Racked

I might have to re-use this title in the Fermenter section one day, but for now it's apropos to cycling.

For the first time ever, I am the proud owner of a bike with a bike rack! 

When last we met my commuter bike, it was hot off the local bike shop's stand, having been cobbled together from mostly used parts in a beautiful black. There's a look at the original design below. 

Yesterday, I received a much-anticipated upgrade: a rear-mounted rack and a set of panniers. My thoughts of doing something of distance are increasing daily.

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The selection of both items caused much consternation, but after significant research, I landed on the Axiom Journey and Ortlieb panniers. The Journey was praised for its adjustability and load-bearing capability, and it indeed installed in less than 5 minutes. As noted, this is a first for your fair author, so the rookie attempt getting done in that amount of time seems pretty solid.

As for the panniers, my main concern was, as discussed in a previous post, downpours that happen frequently on the East Coast. There's nothing quite like riding to work and showering only to find the clothes you brought were soaked by the rain. Nor is there quite anything like a lunch destroyed by road spray, a cell phone killed by drenching, or work papers rendered unreadable by some combination of rain, sweat, and tears. 

The Ortliebs should prevent anything in them from getting wet -- that's a huge selling point, enough to make me quickly get over their price tag. This will allow me to ride in the rain with my computer safely tucked away, offering a lot more ride opportunities as we shift into fall and start to see fewer decent riding days.

The last items to add: fenders. I'm generally ok with road spray and splatter; indeed, I've spent many a race being plastered with mud and gunk, with the subsequent pleasure of getting into a warm shower and drinking a mug of hot chocolate. But if I'm going to do any significant distance, that warm shower and mug of hot chocolate might be a much longer way off, in which case the road spray will be that much less entertaining. Doubtless I'll post about this bike again when those show up, but it might be a little while.

Mash out. Spin on.