What's in your bag?

This post comes to you from Boblo Island in the straits of Mackinac. I am siting at the only public establishment with wi-fi available on this small snippet of land.

ChicCyclist has invited some people to disclose the contents of their bags. Here's my contribution.

We can debate the relative merits of messenger bags, backpacks and panniers all day long. If you've read this blog before, you already know that my favorite bike bag is the humble grocery pannier.

Because I almost always use it when I bike, and certainly every time I run errands with my bike, I keep the most necessary essentials it it at all times.

Here's a close-up:

And some debris, it seems.

If you take away the debris, these are the essentials that are left:

• Two bunji cords for carrying unexpected loads.
• Kryptonite Evolution mini-lock.
• I can get away with the mini-lock, because I use locking skewers on my wheels. But that means I must always carry the wheels removal gizmo with me, I case I get a flat. That gizmo is attached to my bike lock key, which always lives in the grocery pannier.

Speaking of flats, you doubtless noticed that any flat-repair items are conspicuously absent from my bag. That is because, attached to the seat of my bike at all times, is a bag that contains the flat-fixing necessities. I don't have to remember to bring it. It's always there.

Of course, when I go places with or without my bike, there are other items that I inevitably need.

• Notebook (after trying every day planner in existence, I have settled upon a blank, plain paper Moleskine pad (link) to contain my tasks, to-do's, shopping lists, phone numbers, directions, recipes, and letters to be mailed tucked into the little pocket on the back cover).
• A few business cards, if I happen to remember them.
• Energy bar (a current favorite is one made for kids)
• Tea tree oil (for mosquito bites)
• Nail file
• Tea bags
• Lip balm
• Pen
• Cell phone

But I don't have a special bike bag. Sometimes I use a small shoulder bag, sometimes a canvas sack, other times a purse. Any bag I happen to choose fits conveniently inside my grocery pannier. Which is why it's my favorite bike bag.

Comments

[Charlotte]

What a great and witty post! I'm loving the presentation. Thank you for going out of your way to find an internet cafe.

Your pannier idea is a good one. Do you worry about theft of your flat-changing supplies, or do cyclists not do that to each other?

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