Best Bike Touring Item?

I was just writing something about packing for a motorcycle tour and it got me thinking about what was the most useful items us touring motorcyclists take on our trips. I would like to know from you what your most useful items are on a motorcycle tour. I will start the ball rolling and say that I enjoy listening to music not just on my bike but also in the places I stop at overnight. I have been trying for years to find a good sounding but small speaker system that I can plug my iPod into for when I am in motel or wherever I am staying that night. I have tried a few over the years, but they either don't sound good or are to bulky for carrying on a bike.

Then out-of-the-blue, I found myself on Christmas day opening tiny present that my darling wife had just given to me. It was a speaker by Lifetrons and it is fantastic! It is very small sounds just great. It has about a nine hour battery life and is recharged via a USB so it is perfect if you are taking a laptop or netbook, meaning you dont need to take a bulky charger for it. Here is a link to the Lifetrons Website. I have to say that this tiny speaker is stunningly good to take on a bike tour.

What I would like to hear from you is what item do you find most useful on a bike trip. I dont mean common items like cameras or cell phones that we all take, but other things that are maybe more unusual.......?