How To Prepare Your Bicycle For Bugging Out – Emergency Preparedness

We love our bicycles. It’s one of the best ways for us to get around with our two small young kids and two dogs.

When I was in middle school I rode my bike to and from school almost everyday. I had calves of steel! And I carried that into adult-hood where I zipped all over the city on my bike, traveling miles and miles every single day to and from work, friends houses, the mall, etc.

I loved it.

A bike is the ultimate low maintenance, quiet, quick vehicle for everyday and bugging out.

Even now with a family, getting around on bike is easy and a lot of fun. There are so many ways to get young kids involved without having them ride their own bicycle.

Now, there are absolutely pros and cons to a bicycle for bugging out:

Overall, though, pimping out your bike for everyday and preparedness purposes is a really good idea.

If you don’t already have a bike, let me just say that you don’t need an expensive bike.

There are many bike purists out there, however, a bicycle from Walmart will suffice, especially if that’s all you can afford. I’d also suggest looking on Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace for people selling their used bikes.

The only thing I would suggest is to make sure you’re getting a bicycle with appropriate ‘mountain bike’ wheels. Something that will be capable of going off road and handling tough terrain.

Here are some ways you can pimp out your bicycle for everyday use and bugging out:

Trailer –

A pull behind trailer is a really great way to carry extra gear. They’re easy to setup and depending on the type of trailer that you get, some of them are more than capable of going off road.

In our case, we have a trailer that our kids can sit in. And in the back it can hold some extra gear:

If you won’t be carting children or pets around, you might want to consider getting a trailer like one of these:

Storage –

Get all the storage! There are so many ways to store gear on a bicycle.

There’s bike seat storage:

Frame pouch:

Cell phone holder bag:

Saddle bags:

Water bottle holders:

Handlebar bags:

Now that’s a lot of extra storage! No longer would you be confined to just having a backpack on.

If you’re outfitting your bicycle specifically for the purpose of bugging out or to just ride around by yourself, friends or family, then keeping your gear safe isn’t much of an issue as your bike and gear will be with you at all times.

However, if you’re planning to ride it to work or somewhere that you’ll be away from it for periods of the day, will you be able to store your bike securely indoors? Because if you have all that storage on your bike, there’s a high risk of theft.

Flashlight –

I’d highly recommend attaching a flashlight to your bicycle. This is a great rechargeable flashlight that attaches to the handlebars:

Be discreet –

Keep personal decals, stickers and other distinguishable markings off of your bike. Having the logo of the bicycle is alright as people tend to expect that. We want to remain OPSEC, though, and keep stickers and decals of places you’re affiliated with, names, political views, etc., off of the bicycle.

If you plan to paint your bike, sometimes a flat colored bike will be more suspicious than a ‘regular’ looking bike. It just depends on how you want to paint it. If you want to make it look camo and ride it around the city, that may actually stand out more. Think about the type of circumstances you’ll be in.

You could always carry some camo tape and wrap your bike should you ever find a need to do that later on.

Bike Maintenance –

It’s important to understand basic bike maintenance. Take a class if you can. I’ve seen REI hold bike maintenance classes on a regular basis. You can also watch YouTube videos.

In addition to knowing how to maintain and fix a bicycle, you should also have specific bike maintenance tools on your bike.

• Open end wrenches
• Chain brush
• Slime Tire
• Chain lube
• Tube patch kit
• Tubes (at least a couple)
• Manual pump
• Clean rags
• Bleed kit and oil (for brakes)
• Hex wrench set
• 1/4 Inch drive torch wrench
• Floor pump
• Tire lever

There are many other tools that you might need for a variety of bike maintenance needs. In the beginning, you may want to purchase a pre-made bike maintenance kit.

But I HIGHLY recommend getting the Slime Tire. It’s an amazing product that we’ve used on our bikes and stroller tires.

Electric Bike –

Riding a bike can get exhausting, especially if you’re pulling a trailer and in tough terrain. You may want to look into a conversion kit that will turn your regular bike into an electric bike. This isn’t necessary, but it’s just something you may want to look into to help save some energy.

Every electric bike conversion kit is different and some have more limitations than others. Do your due diligence when it comes to converting your bike to an electric bike.

Bike carrier –

If your plan is to bug out via your vehicle first, consider getting a bike carrier for your vehicle and throwing your bike(s) on before you leave. This way, if you ever need to abandon your vehicle, you have the bikes. Many bike trailers will fold up, too, so they’re easy to strap on the top of a vehicle or store inside.

Plus, having a bike carrier on your vehicle allows you to carry your bikes to various places for everyday adventure!

Ride your bike often –

Ride your bike at least once a week, especially with the trailer and all your gear. This will not only keep you in great shape, but it will also prepare you for what it might be like to ride with your bike pimped out. Ride in a variety of different weather, terrains and times of day/week.

Of course, don’t forget a helmet. You only get one noggin’, probably a good idea to protect it. And I would also highly suggest getting a good pair of bicycle gloves.

A bicycle is a great option for bugging out, everyday and to get some great exercise.

What are some other ways you can pimp out your bike for bugging out?