On 6/18/2019 11:30 PM, jbeattie wrote:
On Tuesday, June 18, 2019 at 7:55:18 PM UTC-7, Frank Krygowski wrote:
On 6/18/2019 6:42 PM, jbeattie wrote:
On Tuesday, June 18, 2019 at 2:15:46 PM UTC-7, Sir Ridesalot wrote:
On Tuesday, June 18, 2019 at 12:46:59 PM UTC-4, Frank Krygowski wrote:
Snipped
And if someone's not racing? To me, finishing a "training" ride or a
recreational ride ten seconds earlier is of no value whatsoever. In
fact, if my fenders or handlebar bag make me finish five minutes later,
they're still a net benefit.

--
- Frank Krygowski

That's you Frank. However to a lot of riders who enjoy riding fast and pushing their limits a ten seconds difference is quite rewarding.


What is the deal with handlebar bags these days -- and beards or goatees on anyone over 55? Its like a Portland meme. I hope Frank doesn't have a beard. It would be too much.

And what goes in a handlebar bag for the usual out and back ride on a sunny day? Slide rule? Shower slippers? I'm going to stop one of those bearded guys and ask him to show me what's in his handlebar bag. It's probably and after-ride kilt or a knit cap. Enquiring minds want to know!

OK, I just did an inventory for you. This is from the touring bike,
which is what I most often ride on solo recreational rides.

First, the bike's parked now, and there are things in the bag that are
just stored there now but will be used or worn when riding. That's the
cycling cap, riding gloves and eyeglass mirror. There are a couple
safety pins, because I ride pretty frequently in regular clothes and
have to pin my pants cuffs to keep them out of the chain.

There are tools: an old Mafac tool pouch with a few tiny tools, some
Mafac some not. There's also a new multitool, so I could probably lose a
couple grams of the old tools. There's a tube, a patch kit and tire
irons. A tiny bottle from eyedrops that contains maybe 2 ml of oil, and
a spare shifter cable. A mini tube of hand cleaner and some paper
towels. A micro-flashlight in case I flat at night. A lightweight cable
lock.

A few snack items: a small bag of raisins, one envelope of sports gel, a
few restaurant packs of honey, and a few of mustard because I've had
soem trouble with cramps. Oh, and a tea bag in foil because I've come
across restaurants that don't carry real tea.

There's a pen, and a couple of lawyer Steve Magas's cards with
abbreviated versions of our state's bike laws. Those are in case I get
stopped by an ignorant cop.

Here are the quirkier items: A fabric case from my small binoculars,
because it's the perfect size to hold my cell phone, wallet and keys as
I ride, and I can easily grab it to take into a restaurant or store.
There's a tiny compass and thermometer, zipper-pull size. There's a
monocular that I use for wildlife and at least once or twice, for
navigation while on tour - as in "Which road is that up ahead?". And
there's a take-apart pennywhistle. It's one of the instruments I play.

There's a can of Halt clipped to the outside of the bag. All that comes
to 2.5 pounds.

The bag is pretty large, and it's my own design and build. So is the one
on my utility/commuting/shopping bike. But there's one on every bike I
own, with the others being pretty standard commercial ones.

I find these bags very handy. They carry stuff home from stores, they
stash jackets and sweaters and tights and arm warmers when things warm
up or may cool down. They have carried library books, take-out
sandwiches, rain clothing, maps, guidebooks, cameras, found tools and more.

I still remember when a good cycling friend showed up (in his car) to
show off his brand new custom framed bike. As we were getting ready to
take a ride together, he said "Can you carry my jacket for me?"

I guess that's what guys without bags do? Besides greatly restricting
the practical use of their bikes, that is.

Wow. You should be a bookmobile. My map, camera, pencil, card, passport, etc., etc. are on my iPhone. My rain jacket can go in my jersey pocket, plus I have a Castelli jacket the fits into a little pod the size of a doughnut. Cliff bar and gel pack and reduced wallet in jersey pocket. Seat pack with tools, tubes, no patches anymore although I might get some no-glue patches. I don't begrudge anyone his or her handlebar bag, but I've never seen the need for weekend riding. If the going gets tough, I go to a 7-11. It's not like I'm riding in Timbuktu. https://www.columbian.com/news/2015/...e-of-portland/ If you take a hard right, you end up at a 7-11 in Sandy.

But if I want to buy something at that 7-11 and take it home, I can do it.

OK, I suppose you can too - as long as it's smaller than a pack of gum!

Last Friday, we invited a friend over and the three of us took a
leisurely ride on suburban and rural roads to a town maybe 10 miles away
and back. It was just a social ride with lots of pleasant conversation.
While there, I suggested we stop for a snack at a cute little Italian
restaurant.

My wife and our friend ordered slices of pie. I asked for a piece of
cake. When it came, my piece was probably a quarter of the whole cake.

Half of it came home with me in a takeout box, inside my handlebar bag.

The cake wasn't of earth shattering importance. But I've done similar
stuff often enough that I like having the bag there.

Another example:

Back when I was still teaching, I remember having one hell of a work
year, doing long hours and just getting crushed. But summer teaching
loads were light by mandate, so I could ride more.

As summer approached, I thought "I really want to take lots of new
rides. And I want to visit lots of libraries." (I really enjoy them.)
Then I thought "Hey, I'll ride my bike to all the libraries in our
county!" I didn't know that our county system had 18 libraries.

It was a fun project, working out schedules (many branches are closed on
certain days) and routes, exploring areas I hadn't ridden. But by
summer's end, I'd visited them all, rode lots of new-to-me roads, and
checked out books from every branch.

You get to guess how I carried the books home.

--
- Frank Krygowski