There is a surprising amount of kit that you need to take with you on a long ride
if you're going to be completely self sufficient but as you can see here,
it's pretty difficult to put all of this stuff into the three back pockets you get
on a cycling jersey. So here's a guide to how we, here at GCN,
pack our kit, efficiently.
So laid out neatly on this table, here's the kit that you need to take out on a
long ride. First up, gilet, rain cape, a couple of energy gels,
some food, phone and a waterproof case, a couple of tire levers,
some patches, a mini pump, a multi tool, a super multi tool, two inner tubes,
a mini tube of sun tan cream depending on the weather of course,
ID, a wallet, some cash, a rather retro way of carrying your kit,
a bidon.
So how, do I hear you ask, are we going to fit all of this in our pockets?
The answer, we're not. Nope, packaging all of this into your jersey will see your
pockets bulging and kit flying off left, right, and center. And that,
ladies and gentlemen, is where a saddlebag becomes invaluable.
So, in the saddlebag, you put the following things: some patches,
they fit neatly in the top there, your two inner tubs, these go very snuggly in
there, nice and tight, which is what you want, and it still leaves room for your
tire levers, slot those down in there, and also, a multi tool.
There we go, slide down the side, nice and neat. Zip that up.
How compact and efficient is that?
So with your inner tubes and tools out of the way, let's move on to the other stuff.
So my cape and my mini pump are generally put together, so that it doesn't dig in
and stick into my middle pocket at the back, keeping it nice and central,
and balanced. Now, next up is cash. Now there's a few ways you can carry cash on a
ride. A really old school secret way of stashing, you got a £20 note here,
just enough to cover any eventualities and also a coffee stop,
if needed, is to pop out the end plugs on your handlebars and stow that neatly
inside. And another way of storing money, is this. A lot of you may do it already
but it's a good one. If you've got a phone case, you slip your £20 note or whatever
currency in use in your country of course, stick it in there and that
negates the need to take your wallet with you. Now while we are on the subject
of phones, even though most phones do come with a case, it's all about looking after
the screen and not scratching it, especially when you're taking things in
and out of your pocket on a ride. So get yourself a little plastic case,
something like this, this is just an old Santini bag the arm warmers are stored in,
pop that inside, keeps it waterproof and snug with a little zip lock on it.
You can fold it up and your phone is ready to go really.
Now finally, one of the last bits of kit that might be important on a ride or just
going out generally, is some ID. So take a driving license for example and a company
called Road ID, also make wrist bands that contains all the details that you need,
should you get into difficulty. Add to that, your gels, you can stick them either
side, you got a nice balanced set of pockets so you can go on your way.
Now one other thing that you might want to take on a ride with you,
but certainly not in the weather conditions we've got in the UK at the
moment, is a small tube of sun tan cream. Like I said, definitely not today.
Finally, a bit of an old school method for carrying your kit, we have touched on this
before in one of our GCN videos but here is a reminder for you.
You get an old bidon, cut off the top, a lot of pros do this actually,
and a bit of a reminder, you will need two bottle cages on your bike,
otherwise you're going to go a little bit thirsty. Cut off the top,
get your kit. So you've got your inner tubes neatly packed, a suitably sized
plastic bag, patches, your multi tool, and your tire levers. Roll them all up,
nice and compact, nice and tight, like so. Baking skills coming in there.
Slot it in, nice and neat, and there you have it.
And if you like this video, make sure you give it a thumbs up.
And for our etiquette video, click up here and how to ride like a gentleman or
a gentle lady cyclist, click down here. And to become a fan and subscribe
to GCN, it's absolutely free, click on my old school bidon.
Oh, pardon me. Sorry about that! Sorry!