When the bike broke on me, during the Moab Xstream race in Utah, Michael was going a little nutsy. He took off in a huffy, after trying to steal the SPOT device and call for help. I told Bob to chase after him, and Diana and I patched up the bike as best we could. We duct-taped a wooden splint to the break, and I rode it out just like I am in the photo on the right. Luckily, we made it back to the TA soon enough that nobody really got suspicious. Michael realized on the way down that if we had wanted to kill him, we would have done it in his sleep. The house of cards fell from there, and he was fine by the time I saw him in the T.A. This is the incident that forced my hand to getting a dedicated racing bike. I can't have bikes failing during races! It's bad enough for them to fail when I can just call my room-mate to come bail me out, but in a race you ride it, walk it, or you DNF. I'd rather walk a long, long ways than drop out of a race. That's what makes Adventure Racing interesting!

Ibuprofen: for low-level inflammation control during long-term endurance bouts that are hard on joints (running, hiking, strenuous biking). We call it "Vitamin-I" because we take them like vitamins during races and long training days. It's really important to keep swelling down during long exercise, because inflammation changes the biomechanics of your knees, ankles and hips. Your body is trying to heal itself, but you're not done with it yet! This process makes injury far more likely. So, take plenty of ibuprofen for long high-intensity exercise.

Naproxen Sodium (Aleve): this stuff is ibuprofen's bigger brother. Take a few for when you do injure yourself, it'll help you make it home without further injury.

Hammer Endurolytes: these electrolyte tabs help to restore normal electrolyte balance. Take these for when you or a friend feel like cramping is coming on. They also help you stay hydrated in the heat (but you need water for that too!).

Duct Tape: Gotta have a few feet of this stuff. This helps put stuff back together and also prevents blisters. Most recently I used some of this to tape my busted bicycle frame back together.

Super Glue: Take a "single-use" tube of this stuff, I've used it to keep stuff from falling apart on my bike. You can also use it for drastic wound closure if you know what you're doing.

Putting it all together: get a tube of Nuun or U, use it up, and take the empty tube and fill it with the pills & super glue. Wrap the outside of the tube with your duct tape to mark it as a medical kit and store your tape. Bring it with you wherever you go!