Bag Lust

After ordering my Ortlieb panniers online yesterday, I've been tracking the shipment with the eagerness of a 12-year-old girl waiting for her first L.L. Bean backpack.

Oh wait—that was me!

I have somewhat of an obsession with bags. Not the typical stylish kind, but the highly useful, typically very expensive utilitarian kind. As a young girl, I wanted the ever-popular L.L Bean Super Deluxe Book Pack in black. I obsessed about it till my grandfather bought me one for my birthday. I think this is when I started thinking, for bags, "Bigger is definitely better."

Then as the craze for North Face fanny packs swept my high school years, I wanted a MONSTER fanny pack—the Mountainsmith Lumbar Day Pack was the object of my lust. My boyfriend at the time gave me a red one for winter solstice one year, and I was elated. That back went everywhere with me, and I still use it with the backpack straps.

After I started cycling, I was faced with new bag lust. No longer did the strappy red wonder suffice for rides—I wanted a messenger bag. 

 Nah, not the size bag I chose. After some research, I chose a small-ish Crumpler. Upon arrival, I ripped off the logo, of course. I hate that little hairy stick figure. 

After about two years of cycling and adventuring with my bag, I'm tired of carrying heavy and uncomfortable things. While I've had success with a rigged milk crate and other combos of rack/bag/bike, I'm ready to free my back and use fewer bungees on a daily basis.

I'm looking forward to:
   • easy mounting and dismounting on rack
   • easy for me to mount bicycle with panniers locked and loaded!
   • lower center of gravity than crate
   • waterproof
   • spacious
   • apparently effective for both commuting and touring


Countdown to Thursday, when the panniers are slated to arrive!