[Closed] riding alone.. what do you take with you in your pockets / bag?

Seriously?

Water. £10. an energy bar. 1 tube. Multitool. MOBILE PHONE

[i]MOBILE PHONE [/i]

I did that because I ride solo most of the time.

Except when I broke my hip it turned out the battery had gone flat.

I pack a whistle now too 🙂

Last night - a pump and a tube, nothing else.

It was only a quick lap of the Verderers, though...

I pack a whistle now too

Pack one of them fruit sweet ones...

if you get hungry you won't starve too 🙂

A canoe
An anvil
Acme rocket powered roller skates
A portrait of the Duke of Westminster
A jetpack
A selection of sausages and a Barby
Morphine
A flame-thrower
A St Johns Bible with a forward by Michael Gove
A grappling Iron
A signed copy of Keith Chegwins biography

I don't take anything extra if I'm on my own, just the same stuff as I do on a group ride. Phone is always there for photos and Endomondo.

All of the above plus a headset press. You just never know...

You never know...

[img] [/img]

If under an hour, Pump, tyre lever, patch kit, in jersey pocket and drink bottle in frame. If much more than an hour, all in pack and water bladder, some extra food. Where i live, nearly always take at least one extra layer. Phone for strava and communication. Hope I don't hurt myself too bad to use phone. Always tell someone planned route and expected timing.

Whistle +1,000,000

I'm constantly surprised by how few people will take something that costs virtually nothing, weighs virtually nothing and takes up virtually no space in your pack / pocket, and could easily save your life.

My solo pack for the hills looks something like:

OS Map(s)
Compass
Skills to use the above 2 items
Waterproof
Spare tube
Patches, glue etc.
Pump (wrapped in duck/duct tape)
Zip ties
WHISTLE
Multitool
suncream (if likely to be needed, so not so much this year so far...)
Water
food
Small 1st Aid kit (enough to patch up some bleeding, not enough to perform emergency surgery on myself)
One of those tinfoil blankets that everyone tells me are pretty useless
Chain link
Mobile phone
Cash

I use the same pack for commuting but the whistle lives in there permanently as it weighs virtually nothing, takes up no space and if I don't keep it anywhere other than in my Camelbak then I can't find that I've forgotten it when I need it.

If only one of these would fit in my jersey pocket 😥
[img] [/img]

Best watch it messiah. I always carry a stove, kettle, jellymould and jelly mix, for mid-ride hilarity 😉

[img] [/img]

As I ride quite a lot of cheeky cliff path singletrack would a parachute be overkill just incase?
It was just looking at photos of guys landing on their heads and faces that got me thinking maybe I should carry more stuff just in case.. but what more stuff that should be I wasn't quite sure. Just curious whether other solo riders carried a suitcase of safety gear just in case.
apart from maybe a big bandage/gauze and some duck tape I can't really think of anything that useful to carry first aid wise.

I take the same stuff I would if I was going with friends. Don't rely on any one for anything.

I normally ride by myself though, except the time I broke my arm when I wasn't riding by myself. 😐

this is the ideal pack for a 2 hour blast, really;

[url= http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3434/3381075375_568a9040c0.jp g" target="_blank">http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3434/3381075375_568a9040c0.jp g"/> [/img][/url]
[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/landed/3381075375/ ]Stupidly Big Rucksack[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/landed/ ]T?kuta[/url], on Flickr

I pack a whistle now too

I noticed whilst in Morzine that Osprey back packs have an integrated whistle in the chest strap clasp. They appear to be made by the same people that make the Camelbak straps and have the same fixing. Can't find it as a spare though on the Osprey site.

Aside form that I cary the same kit regardless of the length of ride. The only exception is if I'm doing an uplift day - like Cwm Down - with others. The reason being so that I am used to the weight and position for when I am riding further/harder.

Nice find [b]wwawwas[/b]... perhaps I can take the trusty "corby" with me 8)

CO2, tube, lever, multi-tool, chain link, phone, £10

That's for all rides, it's all in a zip-lok bag so just pop it in a pocket

Inner tube
Pump
Air cartridge
Multitool
Chaintool
Powerlink
Sweeties
Phone
Antiseptic wipes
Plasters
3l Water
Fox40 whistle. I also have an Acme tornado 2000 (for pissing people off at hockey festivals), but it is seriously deafening!
All fits into a Lobo

FWIW Lowe Alpine packs have whistles integrated into the sternum strap. Nice touch if you ask me.

