What To Take...?

Riding with my Brother-in-law Aaron is great!  His laid back manner and love of life are often disarming in the best the ways.

I remember heading over to his place one day to pick him up to go for a ride; I'm pretty sure that on this occasion we were going Mountain Biking. 

Now whenever I'm heading out for the trails on my mountain bike, I like to make sure I've got everything I need - and those things I may need - before I head off; especially if I'm loading up the car to journey to the trail-head as we were doing this day.

I really don't like to forget anything, so I am always double checking and sometimes stressing that I've got all my gear.

This particular morning, after going through my usual routine, I rock up at Aaron's place and while he's still getting ready - I assume - I start loading his bike onto the bike rack and putting some of his kit in the car.

As we got into the car, I must have asking something like "have you got everything?" and I remember him sitting there in the passenger seat; he had a quick look around the car and then said "Well, I've got my bike, my shoes and my helmet - so that's the essentials covered!"  

My wife's Grandpa; William 'Dickie' Guy, all packed and set for an across country ride from Melbourne to Adelaide - I wish!

And that was that; we were ready to go.  I remember thinking how easy he made it sound, and in all honesty he was right, everything else is just about comfort, 'helps' and peace-of-mind.

So each time I've looked at my equipment list for this event, I've tried to keep things in perspective.  It hasn't stop the list from getting any bigger though.  This event isn't like any ride I've done before, there's heaps more to consider than just the stuff you carry with you on the bike.

There's the food and drinks; spare equipment and replacement parts - mainly tyres and tubes; there's the promotional kit to advertise the ride; the emergency kit in case anything goes wrong (hopefully it won't, but the risk assessments all done, so we're as prepared as we can be); not to mention the bedding, changes of clothes and everything else you need for a multi-day trip.  Did I mention cooking gear?

Considering we're going to be on the road for 6 days though, I'm hoping Aaron will be happy I brought a few other things along with me - I just hope I don't forget anything!