Whats in the Bag?

Hi all and how is your weekend so far? things are going pretty well here on planet Simon and so far I have managed to get some riding done this week despite the less than favorable weather we have been having, as it happens today I actually got out on the bike for a ride before breakfast and I have been hitting the dumb bells and body weight sessions when I cant ride, safe to say I am pretty proud of myself.
Although my energy levels are pretty good and I am riding quite strong at the moment things are not quite as they should be, you know what?  I am tired  now I am not talking physically here I am talking mental tiredness, I am seriously in need of a break away from my normal everyday life here at home.
Something must be done as it is starting to affect my moods and I am relapsing back to an old habit or two most noticeably my best emotional defense weapon, pushing people away when I think they get too close to me or when I think I am getting too close to them. Not sure what I am going to do but I might see if I can scrounge enough money together for a long weekend away, hell maybe even a week, will see.

Right back to the purpose of the post, It cropped up in a few posts in twitter about people riding solo and being worried about being stuck out on the road or having an accident. I have pretty much done all my rides solo for years with a club ride once or twice a week when I could, my rides would take me out and over Dartmoor and into the relative "middle of no where" with just my bike and backpack for company, and we are talking pre mobile phone here too.

I am not sure how it is for other cyclists but I  like to be pretty self sufficient when out riding, I have good mechanical skills and a McGyver like ability to fix (bodge) things if needed as a friend reminded me last weekend when we got to talking about old rides and having to use a large boulder to straiten a wheel he pretzel ed. So what do I carry in my bag?

In this photo we have.

• First Aid Kit
• 2 Torq nutrition gels (Rhubarb and custard flavor)
• 2 Torq energy bars
• Park mini tool kit
• Spare tube
• Pump
• Also I carry 2-3 zip ties and my waterproof all in a bag

This is my tool pack, pretty comprehensive

• Repair patches, inner tube and tire boot
• Spoke key (large boulders work too)
• Tire levers
• Open end spanner with all important bottle opener
• Multi tool (too many to list)
• Torx spanner
• Chain tool

All this I carry in my CamelBak Cloudwalker with a 2 or 3 liter water bladder (longer rides only) and also I carry a water bottle on the bike with an energy drink mix in. All that will keep me going for up to 5-6 hours plus and allows me to make almost all repairs to both me and bike while still out on the trail allowing me to get home heaven forbid the worst happen.

Well that's all from me for today, the weather is not looking too smart right now so I wont promise any helmet cam clips or photo's for my next update but I will see, next week is another full week of riding before my rest week so fingers crossed I am going to step it up some.