Many people who I ride with take the piss out of the vast contents of my Camelbak. I do carry a lot of kit – a bag of brake pads for 4 different types of brake, so I’m not having to remember which pads I need to take on a long ride depending on the bike I’m taking. A pair of pliers. A waterproof. Food. Tools. Tubes. Energy bars. Patch kit. Zip ties. First Aid kit (a little bag of plasters in reality). Shock pump. Tyre pump. Spare chain links. Camera. Lube. Tyre levers. LED backup lights. Spare battery for the HIDs on nightrides. Some gaffer tape.

Every now and then, some of this stuff comes in handy. Like the time I had to rebuild my front brake at the opposite end of the Mary Townley Loop. Or when I gave an energy bar to the bloke who was lying down at the side of the Penmachno trail, apparently dying of hunger. You’re better off with than without I reckon.

This morning, I noticed a bubble on the sidewall of my rear tyre. The sidewall of the tyre had been ripped, exposing a bubble of inner tube that was slowly expanding in size. At first, I thought that I’d been hard done by – “I’ve only had it for 10 minutes” kind of thing. Then I remembered the abuse this tyre has had. Glentress, Innerleithen, Garburn Pass, Welsh slate, Pennine slabs…you name it, I’ve hit it at full pelt on the Patriot. Feeling better, I thought I’d better think about a bodge to get me home. Gaffer tape. I’ve got some 🙂

I’m a feckin genius.