The “I need more Stuff! Syndrome”

Before we begin, a few “Program Notes” are in order.

NOTE 1:  Christmas Lights Road Ride

Monday, 19 December @ 7:00 P.M.  (See the SSCC calendar)

NOTE 2:  Christmas Lights Path Ride

Wednesday, 21 December @ 7:00 P.M. (See the SSCC calendar)

NOTE 3:  Annual Penance 100+

Sunday, 1 January @ 7:00 A.M. (sharp!) (See the SSCC calendar)

Now on to the business at hand…

Cyclists are an interesting lot.  They come in all shapes and sizes, with a huge variety of interests, riding styles, and motivations.  For the purposes of this post, I’m making a distinction between “cyclists” and “people who ride a bicycle.”  The former is a bit of a nut on the subject.  The latter is someone who uses a bicycle for occasional recreational purposes.  Included among the nut/cyclist group are the “fast recreational riders”  (read fake racers), competitive cyclists (folks who actually enter sanctioned races), tri-athletes, commuters, transportation cyclists, utility cyclists, tourists, randonneurs, athletic riders, urban free-riders, track cyclists, street fixie riders, and other “enthusiasts.”

One of the more common attributes of this class of bicycle riders is the constant nagging feeling that the acquisition of just one more piece of gear, another bike, one more bike, or some such would be the magic item that would catapult that cyclist from a mediocre existence into some all- transcendent glory.  We tend to believe (often fueled by very slick marketing hype) that if we just got that one more gadget or bike, or gizmo, we’d finally achieve cycling nirvana.

For some folks the syndrome takes the form of a longing, nay need, to have the coolest (however that rider defines “cool”) possible ride.  The object of desire may be the neatest multitool, or the mostest trickest cyclocomputer (the one with all the bells and whistles), or the most superb groupset, or better weather clothing.  It doesn’t matter what it is (the it will be constantly changing), the thing is that rider feels that it simply must be acquired to fulfill the whole experience.

Following this obsession can lead to truly astonishing behaviors.  Houses are remodeled to accommodate the “bicycle room.”  Relationships are neglected.  Budgets are destroyed.

It should be noted that not all cyclists are subject to this particular obsession.  There are those occasional curmudgeons, who insist that they have achieved perfection, whilst riding a 35 year old Raleigh 10-speed, tastefully decorated in dings, scratches, encrusted dried lubricants, and rust.  We’ll treat them in some future post.

I must confess, I am sometimes prone to this affliction.  I’ve acquired, with the best of intentions, a fair number of bicycles, and a prodigious amount of weather clothing.  I can justify some of this as “research.”  Often a particular acquisition is in the nature of an “experiment,” and becomes material for posts here, and for advice elsewhere.  Sometimes, I look back and wonder,  “What was I thinking when I got that?”

What’s your most valuable “stuff” acquisition?  And what’s the most useless or strange item you’ve purchased in the never-ending quest for cycling perfection?

The I need more Stuff Syndrome as applied to baggage:

A slightly different manifestation of the INMS Syndrome occurs when the rider prepares for a ride.  How much, and what kind, of Stuff should be carried along on a given ride?  It’s a real multivariable problem of a question, with an extremely large solution set.  Factors include (but are not limited to) 1)  Where is the ride?  2) How long is it?  3)  Who is going to be there?  4) What level of support can be expected?  5) What season is it?  6)  Day or night?  7) What’s the weather forecast? 8) Which bike am I taking?  9) How much do I think I might need?

What Stuff are we talking about here?  A partial listing follows:

• Water
• Food!
• Tools
• Spare tube(s)
• Patch kit
• Pump
• Spare parts
• Lights
• Rain jacket
• Sunscreen
• First aid supplies
• Navigational equipment (maps, GPS, etc.)
• Phone
• Camera
• Video camera
• Reflective clothing
• Additional protective clothing (jackets, vests, gloves, etc.)
• Sunglasses
• Mirrors
• More food!
• Money
• I.D.
• Credit cards
• Firearms (seriously?)
• Pepper spray
• More water
• More tools
• Spare tire
• “Civilian clothing”
• More spare parts!
• Specialty tools

I like bags and means of carrying stuff by bike.  At core, I’m a transportation/utility rider and tourist.  The bike’s utility is greatly improved by adding the ability to carry stuff.  There are lots of ways to accomplish that mission, racks, trailers, bags, all have their uses.  But there’s a problem here.  The bigger the bag/rack/trailer, the greater the temptation to put more Stuff in it.

How do you deal with this?