What To Pack For A Bike Ride & How To Carry It

Whether you’re heading out for a quick spin around the neighborhood or embarking on an epic adventure, being prepared can make the difference between a great ride and a miserable one. Let me share what I’ve learned from thousands of hours in the saddle about what to pack for your bike rides.

I’ve broken this into two sections: things you should pack on EVERY bike ride, and additional items you might want to throw in for longer or more remote rides. I’ll also share how to carry all of this stuff.

Things I Pack On EVERY Bike Ride

Every time I throw my leg over the bike, there are certain items I never leave home without. And if I forget them (which I’ve been known to do), I usually regret it.

Water

Water is absolutely crucial for staying hydrated and performing your best. I typically recommend carrying one bottle for every hour you plan to ride. You can carry these in bottle cages, a hydration pack, or even your jersey pockets. If your route passes by places to refill, you can get away with carrying less. If it’s a scorching hot day, you may need extra.

On any ride longer than an hour, I also bring an electrolyte drink like Osmo or Skratch Labs. You can just bring the powder in a baggie or in a pre-packaged serving, and add it to your water out on the road or trail.

Snacks And Electrolytes

Fueling is just as important as hydration, so I always pack some snacks. Even on shorter rides, having some quick energy on hand can save you from bonking. Trust me, I’ve learned this lesson the hard way!

I recommend packing 1.5 calories for every pound of body weight per hour that you’ll be riding. And then throw in a little extra just in case. I’d always rather have too many calories than not enough.

Great ride snacks are easy to pack and quick to digest, including things like energy gummies, pastries, bananas, and pretzels.

Mini Pump or CO2

After snacks and water, the other thing I would never dream of leaving behind is a mini-pump. My longtime favorite is the Lezyne HP Drive. Ride long enough, and you will use it on many, many rides.

You may also choose to carry a CO2 cartridge and inflator. CO2 particularly comes in handy with road tires which require such a high tire pressure that it can be hard to achieve with just a hand pump.

That said, they’re also not as reliable. I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve seen someone accidentally release the CO2 without actually filling their tire.

For this reason, I always carry a mini pump even if I have a CO2. The only time I wouldn’t is if I was in a short race (like a crit or XC mountain bike race) where I’m close to help and time and weight are a priority.

Tube Or Tubeless Plugs & Tire Levers

If your tire isn’t just low but FLAT, you’re going to need more than just a pump to fix it. If you have tubes in your tires, you’ll need a spare tube and tire levers to change it.

If you have tubeless tires, then you may choose to carry tubeless plugs and leave the tube at home. This is a safe bet for shorter rides close to home, but if you’re going to be farther from help, I’d still recommend carrying a tube and levers regardless. You can throw a tube into a tubeless tire to get you home (although it will be messy).

Multi Tool

A good bike multi-tool can help you in an endless number of situations. It will allow you to tighten loose bolts, adjust your saddle, and depending on how many gadgets it has, even do things like break a chain.

Identification

The ID isn’t just for buying a post-ride beer. If, heaven forbid something happens, it’s essential for emergency responders to identify you and contact your loved ones. I’m a big fan of a Road ID bracelet, or you can even tape your emergency info to your top tube. If you’re not the kind of person that will lose it, you can also just take your driver’s license.

Cash Or Credit Card

Even if I don’t think I’ll need it, I always leave some money in my bike bag. There are sooooo many ways it can end up coming in handy.

You might decide to buy snacks at a gas station. Multiple times I’ve ended up buying a spare tube or chain link off of another rider. And, I’ve even used a credit card to get a taxi when I was stranded with a broken bike.

Cell Phone

Your phone serves multiple purposes: navigation, emergencies, and letting loved ones track your location for safety. Just make sure your phone is fully charged before you leave home. If it’s not, or if you’re going to be out all day, you can even consider carrying a charge cord and a small battery pack.

