What To Pack in Your "Oh, Shit" Kit
I was out for a ride with my friend Colleen when her chain popped. As I finished putting it back on for her, she ever so sweetly handed me a little white packet. A single serve hand wipe. WHAT?!? She just has those on hand?! I was flabbergasted and thrilled to have something other than my chamois to wipe my greasy hands on. I would have NEVER thought to carry those. Then I was embarrassed to admit that I actually never ride with anything more than my my house key and my phone (if I even remembered to grab that). Yup, no spare tube, no tire levers, no CO2 cartridges, no wet hand wipes. I wish I could say that it's because I like to live on the wild side, but really it's just irresponsible. And quite greedy to boot. Had I gotten a flat, I know for a fact that Colleen would have handed over her spare without even thinking about it. How selfish of me to solely rely on the contents of her well planned "Oh Shit Kit".
And so, I went and put together my own (believe it or not, I already had EVERYTHING, I just never put it all together). It wasn't hard, or really all that expensive (even when you do need to purchase it all from scratch). In fact, having worked in bike shops for over 6 years, I've built my fair share of them for customers. It's not that I never thought to do it for myself, it's just one of those things I always put on the back burner, and as I mentioned, I already owned the contents, I really just have been that incredibly lazy.
Anyway, enough rambling on about my own personal flaws. Without further ado....
What to Pack in Your "Oh, Shit" Kit:
- Spare Tube
- Tire Levers
- CO2 Cartredges OR Pump
- Multi Tool
- Lib Balm
- Wet Naps (optional)
- Bandaids (optional)
- A Bag to Carry it all in.
In the case that you don't actually know how to fix your own flat, have no fear - I'm working on that ;) In the meantime, PLEASE still carry your own little prepared kit. If nothing else, hopefully another rider will be kind enough to stop and assist you, and you'll at least be well respected for being prepared, hand wipes and all :)
Did I miss something?! Do you have an oddball "must-have" in your kit? Share below!