I'm currently sitting on an airplane headed to Washington DC for the Brompton US Championship 2014. I'm not certain what I did to be fortunate enough to be going, but it must have been something amazing because BUSC is a Brompton lovers dream come true!
We often are asked what tools are needed on Brompton folding bike adventures so I thought I'd lay out my own choices for all to see.

The Tools
-Park IB-3 Multitool: a fully equipped multitool (14 tools) with a chain tool and a 8mm allen wrench
-PDW San Wrencho: an elegantly practical tool you'll need to remove the Brompton's bolted-on wheels as well as removing the tires
-Rema Patch Kit: along with a couple TB-2 Emergency Tire Boots (sharp road debris is a global phenomena... it's best to be prepared)
-Schwalbe AV4 Tube: this inner tube will fit any tire that you are using
- T9 chain lube: this lube is good on both the chain and cables, just 1 ounce of T9 goes a long way
-shop rag w/rubber band, this is a nice item that all the tools can be wrapped up in. Mine happens to be a very sweet Tiny Bike Shop rag
-15mm wrench: I will use this to tighten my clipless pedals at Sunday's race (this will be left with the clipless pedals as it won't be needed on the road)
-Topeak Road Morph Pump: The biggest hazard with hand pumps is wrestling to get to full air pressure and ripping the inner tube near the valve. The Road Morph solves this by having the head of the pump on a rubber hose so that as you wrestle with the pump, the valve is not getting pulled and tweaked. Also an air gauge is built-in (bonus!)

If I wasn't headed to DC to be at BUSC 2014 hosted by BicycleSpace (the BUSC clubhouse du jour) I'd likely want one more inner tube and a spare tire, but in this case I know I'll be in good hands if I should find myself in need : )

Hopefully, I'll only need the pump to fully inflate the tires (I like to play it safe by letting a bit of air out of the tires before flying) and the wrenches to swap pedals on Sunday, but having the toolkit along is easy enough and has me prepared.

ADDENDUM: I'm back from the adventure and the tools I used on my own bike:
-Air pump (I flew with the tires at about 60psi and then I aired my Schwalbe Kojaks to 110 psi with the Topeak Road Morph)
-4mm allen wrench on my Park IB-3 Multitool to readjust my Ergon grips/barends
-8mm allen wrench to remove the folding pedal, 15mm pedal wrench to remove and install the other 3 pedals (because I was using clipless pedals on race day)

On Saturday's Brompton Urban Challenge I was in a group of seven (all on Bromptons) and we suffered two flat tires in the group (neither on my own bike). Both were from tubes that had gotten ripped near the valve (likely ripped from being rough on the valve when adding air to the tires). This made me all the more sure that the Topeak Road Morph is the best pump option to bring. I fixed both flats using the PDW San Wrencho, a spare inner tube, and the Road Morph hand pump. We were back on the road in about 10 minutes each time. Had our team won the Challenge I think I'd have been viewed as the Hero of the Day, but our team was less competitive and more about fun. In our minds we won...

If you have any questions feel free to contact me

Brianna Lane & King Mulhacen

This Friday, June 27, we're taking the Tiny Bike Shop Concerts on the road... or on the trail at least! Join us for a celebration of summer, bikes & music on the Banjo Brothers Main Stage [map] just off the Greenway at the Sabo Bridge from 4:00-6:30pm. Tuck a blanket in your bag, and ride on over with a friend. Enjoy free food from the grill courtesy of Banjo Mike & Banjo Eric. We'll be live-screen-printing T-Shirts and Posters to commemorate the day. Bring a blank T-Shirt and take home a memory!

All are welcome. Let us know you're coming on the event's Facebook page.

Tiny Show Event Schedule
4pm - Grill Fired Up!
5pm - Music by Brianna Lane and King Mulhacen
6pm - Prize Giveaways (must be present to win)
T-Shirts, Posters
Twin Six, Perennial Cycle, and Bodylish swag
A Pair of Banjo Brothers Waterproof Panniers
6:30pm - Post-show Ice Cream Social Ride led by Perennial Cycle Staff
PLUS: Weekend SALE!
This Tiny Show comes with a BIG Sale. In honor of our co-sponsorship of the Tiny Show, we're treating you to 25% off all in-stock Banjo Brothers gear* at Perennial Cycle Friday, June 27 through Sunday, June 29.

*This weekend's sale is good on all Banjo Brothers bags and gear, including saddle bags, trunk bags, backpacks, Minnehaha brand bags, t-shirts, shop aprons, and phone packs. 25% discount may be applied toward any one Banjo Brothers or Minnehaha Bag Co. item per customer. Applicable to in-store purchases of all in-stock Banjo Brothers merchandise. Sorry, discount may not be applied to previous purchases.

