What's the strangest thing you pack on a ride?

[Jimmy Doug]

I fell on a really useful tip about carrying a chopstick on a ride the other day here. It got me thinking about some of the strange things that some people pack - the things that other people notice and say "Hey, just why do you always take a chopstick/trowel/rubber-chicken with you on a ride?
So - how about it? What do you take that makes people point and say ... "Just why do you have this in your bag?"

PS - I'll now start taking a chopstick on my tours. But before that, the strangest thing I always took was a piece of electric-cable sheath. But if you were curious enough to look inside ... you'd see three spare spokes packed neatly and securely inside!

 

[MrJamie]

A pair of latex gloves for roadside repairs. Not particularly odd, but makes people wonder

 

[Ethan]

A bottle of childs antihistamine syrup!

I suffer from a very, very bad milk allergy.
It's easy enough to avoid milk in general, but sometimes things go wrong!
It wasn't that long ago that I had a sausage roll which didn't have any milk in, according to the ingredients. But some sort of cross contamination must have happened somewhere in production. I gobbled it all up happily enough, didn't notice a thing out of the ordinary. Normally that would be that bad, it would effect me at all - maybe a bit of gas later on in the day if Im unlucky. So of I went for a ride. But my allergy has a nasty habit of bringing about exercise induced anaphylactic shock. If I spill someones cup of tea on me and wash it asap, I'm fine normally.. But if I did the same and exercise within 2 or 3 hours afterwards I turn into the elephant man! (and my throat swells up, which isn't nice!!!) if it happens at home its not that much of a worry, I just get down to A&E depending on how bad the reaction is going to be (luckily I have a decent gauge on it. I can tell if its going to be a bad one where my throat swells and I can't breath or if its just going to be an hour of being stupidly itchy.)
But this sausage role incident happened 5/6 miles from home. For some reason only known to the lord almighty the NHS won't give me an epipen, so I was stick with either the option of calling an ambulance or sitting it out

Since the sausage roll incident I ALWAYS carry antihistamine, which helps counteract the reaction.
I've only ever came across one other person who took antihistamine on rides with him - he couldn't understand why I didn't just use the more conventional tablets instead of a bottle of foul goo for 'ages 2 - 5'.
I informed him the tablets have milk in, not good when you need it to stop allergic reactions to milk - Much to his amusement

 

[Accy cyclist]

I used to cycle on the canal bank to a factory i worked at years ago. There were quite a few swans on the cleanest parts of the canal and when it was breeding time they'd protect their young against anyone who came close. On many an occasion i had to flee over a fence and carry my bike through long grass to get past them, or simply back up and get back onto the road. I'd had enough of being late for work because of this, so i read up about them, and what makes them placid etc. I read that they liked corn and brussel sprouts, so from then on i always carried a big bag of corn on the cob(not bloody cheap either )and a bag of brussel sprouts to throw to the swans so that i could pass them.

 

[Jimmy Doug]

Did at it work Accy?

 

[Accy cyclist]

Did at it work Accy?

Yes and no. They stopped being aggressive when i threw the corn and sprouts to distract them so i could pass, but after a while i think they must have recognised me and made a friendly bee line for me expecting to be fed everytime i passed.
Eventualy after the breeding season the swans moved on, but my troubles weren't over. Some Canadian geese then decided to set up camp further down the route!!Now they can get vicious!!!

 

[Jimmy Doug]

My work is in a large grounds with a small lake, river and ... old castle. A few weeks ago, two of the geese, one male, one female, started getting braver and braver and began approaching the students and staff. Soon they got into the habit of waiting outside the canteen every lunchtime. They were always together - like a pair of lovers - and they quickly learned what time to stand outside the canteen doors. My guess is that some of the students had started feeding them bread that they'd smuggled out of the canteen. At first it was funny - kind of cute - but then they started getting agressive. Apparently some people got bit - they'd even have a go at some of the cars. Then one day one of the geese disappeared. No-one knows what happened to him but rumours around that fantastic duck pâté the French love so much inevitably began to circulate. Now the female waddles around by herself. It took a long while before she gave up looking for her mate. Sad really.

 

[Accy cyclist]

Aaah that is sad. I wouldn't harm any creature unless i was in serious danger but sometimes needs must as they say. Yes those Canadian geese are notorious for attacking you if they know/think that you have food on you. I took my family to Fairhaven Lake at Lytham near Blackpool the other year. We decided to have a wander around the quieter part of the boating lake, then we were confronted by about a hundred of the critters!! I made the mistake of throwing a sandwich away from us to try and distract them while we fled. They must have sensed that i had more food on me as they started circling us,it was like that Alfred Hitchcock film!! I offloaded the remainder of our picnic on the floor, then we calmly, nervously walked away from the flock of mad creatures!
I saw on the local news the other month that they were going to have a cull of Canadian geese on lake Windermere because there were so many of them and they were constantly attacking tourists.

 

[Bikerchick]

Forget all the techi stuff and repair kit, I always make sure I have a nice old fashioned Worther in my pocket in case of emergencies or a sad on!!

 

[youngoldbloke]

Others think it strange that I carry a disposable shower cap - slip it over your helmet in heavy rain and keep your head dry. (I use the plain transparent plastic ones from Boots - pink frilly ones are no doubt available elsewhere )

 

[Jimmy Doug]

Forget all the techi stuff and repair kit, I always make sure I have a nice old fashioned Worther in my pocket in case of emergencies or a sad on!!

Sorry for my ignorance: what's a Worther?

Others think it strange that I carry a disposable shower cap - slip it over your helmet in heavy rain and keep your head dry. (I use the plain transparent plastic ones from Boots - pink frilly ones are no doubt available elsewhere )

This sounds very sensible too me - you don't get your view obstruced by a hood when you look behind. But doesn't the water run down the cap and the back of your neck?

 

[addictfreak]

Condoms, well you never know!

 

[Paul J]

Rubber bands so I don't have to tuck my trousers in my socks to keep them out of the chain, and no there not flares

 

[Bikerchick]

Sorry for my ignorance: what's a Worther?

A Worther is a good old fashioned sweet, making a bit of a come back, also available as toffees but not as good as a worthers original, try one, you might like it!!


This sounds very sensible too me - you don't get your view obstruced by a hood when you look behind. But doesn't the water run down the cap and the back of your neck?

 

[ColinJ]

Sorry for my ignorance: what's a Worther?

As Bikerchick suggested - sweets, but the spelling is actually Werther (unless it is a different thing altogether spelt Worther!).

I can justify most of the things in my bike bag, but some of the more unusual things are:

• A length of chain so I have the option of repairing a badly mangled chain without shortening it
• Spare pair of SPD cleats and bolts (a friend somehow lost a SPD cleat once and had a rather dodgy ride home resting his foot on top of the pedal, but not clipped in)
• A mini-tripod for my camera (even when I leave the camera at home!)
• A length of gaffer tape rolled up (handy for bodge repairs e.g. on split tyres)