I also have a little cow-bell on the bike in the autumn and winter to avoid being shot at (large game season)

I pretty much take the same stuff I'd take on a group ride:

-Phone (of course)
-2 spare tubes
-multi tool(s)
-zip ties
-Pump, spare missing link(s)
-clothing to suit weather (or forcast)
-Water and snacks
-First aid pack (has plasters, scisors, gause , etc...
-Maybe a survival blanket if I'm going to be a long way from civilization and/or theres a risk of a significant tumble...
-Dependant on set off time/time of year so emergency get home lights...

-If I'm striking out somewhere new to me I take a Map and compass and leave a marked up copy of the route with my missus...

I'll be honest; in all my years riding I've never thought to take a whistle, but I can think of no reason not to so I shall get one for my pack ASAP... I learned a little something today so Cheers to those who mentioned it above...

The evoc packs (my 20 l one anyway) have a whistle on the chest strap/buckle too. The're comfotable, well made and good design. If you do want a pack then its a good choice IMHO.
Not sure if the smaller ones have the back protector, I thought it was just the 16/20, so worth checking again before you buy one.
Pretty sure that they are on offer too (about 40-50% off) on sportpursuit at the moment.

FWIW, I find its far too hot to use a backpack comfortably in our scorching summer. Pockets and water bottle ftw.

Solo short rides near civilisation, just the usual trail spares and repairs in jersey pockets and a big cheque with the bank of karma that I'll be found before I bleed out.

Longer rides, the usual spares and repairs +
* first aid kit
* space blanket
* survival sack
* energy gells (suprisingly good at cheering people up after a bad stack)

The first aid kit's quite bulky, but anoyingly I've only needed it on rides I've not had it!

Space blanket and survival sack live in the bladder pocket and take up no room.

Last time we had one of these threads TJ argued that he doesn't cary anything as nowhere in the UK is more than a couple of miles from civilisation or a road, My counter argument is 2 miles is a bloody long way with a broke leg.

So what if you have a big off.. smash your phone up in one pocket and give yourself a dead leg with the multi tool in the other. Break your arm so the bone is sticking out and squirting claret out and you also have busted up lips so can't blow your whistle. Do you just cut your arm off with your multi tool like in that film where the **** gets stuck in the cave and drag yourself back to the car with your 2 unbroken fingers

Wingnut's have an integrated whistle/clip too.

DrP

All of the above suggestions (including the trouser press) are more sensible than this:

http://forums.mtbr.com/general-discussion/what-gun-carry-rides-765016.html

Couple of questions...

I can see a whistle would work in total wilderness, but I know around are way you could be far enough away not to get found, but near enough for people to think your just being an annoying twunt with a whistle.

Why £10 too? I always carry a £50 note

http://www.rockrun.com/products/Rucksack-Chest-Strap-with-Whistle-%252d-19mm.html

you can get them as spares, might see if this will retrofit to my camelback as mentioned

oh and btw my emergency kit = wallet with driving licence and money if im lucky and phone. generally shove a rain jacket in the CB if the weather looks iffy and im out > morning

Why £10 too?

3 pints and a pie, I worked out that 3 pints is about how long it would take the missus to come and get me from the furthest point I'm likely to be away 🙂
Besides, no one will take a 50

So what if you have a big off.. smash your phone up in one pocket and give yourself a dead leg with the multi tool in the other. Break your arm so the bone is sticking out and squirting claret out and you also have busted up lips so can't blow your whistle. Do you just cut your arm off with your multi tool like in that film where the **** gets stuck in the cave and drag yourself back to the car with your 2 unbroken fingers

You missed the bit where you clean off the wound in the fold out kitchen sink.

On a serious note, I'd figure out if I could walk/ride out. If not then find somewhere sheltered for any weather but still visible from the path and get warm with the space blanket and survival bag. Then wait for the rescue as I've told someone where I'm going so they know where to look. Simples.

