Tuesday, January 30, 2007

the reason to always zip up

the reason...
the reason...,
originally uploaded by robin kibby.

Thinking that all my MFA apps had to make it in the mail today, I hustled up to Kinkos/Fedex to drop off paperwork well before the West Coast cut off. My normal impulse is to walk, but I recently discovered that places that I think of as "3 minutes away" are 15.
So, if Kinko's is 5 minutes away by foot in my mind, that would equal about 40 minutes round trip in the real world. Stress and driving don't mix, so I opt for my trusty folding bike.
A feature of this tiny bike is that the bag hooks on the front stem, and its easy to tote paperwork, personal stuff, and bike locks. It's is so convenient, that I stopped zipping up all the compartments for easy access.
Unfortunately, my slick system doesn't fare so well on unmaintained city streets. Faced with an impressive pothole impact,my Zire 71 (dubbed "beedu" for its pleasant melodic alarm) launched into the air, just enough to fall under my rear tire. Farewell passwords and contacts and FedEx account info. Back to the house for hardcopy.
Lesson of the day - always zip the bike bag.


2 comments:

Web said...

I winced just reading what happened. Sometimes I ride my folding bike to the office with my laptop. I've carried it on the rear rack but I find myself stressing out about damaging my data via roadshock. Now, I place it in the backpack. I get a little sweaty but it's a minor inconvenience.

What type of folding bike do you ride?

Respectfully,
Larry Lagarde
RideTHISbike.com
Urging bicycling for recreation, commuting, health and a better future.

Robin said...

I'd be kicking myself if I wasn't laughing at my foolishness. Hitting monstrous potholes like this is clear sign that I do not bike often enough these days. Powers of observation are a bit dim.
I ride a Bromptonfolder. The nice thing about the bag is that it is front mounted to the frame, so you can load it up without affecting your steering. This is still the fastest folding folder (and maybe, heaviest) I have seen.
Best,
Robin