I was out on an extended ride to work on Wednesday in hopes of building a bit more confidence for tomorrow's Almanzo (too late for my legs, but not too late for my head) and I realized that as great as a "keep it simple" approach to Almanzo race management is, this is likely to cost Chris (and family) a 5 figure sum of money. For say... $12/rider, I can't imagine a better run event for a massive group of people, but at over 1,000 riders that's adding up to an amount that few families could swallow year after year.

Is it time (or even possible) to come up with an unofficial sponsor plan? I think it is.

Shops that are within 100 miles of Spring Valley are all hearing about customers prepping for Almanzo. Prepping means riding their bikes and doing stuff that keeps us in business. Cool. I'm thinking $250 is an amount that would reasonable. Is someone from the shop riding Almanzo? How about sending a check to "Skogen" with them so they can drop it in the bucket before the race.

Racers can help by tossing $10 in the bucket. If that hurts, how about a fiver? I'm quite certain that any amount would help.

Many manufacturers are grabbing at the awesomeness of Almanzo. This is smart of them. Like the bike shops and the riders, they too should add some $$ to the bucket. Not being a manufacturer, this is a difficult one for me to put a dollar amount on. Maybe $250 for those on the fringes and up to a sweet grand if you are developing high-end products specifically marketed to gravel grinders. I'm open to suggestion here.

Local businesses that gain from the Almanzo: In my view this group gets a pass on the money, but we all count on them heavily to strongly support Almanzo from a neighbor, city and county level.

Another point worth mentioning is that it takes a lot of effort setting up the event and then a large day-of team of volunteers. Reaching out to be a worker-bee for  the event would likely be very, very helpful.

This stream of consciousness-type plan may be worth less than the pixels you're staring at, but I think a discussion about the reality of this event is healthy and necessary. None of the numbers are real, but my own guesstimations. And BTW, no one loves riding Almanzo as much as myself. Look for me to be dropping my check in the bucket before the race tomorrow. I'm certain I will be smiling, though I should probably be nervous about the ride...

Stop in any time during the month of April and we'll take $5 off your in-store purchase of $30 or more when you show your 30 Days of Biking spoke card.* 

*No coupon required. Good for both service and any in-stock merchandise, including sale items. Spoke card must be shown at time of purchase. Offer applies 4/1/14 through 4/30/14. 

Get a Spoke Card

Don't have a spoke card? You can download and print your own 30DOB spoke card here. To be sure it lasts the month, you'll want to laminate it. Or, stop in and pick up a pre-printed, already-laminated spoke card here at Perennial Cycle. Starting next week, we'll have spoke cards available at the front counter. We'll be taking donations on behalf of #30DOB and Free Bikes 4 Kidz in exchange. The suggested donation per spoke card is $1.00.  You can also make a donation directly to Free Bikes 4 Kidz on their website.

Haven't made the pledge? No problem. We won't tell! Spoke cards will be available to anyone and everyone who asks while supplies last.

About #30DaysofBiking

Now in its fifth year, 30 Days of Biking began as a community of individuals right here in Minneapolis who'd made the pledge to ride a bike every day in April. The beauty of #30DOB is in its simplicity. Pledge to ride and share what comes of it. Share in person, share on Twitter (#30daysofbiking), share on Facebook... however works for you. Due to the hard work of local organizers here and elsewhere and to the core of inspiration that started it all, 30 Days of Biking has grown each year since this little movement began.

This year, for the first time, 30 Days of Biking has pledged to give back for each pledge made. In the name of bringing even more people to the joy that is biking, for every 30 people who pledged to bike every day in April, 30DOB will give 1 bike to a kid in need via Free Bikes 4 Kidz.

Like 30DOB, Free Bikes 4 Kidz is Minneapolis-based. They've donated 20,000 bicycles to kids in need since 2008. Those kids who receive a bike are kids who would not otherwise be able to afford one. Remember when you received your first bike and how happy you were? That’s what Free Bikes 4 Kidz does, and that’s what we —along with 30DOB, this year's sponsors, and YOU— can help them do more of.

The partnership with Free Bikes 4 Kidz makes for a very special 5th anniversary for 30DOB and we're thrilled to be sponsoring their efforts along with so many great local businesses. Pledging closed on April 7 at 6,974 (!), but you can still contribute by making a donation in exchange for a 30DOB spoke card. Hence, we wanted to offer all of you who've made the pledge (and those of you who didn't have a chance) a little incentive to share the 30DOB love.

Happy riding!

Photos by Martha Garcés