Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Bicycle commute upgrades

Today I got to use a couple recent acquisitions for making my morning commute better, and I'm really pleased.



The armband is probably the least useful of the three.  I carry everything with me in my backpack, which I then secure to the bike rack using bungee cords.  This works great for the clothes, food, and other items I need at work.  I have the Topeak MTX bike rack, and had always intended to get one of the bags designed to easily snap into place, but they're a little expensive, especially for the deluxe versions with built in panniers, which I feel I'd probably need to accommodate all the stuff that currently fits in my backpack.

The one problem I have been dealing for two months with, is what to do on the train ride.  Keeping my backpack strapped to the bike is the most convenient by far.  I usually only have about 10 seconds to get my bike into position, either on one of the hooks designed for bikes, which are almost always blocked, or somewhere else that has the space, before the train takes off.  Because of the way I secure the bungee cords, and the location of the pockets, there's almost nowhere I can put my phone and have access to it on the train.  I've also recently replaced my broken Kindle, which is even harder to access as it is slightly larger.

The arm band leaves my phone easily accessible and allows me to hear or feel it if I get a call or text message, when I used to have to wait until I got to work to discover.  The case is really cheap, and well made for what I want.  I'm barely able to use the phone through the plastic, which is good enough to check a quick message, and does what I need it to.  I wish it was easier to remove the phone for those times when I need to take a picture of a thief or vandal (stories I'll tell later).  I may have to modify it slightly, sacrificing the secure, snug fit for a slightly less secure, but easier removal.

The triangle bag is fantastic.  It is not much thicker than my bike, and doesn't get in the way of anything.


The primary reason I got it was to hold my kindle so I can access it easily when on the train.  It worked perfectly.  This makes using my kindle incredibly easy, as well as keeping it protected during the ride.  Side note, for one year I pretty much didn't think the kindle needed protecting, then one day managed to put enough stress on the display by keeping it in my pocket that it broke without my noticing.  It had survived amazing abuse up until that point, but from now on, I'm going to be far more careful.

The third purchase was a replacement, as I lost my rear view mirror last week.  After using a rear view mirror for nearly a year now, I'm fully convinced it's one of the most important pieces of safety equipment I own, behind only my helmet and tail light.  I'm going to try to find a second on ebay to keep as a backup, for if I lose it again.  It snaps off easily, which is a good design to protect your eyes in a wreck, and since it's inexpensive, is only annoying to replace, not truly frustrating.

I wholeheartedly endorse all three of these purchases, as they've made my morning commute immensely better, and at a very reasonable cost.

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