Electricity for 24-Hour Mixed-Terrain Bike Rides

Here's the list of electronics I carry on any given all-day mixed-terrain ride.  It's getting a bit out of control.  And it requires too many electrical wall outlets and a tangle of cables; if I were to charge all these items at the same time it would require 14 outlets.  Therefore, I have to charge everything in stages, particularly when traveling.

My primary bike also has a generator hub, generator light, and Sinewave USB charger.  Regardless, I still carry all the lights and batteries mentioned below.

Will Not Ride Without

  • GPS Device:  Garmin 1000
  • GPS Device:  Garmin 810:  I always ride with a backup GPS unit.  I've had too many adventures where my Garmin ended up having a major issue.  The backup unit provides me confidence to head into the woods without hesitation.  And, my phone is my third backup - or fourth, see below - so I have no worries.  I have other GPS units but this combination I find to work best in most cases.
  • Phone
  • Battery backup 5,600mAh.
  • Battery backup 12,000mAh.  Three reasons I carry a second larger backup battery:  
    1. In the winter, battery life gets reduced by up to 75%; I've been on rides where my Garmin dies after about 3 hours.  
    2. When I'm riding with other people I find this backup has come in handy a number of times.
    3. If I have a mishap and will end up being outside throughout an evening, this backup will keep some items powered through an unexpected additional 10+ hours of dark.
  • Headlight:  Light & Motion Urban.  I typically use this for my helmet mount.  No better light placement for night riding in the woods - so you can see around a corner, or for urban riding - where you want drivers to see you.
  • Headlight backup:  Light & Motion Gobe 700.  I've found that the only truly waterproof light is the Gobe.  They're cumbersome for helmet mounting, and for riding in general, but being stuck in a lightning storm at 2am on the trails without light is not something I want to live through again.
  • Headlight backup:  Light & motion Gobe 700.  I carry enough lights that I can ride throughout the night without running out of light - regardless of my generator light.  I've had my generator system die on me once; don't want the ride in the dark again.
  • Taillight:  Clip-on to jersey pocket.  I use a battery operated taillight, not a USB chargeable.  USB chargeable don't last long enough.
  • Taillight:  Small mounted to helmet tail.
  • Electronic shifting:  If you have Di2 or eTap electronic shifting, make sure you do a full charge before any big ride.  With eTap make sure you check the brifter batteries, too.

Vanity Items

Items I pretty much always carry on all-day rides, but that I don't really need.

  • Camera:  Sony RX100 III.  Note:  For the photo above, I used this camera so I had a stand in - that's why the 'camera' looks a lot like an external hard-drive in this photo.
  • Video Camera:  Garmin VIRB or GoPro 4.

Don't Like Riding Without

These are items for other riders, or I'll bring if the weather or riding conditions indicate it.

  • Foot Warmer Batteries:  In temperatures below 20 degrees I'll typically wear Hotronics FootWarmers.
  • Third backup GPS device:  Garmin 800
  • Video Camera Backup:  Either second VIRB or GoPro 4 - or both.
  • Headlight backup:  Light & Motion Urban.  If you're counting, this is the fourth battery operated headlight I carry.  While the Gobe is more water-resistant than the Urban, the Urban is a better helmet mount headlight.  I've never killed an Urban in rain during its first charge.  However, if I'm doing multiple days in the rain, I expect the Urban to have issues; I'll keep it well protected from water until I need it.

That's about it.  Charging all this stuff takes a while; I better get started.

What electronics do you carry for your long rides?