to my fellow bike commuter who offered me a ride home in his car (blue vw jetta) on friday afternoon in chapel hill at the entrance to finley forest -- thanks again, brother!

while i didn't take you up on it, you should know it was greatly appreciated. and yes, it was pretty hardcore out there. made it home relatively wet but still totally warm (thank you scholler softshell pants!) my shoe covers took a hit from a giant puddle and became pretty worthless about 10 minutes in. although combined with my wool socks i was still nicely insulated. luckily the wind didnt start to kick up until i was turning onto my street. otherwise it would have wound up being pretty brutal. all in all i enjoyed myself. for those of you who have never tried it, riding in the rain (with the right gear) is actually a ton of fun.

Nice offer, indeed. Had I been driving by you, I'd 'ave thought "man, why did I cage it today . . " and driven grumpily on by. (I did drive Friday, and I was grumpy.) People can surprise sometimes.

Say, 3ZKL, what are the brand of panniers you've got on your Surly xcheck? I've sworn by backpacks for years, but I'm ready to give panniers a try again. (I'm going to build up a Mercier Kilo WT. I need a fat tire in the rear for the sloppy winter days on the ATT, plus the Kilo has rack braze-ons and fender eyelets so why not consider the pannier option, eh.)

it was a really nice surprise indeed. usually when a cager flags you down it is to tell you how much they dislike the cut of your jib (or that your light was too flashy and hurt their eyes, making it hard to dial their cell phone. . .)


i am running a pair of ortlieb backroller classics. after too many inordinately sweaty summer days, i decided to make the investment. haven't looked back! my buddy at work, who is also commuting 1 to 3 days a week, picked up a pair as well and fell in love.

they are crazy simple, can hold an absurd amount and are durable as heck! not to mention 110% waterproof.

for me it was a no brainer. i am riding 4 days a week, every week, rain or shine. i was also able to pickup the backpack attachment on super sale @ REI, which makes stopping at the store or taking a quick weekend errand run a lot more bearable. panniers are AWKWARD to carry. the one thing you have to see for yourself is just how easy they (dis)mount. you basically hold the handle, drop them on and they are locked down. a quick tug pulls them straight off.

that being said, i picked up a cheap pair of transport jams from performance for my mom, an occasional rider at best. they are nice, roomy with plenty of pockets and do the job but boy are they kludgy to (dis)mount. they do the job and work for her very occasional riding to work or the farmers market (via ATT).

so yeah. my vote goes for the ortliebs. they are spendy but you can catch them on sale @ REI from time to time. good luck!

Thanks! I didn't know about the backpack attachment. I can imagine that that is a nice feature. Next time I'm at REI, I'll give 'em a look over.