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Bicycling or not, what items do you take with you that you never leave home without?

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Bicycling or not, what items do you take with you that you never leave home without?

Old 12-08-15, 10:35 AM
  #1  
powerhouse
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Bicycling or not, what items do you take with you that you never leave home without?

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.

1. Clothing
2. Footwear
3. Jacket or coat (when necessary)
4. Medications. Due to the fact that I have Epilepsy, I take doses of medications to combat siezures. If I'm away within a day I will bring only one dose. If
I will be gone for a longer period of time, I can bring sets for up to a week.
5. Keys.
6. Wrist watch.
7. Medical Bracelet
8. Eyeglasses.
9. Cell phone.
10. Money
11. Identification
12. Penknife with scissors and fingernail file.

13. When riding a bicycle, I always have and wear a helmet.

Last edited by powerhouse; 12-09-15 at 08:49 AM.
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Old 12-08-15, 10:45 AM
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1. Clothing
2. Footwear No
3. Jacket or coat (when necessary) When necessary
4. Medications. Due to the fact that I have Epilepsy, I take doses of medications to combat siezures. If I'm away within a day I will bring only one dose. If
I will be gone for a longer period of time, I can bring sets for up to a week. No
5. Keys.
6. Wrist watch. No
7. Medical Bracelet No
8. Eyeglasses.
9. Cell phone.
10. Money
11. Identification

Yeah, I like to go bare foot... but society doesn't like that, so I often have a set of shoes somewhere.

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.

Lately I have been trying to remember to bring a hat... but it isn't quite habitual yet.

My wallet is my cellphone cover... so cell phone, ID and money all come together.
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Old 12-08-15, 11:29 AM
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Don't see any surprises. I take all that stuff for day trips from home of any extended period except for medications (although sometimes I have Vitamin I for my back) and a watch. If am running around to the corner store for something I won't take my phone. Clothing is required by law. . The ID is in the wallet with money and cards. If I am touring, I will take a supply of my daily blood thinner along with a bunch of stuff for camping and cooking, with clothing dictated by the probable weather conditions.
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Old 12-08-15, 11:30 AM
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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. In my case I pretty much always have a good pocket knife, a small flashlight, a small tape measure, a rugged pen, and a small notebook. I usually also have a book that I am reading.

It could also be interesting to ask which typically standard things do people usually NOT carry? Personally I think I carry pretty much all the typical things the average person carries, most of which are on your list above.
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Old 12-08-15, 11:39 AM
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Here is my list of items I like to carry:
1. Clothing for work when commuting minus shoes as I keep a pair at work.
2. Jacket
3. Rain cap (for under helmet)
4. For winter commuting (Phoenix, AZ) I wear long fingered reasonably warm gloves and carry light open finger gloves for the ride home.
5. Cell phone, always.
6. Money rarely cash, always a debit and credit card.
7. Identification
8. On board bike pump, multi tool & patch kit.
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Old 12-08-15, 12:18 PM
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Regarding a jacket, I am in the middle of a divorce. Went from my own single story home walking out of the kitchen to my car to temporary habitation in a 2 story plus basement walking down 2 flights of stairs and out the basement door to my car. It use to be walk through the door, oops, it's cold out, and grab my jacket I forgot hung on the back of the kitchen chair right at the door. 3 times in the past week it was open the door and walk out, oops, forgot my jacket and it's 24° out. Ah well, climb in the car and go to work. So, a jacket is not an item I never leave home without even when necessary, LOL.

My list would be keys, phone, and.... can of snuff....
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Old 12-08-15, 01:58 PM
  #7  
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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.

1. Clothing
2. Footwear
3. Jacket or coat (when necessary)
4. Medications. Due to the fact that I have Epilepsy, I take doses of medications to combat siezures. If I'm away within a day I will bring only one dose. If
I will be gone for a longer period of time, I can bring sets for up to a week.
5. Keys.
6. Wrist watch.
7. Medical Bracelet
8. Eyeglasses.
9. Cell phone.
10. Money
11. Identification

12. When riding a bicycle, I always have and wear a helmet.
I reordered it by importance. I also have Epilepsy. In terms of my physical health. It is my six brain surgeries for a (congenital)brain aneurysm, and (congenital)hydrocephalus(commonly mislabeled as 'water on the brain')as an infant up 9yrs.-old.
1. Identification
2. Medical Bracelet
3. Medications Due to the fact that I have Epilepsy, I take doses of medications to combat seizures. If I'm away within a day I will bring only one dose. If
I will be gone for a longer period of time, I can bring sets for up to a week. Jacket or coat (when necessary)
4. Cell phone
5. Wrist watch
6. Eyeglasses
7. Keys
8. Money
9. Jacket or coat (when necessary)
10. Clothing
11. Full-finger gloves in the winter, fingerless gloves in the Spring, Summer n' Fall.
12. When riding a bicycle, I always have and wear a helmet.

I took 'Footwear' out of the list. Because, I didn't know if you were referring to, just socks, just biking shoes, or both.

Last edited by Chris0516; 12-08-15 at 02:06 PM.
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Old 12-08-15, 02:31 PM
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A Swiss Army knife is a good item. I sometimes carry one with some additional useful tools. Note; Their Swisschamp models is overkill.