Things I *May* Pack On Longer Rides

The further you get from home and the harder it is for someone to rescue you, the more you’ll want to pack. You won’t need ALL of these things on every long ride. The key is to think about your specific ride – how long you’ll be out, how far from help you might be, and whether you’re riding solo or with friends.

Extra Clothing

On an hour-long ride, I can usually get away with wearing whatever I left the house in. On longer rides, however, especially in cooler weather, it makes sense to pack extra layers, both for safety and comfort.

Weather can change quickly, especially in the mountains. Things you might want to consider are arm warmers, a light jacket, or even a rain shell depending on the forecast.

More Comprehensive Toolkit

Over the years, I’ve built up a pretty thorough toolkit that can get me through just about anything barring a true disaster. It includes things like a chainbreaker, spare link, needle and thread (for sewing a torn sidewall), spare bolts, a strip of duct tape, zip ties, and other miscellaneous items. If you’re going to be riding in more remote areas or on your own, it’s worth taking the time to collect these items AND to learn how to use them.

A Spot Or Garmin InReach

If I’m riding alone outside of cell service, I always carry my Spot tracker. It allows my husband to track my location, and it allows me to alert emergency services if needed. A Garmin InReach takes this one step further by also allowing you to send text messages via satellite.

Navigation Device

For navigation on these bigger rides, I recommend either a dedicated GPS unit or a navigation app on your phone with downloaded maps. I like the Gaia GPS app, and I’ll carry a spare battery to make sure my phone stays charged.

Lights

If there’s any chance you’ll be out after dark, bring bike lights. Even if you think you’ll be home before dark, it’s not a bad idea to throw on some small, unobtrusive lights.

First Aid Kit, Medications, & Other Emergency Gear

Safety items become critical on remote rides. I carry a basic first aid kit, assorted medications like Ibuprofen and Tums, and sometimes even a space blanket or chemical hand warmers. These items are lightweight but could be absolutely crucial in an emergency situation.

Personal Care Items

This might include items like sunscreen, chapstick, baby wipes, chamois butter, or female hygiene items.

Water Filter Or Iodine Tablets

Sometimes on long rides, you know you’ll be passing towns where you can refill water at a gas station or city park. Other times, you may go long distances without a spigot to refill. In those instances, I carry a lightweight water filter (the Katadyn BeFree). That way if I pass a stream, lake, or other water source, I know I can get drinkable water. An alternative is to carry Iodine tablets to treat the water.

How To Carry Everything

Remember, you don’t need to carry every single item on every ride. Use your judgment based on the specific circumstances of your adventure. The goal is to be prepared without being overloaded.

But even once you’ve paired the list down, you may be wondering, how the heck do I carry all of this?!? There are several options, and everybody has their own personal favorites.

Water bottle cage. For water, a water bottle cage, or cages, mounted to the frame is one of the best ways to go.

Jersey pockets. If you have a cycling jersey with pockets in the back, you can use these to carry things. I’ll often carry some snacks, my cell phone, and even a jacket in my jersey pockets when I ride on the road.

Seatpost bag. A saddle bag is a small bag you can affix to the rails and/or seatpost on your saddle. This is a popular way to stash some simple items like a spare tube and tire levers.

Handlebar bag. I love a good handlebar bag, and find that they are particularly popular amongst women and gravel cyclists, but anybody can use one. This is a little bigger than a seatpost bag, and is ideal for carrying things like extra layers.

Top tube bag or feed bag. You can also affix a bag to the top tube of your frame or add a small feed bag to your handlebar. These are both smaller bags but work well for things like snacks, water bottles, and electrolytes.

Hydration pack. Hydration packs come in several forms–as a backpack style pack, a hip pack, or even a vest. They’re particularly popular for mountain biking. Personally, I love my Osprey hip pack. A hydration pack carries your water, and depending on the size, can fit things like tools, extra layers, snacks, and more.

Frame bag. Riding all day (or even for multiple days)? Then you may want to add a frame bag to your bike. This provides a lot of extra storage space. I use my frame bag for bikepacking, but also for riding in the winter when I need to bring a lot of extra clothing layers.

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