[i]3 pints and a pie[/i]

😯

you live in 1993 don't you?

you live in 1993 don't you?

no, the North

[i]If not then find somewhere sheltered for any weather but still visible from the path[/i]

When I broke my hip it took me 10 minutes and nearly passing out to roll onto my back so I could get my arm in my jacket pocket to get my phone out.

Wingnut's have an integrated whistle/clip too.

Cheers. I need a new strap for my Camel back so will try and find an Osprey / Evoc / Wingnut version to replace it with.

3 pints and a pie, I worked out that 3 pints is about how long it would take the missus to come and get me from the furthest point I'm likely to be away

Dear God! That's the closest thing to genius I've ever read. A true triumph of rationality and logic. I salute you sir!

stuff to fix the bike, phone and credit card, money, food and clothing as appropriate.

Exactly what I take on a group ride.

mk1fan -Member POSTED 2 MINUTES AGO # REPORT-POST Wingnut's have an integrated whistle/clip too. Cheers. I need a new strap for my Camel back so will try and find an Osprey / Evoc / Wingnut version to replace it with.

Titusrider's link [s]up there^^^[/s] on the previous page is what you want

you live in 1993 don't you?

no, the North

Same thing isn't it?

I can see a whistle would work in total wilderness, but I know around are way you could be far enough away not to get found, but near enough for people to think your just being an annoying twunt with a whistle.

Learn the recognised distress signal - in this country that would be six blasts (.....gap.......repeat).

All this talk about whistles

Surely there's an app for that? 😉

In some of the places we ride at night, I'd rather run the risk of dying of hypothermia than blow a whistle and attract attention to myself while rendered immobile 😯

ocrider

Yeah thanks. My Camelbak is has the snap in clips onto piping, can't remember what the Dakine has. For £4.50 though, it won't break the bank to try and 'bodge' it together.

2 spare tubes, a pump, 3 tyre levers, a multi-tool, a magic box (containing two disk bolt, a pair of spare pads, a quick link for the chain, a few zip-ties and a couple of spare bolt), a mech hanger, a fleece a jacket, a survival blanket, a whistle, some food and obviously water. I carry as well in the magic box a 10€ notes and my phone with me.
To be honest I carry as much for group rides.
So far I have used everything but the whistle and the survival blanket, but just in case...

You could easily be out of sight at a trail centre (behind bushes, trees, over an edge, etc) not just in the wilderness. You won't be just an annoying twunt if you use the correct signal (which I'm surprised nobody has mentioned thus far).[url= http://www.home-cov.demon.co.uk/signal.htm ][/url]

Good luck with using a mobile at Glentress.

some of those answers made me smile,thanks I needed that.

always ride alone,most often at night.
some food,some water.hammock(tiny foldable one)a book I don't mind rereading.
a multitool.some zipties.
little ziplock bag with sugar and salt.
sometimes I take a spoke wrench.
pump-
on the road bike,tyre levers and a tube,pump.phone.cc.10-20eu.

the ambulance/police usually take care of most things if things go really pear shaped I've found.

I dont often ride alone.. But I've just reduced my backpack to minimum (for me anyway).

Bought a Lidl Backpack the other day for £9 and it's uber light.

[url= http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7130/7631105830_4b8efae1c4_o.jp g" target="_blank">http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7130/7631105830_4b8efae1c4_o.jp g"/> [/img][/url]
[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/58162507@N07/7631105830/ ]Lidl Backpack[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/58162507@N07/ ]SGMTB[/url], on Flickr

Things I now carry. Other than a bit of food and water.

Pump
Inner tube
Multitool
Mini first aid kit (couple of plasters and a bandage)
Pocketknife with a whistle (Firesteel things)
Small bag of things...zip ties mech hanger etc.

I FEEL SO MUCH LIGHTER 🙂

--

Do like that giant bag earlier in the thread.

PS the bag as a fold out mesh for a helmet. But I use it for shin pads.

Painkillers. Ibuprofen. Water.

Usually enough to get back to the car / help after broken bones. Brupen helps keeps the swelling down aparently.

