Sam Manicom
I carry a lot in my bike jacket pockets, to increase my comfort, to make life easier, and to help deal with the unexpected.
These things don’t take up much room, so they are always there.
■ Pair of foam ear plugs – in case I lose the custom moulded plugs.
■ Hand gel & face mask – in these times, always handy.
■ Leatherman – An amazingly practical tool.
■ Phone & charging cable – rather a must.
■ Wallet – Always contains my Organ Donor Card.
■ Ball pen and small pad/piece of paper – Old skool!
■ Sunblock chapstick – Drying and burnt lips can be horribly distracting.
■ Ultra-thin beanie and thin glove liners – If the weather turns cold.
■ Fuses – It’d be daft not to!
■ Glasses lens cleaning cloths – Got four eyes? You need these.
■ Pack of chewing gum – Never ride without.
■ Paracetamol and two-day supply of tablets – best be prepared.
■ Small laminated Emergency Contact, Blood Group and Medication sheet (playing card size).
■ Toilet paper – multi-purpose.
■ Four medium length cable ties – You just never know when they will come in handy.
■ Suspension adjusting spanner – in case I carry a passenger, then a turn or two and the ride is spot on.
■ Length of string as long as the widest point on my bike – to easily see if I could get my bike through a doorway or down an alleyway.
■ The other thing I always carry is my wide brim leather hat – sunshade and rain shelter.
There’s always a tool kit and puncture repair kit under my saddle, and if I’m on a trip long enough to carry one, i.e., more than a day, I’ll use a tank bag, in which I put the following: a back-up charger; intercom charging cable; bottle of water; small bag of peanuts; small bottle of sunblock; paperback book; small roll of electrical tape; a few more cable ties; SLR camera plus spare memory card and spare battery; and a collapsible umbrella – If it’s baking hot I have a portable pool of shade to walk around in. If it’s binning down with rain and I’m wandering around off the bike, I’m doing so in the dry. If I break down in the rain or sun, I have some dry or shady space to work in.