Last edited by powerhouse; 12-09-15 at 08:58 AM.
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Old 12-08-15, 02:57 PM
  #9  
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Coffee, iced or hot, temp dependent.
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Old 12-08-15, 03:05 PM
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Keys, wallet, phone. Good to go.
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Old 12-08-15, 03:19 PM
  #11  
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As a life long technician, I almost never leave the house without my Leatherman.
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Old 12-08-15, 04:10 PM
  #12  
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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).

Last edited by Jim from Boston; 12-08-15 at 10:22 PM.
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Old 12-08-15, 07:06 PM
  #13  
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I always have some kind of pocket knife, cell phone and compact camera with me. And the usual other stuff - wallet etc. I'm always taking photos so often I have a small waist bag or shoulder bag to carry stuff.

For bicycling, my basic carry kit fits in my old Lowepro Off Trail camera waist bag, which doubles as my handlebar bag:
  • Multi-tool.
  • Tire patch kit and levers.
  • Basic first aid kit, including ibuprofen and diphenhydramine.
  • Spare red LED flasher. Had it for years anyway.
  • Cell phone - just an older style pay as you go type, so I don't care if it's lost, stolen or broken. Home phone and emergency contacts are written on tape on back of phone to make it easier for emergency responders if there's an accident.
  • Compact camera or iPhone, for photos and videos.
  • Wallet, money, ID, etc., in my velcro or button flap pocket.

The mini frame pump, water bottle and detachable bike lights go in the bag which goes with me when I'm off the bike.

If my destination is a rural area with no backup transportation, I'll include:
  • Spare tire. Not a folder, just one of my original Specialized Hemispheres looped into three or four loops, bungeed on rear rack.
  • Spare tube.
  • Spare rim strip.
  • This time of year when the weather varies so much, spare long sleeve shirt or sweater.
  • Snacks.

I'll probably add a few items to my rural area cycling kit, since I'm enjoying this more than I'd expected to when I resumed cycling again a few months ago:
  • I'm looking for a rain resistant windbreaker to replace my old long lost cycling jacket.
  • Emergency blanket - one of those aluminized mylar things. I think I used my last one on an accident victim one winter several years ago, or it might have been a dog, I don't remember. Seems like I've encountered more than my share of accidents, so those things come in handy.
  • A more serious first aid kit, beyond the band aids, small clotting pad, OTC pain pills and antihistamines.
  • Road flare or other emergency beacon.
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Old 12-08-15, 09:22 PM
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My charming attitude and stunning good looks.
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Old 12-08-15, 10:34 PM
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Originally Posted by AlmostTrick
My charming attitude and stunning good looks.
I used to carry those, but I seem to have misplaced them. I think I left them in my kindergarten class.
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Old 12-09-15, 01:10 AM
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I used to carry a mini Swiss Army knife on my keyring all the time, until it was confiscated at the airport during security check a couple years ago.
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Old 12-09-15, 01:51 AM
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Unless you live somewhere really special, I can assume we can all take clothing as a given.
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Old 12-10-15, 05:03 AM
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Old 12-13-15, 05:04 PM
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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. In my case I pretty much always have a good pocket knife, a small flashlight, a small tape measure, a rugged pen, and a small notebook. I usually also have a book that I am reading.

It could also be interesting to ask which typically standard things do people usually NOT carry? Personally I think I carry pretty much all the typical things the average person carries, most of which are on your list above.
That was my thought -- dressing for the weather is pretty basic.

My list is shorter:

house keys, wallet, phone. If I'm doing a grocery run, my messenger bag goes, too. I carry (currently) 4 reusable shopping bags in it.
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Old 12-13-15, 09:48 PM
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Keys. Everything else is unessessary for me.
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Old 12-13-15, 10:21 PM
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Leatherman.
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Old 12-13-15, 11:22 PM
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House key, ID & medical ins card, cell ph.

In my bike frame zip bag
Each bike has a ziplock bag with :A copy of ID & medical ins cards, TP & some $$ cash.
On a ride I add cell ph, house key, (sometimes a camera.)

Under seat bag:
2 tire spoons, spare tube, multi tool, patchkit, pump, 2 "Q"links
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Old 12-15-15, 07:44 AM
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I do a lot of cycling and a lot of day hikes. I've found it best to have a Camelbak setup for doing both activities. A lot of folks balk at wearing a Camelbak on the bike, but I like it.

Inside it is the following:
Boo boo kit
Patch kit
Keys
Wallet
Small handgun
Small amount of paracord
Headlamp
Spare batteries
Bike light (usually)
Whistle
Water
Some food
Esbit tablets
Esbit stove
Instant coffee bags
Titanium cup (hiking only)

I think that's all, off the top of my head.
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Old 12-15-15, 08:49 AM
  #24  
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was in my basement last night and moved my trunk bag. whoa that was heavy - something has to come out
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Old 12-15-15, 12:37 PM
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I hate wearing purses (and pretty much can't due to musculoskeletal issues) and pockets in women's pants are a joke, so I keep it to a minimum: cell phone, wallet, lip balm, and a spare hair band or two on my wrist. If I'm specifically going shopping I'll take a reusable shoulder bag. I wish there was one I could fold and fit in my pants, but alas, ridiculous pockets.

I don't need to carry keys because we got a lock with a keypad when we replaced the locks after buying our house.
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