How I carry my stuff to work and other Tuesday matters!

Andreas posted another ‘Comment Friday’ last week that garnered a whopping set of comments about how we carry our stuff to work.

I did a post about this on my blog back in January about all of the various needs of mine in relation to my commute.  It’s not straightforward and, as one of the commenters on Andreas’ post pointed out, it sometimes requires more than one bag according to the journey and what you need to carry.

I was invited to review the new Rapha luggage line which should be available soon and in there is a messenger bag with a strap to keep it close to the body which I’m waiting for, for those days when I just want a short hop.  It has a rain cover and some reflective detailing which makes it look really cool.

For longer rides, I prefer to carry my stuff on the bike and I’m still looking for a decent bag that is robust enough for the rack but neat enough for carrying as a handbag.   I guess it’ll be a long wait.  In the meantime, I’ve been trialling a cute new pannier from Caz at London Cycle Chic this last few weeks which, for fans of the traditional look, is perfect.  It’s made by the Danish brand Basil is made of  a coated canvas which gives it a more robust feel than plain canvas.  I’m not sure how waterproof it is because it hasn’t rained on me yet!  But it holds loads of stuff, it has reflective detailing on both sides which can be seen from the back regardless of which side you attach it to, it has two pockets inside and a large pocket on the outside.  The print is really fun too.

It has two large leather handles which means that you can take it off the bike and take it with you, but for me, it’s a bit big for that.  It hasn’t a shoulder strap and when you carry it by the handles, it trails on the floor.   I’m quite tall so I think it would be difficult for a smaller person.  I locked my bike and ran the cable through the handles to make sure that it stayed put at the railway station and I’m not sure I’d leave it on the bike unlocked because it’s so lovely.  So, another way to carry it all around.  The Basil Memories Pannier is available from CycleChic.  

 

 

Tweed Run

The 3rd annual Tweed Run is this Saturday 9th April.  The list is full so unless you’ve already registered, you’ll just have to spectate, but it is quite a spectacle! The Tweed Run is a ten mile ride around the capital.  Check their site for good places to spectate

 

 

Rapha Women’s Ride

Laura at Rapha has just launched a regular Women’s Ride, meeting every Thursday outside the Royal College of Physicians on the Outer Circle of Regent’s Park, for an hour’s run out and probably a pub-stop at the end. You can read about their first outing on Gem Atkinson’s excellent blog here and on Tracey Corbett’s blog, here. I’m there this Thursday hopefully.

Next week….kit reviews