Necessary Equipment for Bike Riding

Helmet
First Aid Kit- for minor scrapes and cuts
Spare inner tube
Pump
Tool Kit, including allen wrenches (different sizes for every different bolt, including cranks chain)
Extra chain links
Pliers- can adjust easily for quick repair of all hex bolts
Swiss Army Knife with a blade, Phillips and flat head screwdriver, scissors, and a saw...very useful
Tire lever for fixing flats
Tire patch kit
Water
Dollar Bills- can be used to fix holes in tires, or you may come across a 7-Eleven

Carry a Spare Bike Tube
Store your spare inner tube in your seat-pack, put it in a zip-lock bag with a generous amount of baby powder. This helps the tube move easily inside the tire while inflating it, and also protects against pinches while installing the new tube.

Climbing a Hill
To avoid slippage when climbing steep loose hills, try and keep a smooth pedaling rate. Don't try to crank your pedals around and speed up the hill. This will break the tire loose and cause added wheel spin. This will definitely cause you to loose your balance and most likely fall down the ascent. Also, to much speed is not needed to make it up a hill. Slow is usually better as you are more likely to loose it at high speeds...Slow=Good

Cleaning Your Water Bottle
Put some baking soda and plain old rice in it, shake it up real good. The rice and baking soda will scrub the bottle clean. If you have a drinking hose attached, bend a coat hanger straight up and down and push it in the mouth of the hose. This will speed up the drying process and stop mold from growing.

Staying Clean
Carry an old sock to use when a chain comes off. You carry the sock inside-out. Slip it over your hand, put your chain back on and slip the sock back off. Your hands are clean and your sock/glove keeps all of the grease inside of it.

Adjusting the Brakes Perfectly
To quickly adjust the toe-in on both new brake pads and when readjusting the pads already on your bike, place a penny between the front edge of the pad and the wheel, and a nickel between the rear edge of the pad and the wheel. Tighten down the pads and allow the coins to fall from between the pad and the wheel. Now you have great pad to wheel clearance as well as a properly adjusted toe-in.

Carry Duct Tape
Indispensable in the back-country is a roll of duct tape. It has billions of uses. Stick it on the inside of a really broken tire (It's cheaper than a 5 dollar bill). If you snap a derailleur, just tape it to the triangle. You can use it for just about anything. Can be used as a "instant third hand" when adjusting your cantilever brake pads. Pull the brake lever back and use a piece of tape or a rubber band to hold the brake lever in place. Most important, don't carry a huge roll with you, wait until you have a roll that's almost done, and squash it flat. You can stuff it (nearly) anywhere.

Carry a Dollar Bill
If you slash your tire on a rock or your brakes, don't panic. By sticking a dollar bill between the tube and the tire, the hole will be ride able once again. The threads in the dollar bill prevent other objects from puncturing the inner-tube, and wasting another tube. It'll get you out of the woods.