Checklist for a bicycling outing

You’re frantic. Panicked even. In exactly one hour, your troop is heading out the door on a bicycling outing — and you’re struggling to pack. What clothes do you need to bring? How about extra gear?
No worries. Just take a deep breath and use this handy checklist. In addition to your basic outdoor gear, you’ll also need:

• Repair kit
• Screwdrivers sized for your bike’s various screws
• Allen wrenches and box wrenches for your bike
• Chain rivet extractor
• Spoke wrench
• Chain lube
• Tire patch kit
• Spare inner tube
• Mini pump

From Adam Craig, nine-time national mountain bike champion, Bend, Ore.

Multi-tool. “This will take care of the screwdriver, chain tool, Allen and box wrenches items from above, all while fitting in your pocket nicely.”

Hydration pack. “Whenever I’m not racing I’m wearing one of these packs. You can carry water, all of your tools and some extra clothing. Everything you’d ever need can fit in a small pack.”

Sunglasses. “I’m a big fan of riding with eyewear. It seems that whenever I have to take my glasses off due to rain (Rain-X helps a lot, by the way), I inevitably get poked in the eye with a stick.”

Gloves. “Sweaty hands don’t grab handlebars very well. And the branches that don’t poke you in the eye will surely scrape across your knuckles.”

• Energy bar. “This is important for two reasons: One, you get hungry when you ride. More important, though, is the fact that you can use the wrapper as a handy-dandy tire boot in case you run over something sharp that slices your tire. Before putting in your new inner tube, fold the energy bar wrapper to thicken it then place it between the sliced tire and tube. This ‘boot’ will keep the tube from popping again.”
• Zip ties. “I never leave home without them. They can fix a broken helmet or hold your pedal cage on after you hit a rock, in addition to just about anything else. Worth their weight in gold!”