The only thing you REALLY need to bring on a ride

Last night I headed out for a slightly unexpected Thursday night ride at the local loop. After the kids were down, my wife graciously let me out of the house to go ride, of course with her obligatory “Don’t do anything stupid” parting phrase.

As this was sort of a last minute ride I had already mentally conceded that this would probably be a solo ride, which is always better than no ride at all, right? When I arrived at the trailhead though, I heard someone yell “is that Jeremy?” It was my friend Poy and he was about to start riding the loop too. Sweet, a ride partner!

As I was gathering my gear, I realized that I forgot some important essentials: cell phone and wallet. These items would normally be very important if I was riding a far less frequented trail but since I was riding the world famous Fullerton Loop and I was tagging along with a couple of friends, Poy and Matt (Poy’s friend), I figured I’d be fine if anything happened to me. I’d just have to make sure my riding partners knew I had Kaiser as my insurance so they could take me to the right hospital, the non-Kaiser hospital emergency room fees can get expensive!

About 4 miles into the ride I noticed I had a slow leaking flat. I normally only carry a co2 but I didn’t want to waste that on a leaker, so I asked to borrow a pump from my friends. After pumping up the tire, I heard a distinct hissing sound indicative of more than a slow leak. I figured that since we were already stopped, I might as swap out the tube and put in a fresh one. When I reached in to locate my co2 I realized it wasn’t in my bag. My last ride was on another bike and the co2 had been transferred to the bag on that bike. Doh!

After borrowing a couple of tire levers, a co2 and the hand pump, we were finally ready to resume our ride. I, of course, learned my lesson. The only thing you REALLY need to bring on a ride isn’t a hand pump, co2, or even tire levers. All you really need are a couple of riding buddies… who have those necessities.