What's the worst thing that you've forgotten to bring with you for a ride?

[ColinJ]

My drinks bottles. I had a nice long hilly route planned on a sunny day and had mixed 2 bottles worth of DIY sports drink to get me round. I did the 4.5 mile climb out of Hebden Bridge and then descended a couple of miles to Oxenhope where I went to take a drink and realised that I had left the bottles in my kitchen. I couldn't face doing an extra 13 miles of riding and 1,500 ft of climbing to go and get them and then come back to where I was, so I just went home and called the ride off.

I went over to Cheadle once to do a 200 km audax ride in Cheshire. An old rider had driven over from Bradford and was sitting looking despondent - he'd forgotten his cycling shoes!

 

[fimm]

My bike shoes - went for a ride anyway in trainers - more tricky when you run clipless (which I do on that bike).

My favourite was from a triathlon forum a while ago - triathlon being a sport that requires a fair amount of kit so it is easy to forget something - the poster hadn't forgotten any of his kit, he'd turned up at an event and discovered he'd forgotten to enter it!

 

[slowmotion]

My brain. I cycled to work in five miles of busy London traffic, and started to carry the bike up the stairs at work. The front wheel fell off. I had forgotten to do up the front skewer.

 

[Katherine]

Drinks is the worst because I get further before realising and so it's not worth going back, whereas, gloves, glasses etc, I notice quite quickly and turn round. I'm always being told that I carry too much stuff with me.

 

[Julia9054]

Arrived at work and realised I had left no underwear in the office. Commando day.

I have done this. On more than one occasion!

 

[Jody]

Its more of an insult when you remember everything bar the through axle.

 

[tyred]

Sort of related, I was in Eureka Cyclists Cafe a few months ago. An old bloke rode home on someone else's bike!

Don't you just hate it when you go out for a ride on your Tesco's double bouncer and find you've arrived home on someone's curly-stayed Hetchins

 

[derrick]

Drink bottle, realized i had forgotten it 5 miles into the ride, Stopped at a bike shop a few more miles in bought a new one and got him to fill it up.

 

[nickyboy]

Set off down to the bottom of the hill where I live and stopped for some reason. Cycled on for about 5 miles then realised i'd left the drinks bottle where I stopped. I still don't know why I took it out and put it on the wall rather than back on the bike.
Did about 30 miles one day and was flying down a hill when I realised I'd forgotten to put my helmet on. 2 hours cycling, didn't even notice

 

[TissoT]

Sort of related, I was in Eureka Cyclists Cafe a few months ago. An old bloke rode home on someone else's bike!

Iam not surprised at that statement there must be 100+ bikes on the racks on a good day ..
Though that's no excuse for taking a bike that's better than the one you came on

 

[Spinney]

Money. On a ride around Arran, had plenty of drink and snacks with me, but part of the plan was tea and cake overlooking the sea - had to scrap that part of the plan!

 

[raleighnut]

I once built up a bike for my Nephew and took it up to Mums in Knutsford on the train. When I came home every time I changed trains (in Manchester and Sheffield) and on leaving Leicester station I kept thinking I'd left something behind.

 

[mjr]

I've forgotten drinks and cash at different times, but it's usually possible to overcome those.

I think my worst is forgetting my locks on a solo ride. Usually I treat that as a "go home, go directly home, do not pass go, do not collect the shopping or visit anything without the bike" event, but I have sometimes hidden the bike in a dark corner, bungeed its spokes to the frame or a parking stand, unhooked the brakes and/or set the shifters to throw the chain if it's pedalled without resetting them. New bike has a frame lock, so now I'd need to forget the keys too and it's difficult to get the bike out without them.

 

[Lonestar]

My bag.Got halfway down the road and had to go back.

On a side note when locking my bike in the bike racks (I must have been knackered and dozy that morning) I managed to get my bike lock caught around my workmates rear brake cable meaning he had to dismantle his rear brake to free his bike.Doh.

 

[TheDoctor]

Pump. Lock. Keys for lock (which is annoying, as you only realise once the lock is safely locked). Money, which I discovered after eating the cake and drinking the tea. Lights and map, which led to me being 20 miles off course in the dark.
A fleece. That wasn't forgotten, exactly, but I'd decided not to take it as Provence will be warm, even in November.
No. No it won't. Not at night.