphone (which is my car key, my wallet and my music), 1-2 bars a small hex tool to remove wheels.

I call the towing (girlfriend) in case I need it. So far, it happens once per year and it's usually a flat. Tubeless is great for this.

MoAlpha

I do my weekday workouts one leg of my commute, so add to the basics a small backpack with a minimum of underwear, socks, shirt, glasses, food, and an extra t-shirt if I'm going to use the weight room. My PIV card goes in an armband. On a cold day, I count about 14 articles of clothing. If it's going to be warmer in the afternoon, I may have to bring lighter gloves and cap, knee warmers, etc.

It only takes a minor distraction in the morning to screw it up.

Maelochs

Why call for help if a rear derailleur cable breaks? Just pick an intermediate gear, lock the derailleur in place with the limit screws, and ride home on a two-speed.

Well, it's an option.

CAT7RDR

Depends.
On one local mountain stretch that is out of cell service range and the road is frequently closed due to debris or fire danger, I'll bring a spare tire as well and use a SPD pedal/cleat system in case of a hike-a-bike.

Iride01 

No glasses? I'd use some sort of eye protection whether tinted or clear. Dragonfly's really smart when they smack into my head. And they taste terrible. Hate to think what they'd do to my eyes.

Also I'd take two bottles unless the ride is going to be an hour or less.

mschwett 

when i ride from work (most all weekday rides) the main issue is forgetting to put something in my backpack on the way in. often the HRM strap. a few times i’ve done the ride on the way in, adding an hour of hills to the commute, but i don’t love riding with my work shoes and clothes in a backpack. if i leave work shoes at the office, for some reason over time i end up stockpiling shoes there.

mschwett 

i don’t seem to require all that much hydration - likely because it’s fairly cool and damp here - but for > 3 hours i stop once and refill the bottle plus drink 12-20oz at the stop.

don’t like wearing glasses, but we don’t have a lot of bugs here. i’m sure it’s a must in buggier climes. i do wear contacts (not pictured lol) and i did hit a fly once last summer. a few more bugs that time of year.

MoAlpha

I have three pairs of shoes, a nice Irish tweed jacket, a few ties, workout clothes, and assorted other stuff at work. I wait for unrideable weather to sort things out. I use watch HR on commutes for exactly the reason you cite.

mschwett 

it’s an annoying detail, but our bike room and showers/lockers are in a basement level, and the lockers there are day use only. and the $?&@?$!!? security team actually clears them out pretty often. so to leave clothes there, i’d have to leave them on our floors (two elevator rides from the basement) which would mean going up in my cleats and bike gear, getting stuff, and bringing it back down to the bike level. pretty stupid, and not really into my coworkers checking out my outfit 😂

and of course i’d have to park the bike in the basement FIRST, so it’s really a hassle. it’s like that logic problem with the river and the boat and the fox 😂

MoAlpha

I partially solve that problem by not showering, although I still have the elevator ride from the garage. 33 years, no complaints.

SoSmellyAir

Because I don't carry tools. Although another BF member has said to wedge a small branch in the RD parallelogram to move it onto a bigger cog. To prevent this from happening again I will just replace my shift cables every other year.

ummed

I actually raced a crit like that once...

genejockey 

Every ride, no matter how short:
On me, apart from clothes:

• Left wrist: Casio G-shock watch
• Right wrist: Road ID bracelet with emergency info.
• Left jersey pocket: Ziploc bag with phone, drivers license, health insurance card, debit card, $5. If driving to start of ride, add car insurance card
• Right jersey pocket: house keys. If driving to start of ride, add car key fob. If riding >1hr, add snacks, generally a gel or two and a package of chews and/or a bar.
• Center jersey pocket: cleat covers, minipump if the bike won't hold a frame pump.

On the bike:

• Bars: Garmin head unit, USB rechargeable white flashy light.
• Frame: pump if one will fit. 1 bottle of water for rides up to 2hr. Beyond that, 2 bottles with water and/or drink mix depending on ambient temp.
• Saddle/seatpost: saddle bag containing 1 tube, 1 multitool, 1 instant patch kit, 2 tire levers. Garmin Varia (radar only). USB rechargeable tail light.

On the rare occasions when I ride tubulars, replace saddle bag with folded tire, and add ziploc with small bottle tire sealant and valve wrench to center jersey pocket.

The great thing about always taking the same stuff is that I don't have to think about it. Everything I take with me is something I have needed on a ride at one point or another.

Oh, and I try to avoid the broken cable thing by changing cables before they need it because riding 30 miles home in one gear with 1600 feet of climbing is not my idea of fun.

genejockey 

I don't ride "from work", because in all the time I've lived here, I haven't worked in a place where riding from there would be any fun. Mostly I've worked in South San Francisco, east of 101 - NOT conducive to bike riding. Now I'm working at the base of Mt San Bruno, so I might consider that, but then I'd get back to work all sweaty and I don't really like showering at work. AND I don't like driving 20 miles home all sweaty, either. AND I don't want to start a ride going up a 6% gradient for a couple miles with no warm up, but before we leave this facility in April, I am going to do the climb all the way up including Radio Rd.

If I ride AFTER work, I bring a tote bag with jersey, shorts, socks, sandals, ziploc bag for license etc., watch and ID bracelet mentioned above. I change in the lockable "All Gender" restroom, and put my street clothes in the bag. In the car, I put a basket with helmet, shoes, gloves, snacks, etc, so I can change when I reach my starting point - which, for all you Bay Areans, is Canada Rd at Edgewood.

tomato coupe

No on the phone, HRM, house keys, key card, credit card, transit card, batteries, quick link, and gloves.

mschwett 

sooooo nothing but clothes and some cash? how do you get back inside? 😂

mschwett 

yeah. i was really anti showering at work, but with the showers/lockers/bike room on a separate level with essentially a separate entrance (i just ride in through the garage, don’t go through the passenger lobby) i’ve gotten to embrace it. it works well except when i forget to put an important item in my backpack in the AM. i just ride in in the AM on my road bike in street shoes/clothes with the shorts, shirt, shoes, socks, hrm, phone, and gloves in the backpack. usually the best time to squeeze in a ride is lunchtime.

genejockey 

Pound on the glass, shouting, "ELAINE!!!"

tomato coupe

Punch in a code.

genejockey 

Killjoy.