wurple.net

Winter has rolled around again and with the turn in the weather, I’ve busted out the layers. Unlike last year, I don’t have the problem of being unable to carry everything.

With the build of the folding bike now all but complete, I found myself with a problem. The tiny 20″ wheels bring the rear rack just a little bit closer, causing my foot to foul against my pannier. So what’s to do? A new bag of course. (on that note, anyone want to buy a large Ortlieb Office Bag?)

So through a bit of searching and keeping an eye on sales, I found myself with a Topeak MTX trunkbag, with fold down panniers. Sure it’s a bit of a downgrade from the Ortlieb on the bombproofand waterproof stakes, but I’ve always liked the way that Topeak integrates all of their products to work together.

Having used this bag for all of two weeks now, I’ve realised that it’s started to happen…

with all of the extra space, I’ve started to carry more *stuff*, for the just-in-case scenarios. For example, last night, I looked at the weather forecast and decided that winter tights would be more appropriate for today’s ride, but packed the leg warmers just-in-case it warmed up. I’m also carrying a second set of gloves because the winter gloves I wore in are going to be too warm for the ride home.

I get the feeling that I will soon be carrying my whole cycling wardrobe with me, just so I can adjust my comfort at the microscopic level depending upon the prevailing temperature, wind condition and humidity.

It’s a worry… and I haven’t even started carrying extra tools yet…