For lone night rides:

A silver bullet (for the werewolves)
A cross and some garlic (for the vampires)
A couple of quid (for a pint when I reach the pub)

I ride in the desert alone - so plenty of water, GPS, mobile phone, whistle, first aid kit, pain killers, lights, spare tubes, pump, tools, food and sun cream!

I take my collie. I'm hoping he's related to lassie...

I always take ribbed condoms (for her pleasure)

hora - Member
I always take ribbed condoms

I'd heard you were a taker

Can I have some time to formulate a witty comeback line?

😆

usually don't take anything other than standard pump, tube etc. However last Sunday had a BIG off on a local loop I have rode a billion times before. Had to ride home with busted ribs, knee shoulder and arm, moral of the story is I should join the real world and get a bluddy mobile. Spent the rest of the night in A&E. Worst part is I got a brand new zesty 314 this week and everytime I try to ride it's bluddy agony!:( 🙁 🙁

weeksy - Member

Seriously?

Water. £10. an energy bar. 1 tube. Multitool. MOBILE PHONE

I don't own a mobile phone. Just two tin cans and a bit of string. 🙁

If you take a mobile DONT pin lock it. Potentially useless if you suffer a head injury.

By the time I reached hospital I couldnt remember who the Prime Minister was let alone let them call my next of kin. Now U carry a dogtag (6 quid) with my name, DOB, blood type, no allergies and next of kins number.

Brucey bonus is if I lose my car keys..

Dogtag company kindly agreed to engrave all the info

thisisnotaspoon
Last time we had one of these threads TJ argued that he doesn't cary anything as nowhere in the UK is more than a couple of miles from civilisation or a road, My counter argument is 2 miles is a bloody long way with a broke leg.

Not quite - I do carry a kit in remoter areas but it is questionable how much difference you can really make with a kit you can carry easily. What can you do with a first aid kit for the person with a broken leg that you can't otherswise. Painkillers is about it. Everything else can be improvised

I certainly carry far less stuff than most folk and not even a mobile phone. The key thing is knowledge.

It does amuse me how much some folk carry for a ride around the woods.

Me? Mini pump on frame clip, Multitool, tube, couple of chain links, couple of small nuts and bolts, patches in a small seat pouch. food in pockets. Map in unknown areas. Nowt else. Why carry a load of crap you don't need? All adds weight

First aid kit on longer rides into remote areas. Sometimes have a first kit to leave in the car if driving to a group ride

I carry some puncture stuff or something but never used it...condoms though, that's a different matter. I personally carry the variety pack, ribbed (for her pleasure) flavored just in case it's a hot ride and things get a bit sweaty and ultra thin just in case I feel reckless.

I ride on my own the majority of the time and I've got a Camelbak Mule that's exactly the same wherever I am. Just stays packed:

Front pocket:
Whistle (on the key ring in the front pocket) with keys & tablets
Mini compass, cash, zip ties, 10spd quick link - all in a plastic bag
Grub (quantity depends on ride length)
Multitool with link extractor

Main pocket: 2x tubes, pump, levers, first aid kit, foil blanket. Gilet if its bad out. Bladder.

Top pocket: phone (for what it's worth)

I also [u]always[/u] wear a Road ID - tells them who the missus is, where my titanium bits are and what tablets I should have taken that day... famous last words.

2 hour blasts: a multitool

More than 2 hours: spare inner tube, mini pump, water, first aid kit (about as useful as a chocolate tea pot), multitool, oh and my phone. All located in my Dueter Race X backpack.

If you crash hard enough and knock yourself out, what use is a phone. I wear a bright coloured DH jersey, so increasing my chances of being spotted in the undergrowth/ditch.

I wear a half face helmet and knee pads too.

same as i always carry weather on my own or in a group,my north face hammerhead hydration pack has a whistle as part of the chest strap

To beckon the woolly honeys?

Local 1hr blast - iPhone & headphones

Longer local ride - as above + multitool, pump, tube.

redthunder.. great size backpack.. a little more compact than the one posted earlier. Will go see if i can get me one of those.
A few photos from my ride this evening (actually remembered to take my phone)..

