Sunday, December 4, 2016

The Check List



I ended up doing Laura's ride to Upper Black Eddy this week and you can read the details about the ride Here and Here. At the beginning of the ride I lent Jim a water bottle because he had forgot his. This got us into a discussion about a check list. For the last 5 years I have used a paper check list to make sure I did not forget all the things I need for a ride. Since I have been using it I have never drove to a ride and not have everything I need. Now as important as having a check list is learning to use it the correct way. What I do is before I leave my house I take out the paper check list and for each item on the list visually check that it is in my car. This insures that everything I need is actually in my car because if you just mentally go through a check list with out actually checking the item is in the car you are going to THINK you have something when you actually don't.

This is a similar methodology to check lists used by pilots Of course forgetting your water bottle for a ride is not as tragic as a plane crashing because the pilot for got to deploy the flaps but there is no reason to not use a simple check list to make sure you always have all your stuff. 

Here is my list. I don't always need everything on this list (e.g. Jacket) but this way I don't need different lists for different times of the year.
    • Shoes
    • Camelback
    • Helmet
    • Sun glasses
    • Gloves
    • Snacks
    • Bagel
    • Water Bottle
    • Paper Towel
    • GPS
    • Maps
    • Jacket
    • Arm Warmers 
    • Shoe Covers
    • Ride sheet
    • Pump up Tire
    • Sunscreen
    • Tail Light

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