[IMG] [/IMG]

[IMG] [/IMG]

The only bit of the, admittedly quite extensive, amount of kit I carry that I haven't used is the [two] emergency foil blanket. Everything else I have used at some point on the trail.

I always pack my inner-mother. She stops me from doing risky stuff when I'm on my own. OK sometimes I ignore her but it's situation dependent. For example: I was solo up on the Black Mountains Black Route on Sunday and it was not a situation to take the pee by riding full-gas either up or down. Mummy was insistent I rode gently and took proper rests.

So don't forget your inner-mother

I almost never ride alone ... honestly... where I am the bears and cougars will get you 😆 (At least partly true though, riding in groups is recommended)

Me? Mini pump on frame clip, Multitool, tube, couple of chain links, couple of small nuts and bolts, patches in a small seat pouch. food in pockets. Map in unknown areas. Nowt else. Why carry a load of crap you don't need?

By a strange coincidence I bought a pack of 5 whistle buckles off ebay the other day and was fitting them to rucksacks last night. On the camelback I was just able to change the clippy side for the whistle clippy one with no sewing required, on my alpkit gourdon I had to undo the stitching and sew in both sides of the new buckle

I only ever really ride dh or jumps now so if i do come off I'm only a shortish crawl to the car park/help 🙂 for more xc rides i just take normal stuff - tube or 2, patches, multi tool, chain tool, water and some food. I think some people here are going a bit overboard, biking isn't that dangerous!

I think some people here are going a bit overboard, [s]biking[/s] [b]trailcentre riding[/b] isn't that dangerous!

FTFY

Same as on a group ride as it's never good when it was always the other guys turn to bring the pump.

So
Pump
Tubes 2 or 3
Glueless patches (for emergency or bad karma)
Multi Tool with chain splitter (- never bothered with magic links on the trail they always get lost)
Water
Few bars
Some Lucozade tablets
Shock Pump (I know I'm soooo over prepared)
Small first aid kit
Spare Top
Jacket
Phone
Map if I'm out of local area compass if up high
Tyre Levers
Cash
Camera/GoPro
Mech Hanger

Reason for a few of those things
Spare top is for when you get caught in that mad shower and get soaked before the jacket goes on
First Aid Kit - Enough to stop bleeding and cover a nasty wound - missus came off and put a hole in her elbow, she was able to ride out but much better to stop more stuff getting in wound and blood pissing everywhere.

My bag weighs something, it's not that significant. It has things I might need but not a full workshop.

Juan i have done plenty of natural/non trail centre riding, still not that dangerous!

Remember the days you'd see Jazz mags strewn around? Maybe a fellow rider had taken some al fresco reading material.

Its all digital now.

Going slightly off piste here, but extending the "you carry HOW much" idea a little further, I am amazed at how much clothing other people wear when MTB! Am I the only one who sweats a lot?!? Turned up for a first ride with a mate recently and he was decked in three layers including waterproof jacket and then wonders why he was pooled in buckets of sweat within minutes. Magazine features show people generally in jackets, again, are they not overheating?

Still in amazement that I spent my childhood riding miles and miles across all sorts of terrain without carrying anything apart from some cash to buy a drink and some food in a shop! Gosh, we were wild and irresponsible 😉

When I was 6(?) I once rode my Stryker from Hudds to Brighouse and back with nothing in my pockets except for knocking on doors and asking for glasses of water.

Jesus 😮

juan - Member
As I have said I used at least once all of what I carry with me except for the survival blanket (lets hope i'll never have to use this one)

I'd just like to confirm that I'm not juan despite the similarities. 🙂

All gone quiet on the admission that Hora is a 'taker'? Self acceptance is the first step.

Road bike - pump, tube, repair kit, gel, credit card, 20e note, phone, gilet/waterproof, tool, tyre levers

Same with speed links and a tool with a chain splitter but with the camelbak water reservoir.

Also have a little emergency card with next of kin, contacts etc in case I get hurt

gaffer tape, knife, chloroform

_tom_ - Member
Juan i have done plenty of natural/non trail centre riding, still not that dangerous!

I think Juan's mtb rides are a bit more mountainy than most of "ours" 😉