In Which I Put The Briefcase In Back

Friday morning ride view of the sky. Pond at Rockwell-Collins. I have both my jacket on and I'm wearing gloves (not biking gloves, gloves to keep my hands warm). After a quick sunrise, clouds rolled in as a strong cold front dropped the temperatures all day.

My bike basket is a bit temperamental. When I put something large, like my briefcase or backpack, into it, it’s likely to come off when I try to unload.

And Friday, before a cool ride to work, I had some folders in my briefcase. Paper is heavy, and I didn't like the idea of having extra weight in the front basket.

Did it work? It did.

So, I thought, how hard would it be to bungee the briefcase in back? But I was in a hurry, so I made a deal with myself. If I could get the briefcase in place in under 5 minutes, it’s a go. Otherwise, just stuff it in the basket and get to work, you slacker.

I unclipped the strap. 10 seconds. I undid a bungee I keep in back, and put the briefcase in place, and then prepared for several minutes to struggle to try to stretch the cord. Hmmm, grunt—what?

It was, I think under a minute total. The bungee stretching required modest force, but turned out to be very quick. And the cord was tight enough I was reasonably sure the briefcase would still be there when I got to work.

It was. A small victory for your biking commuter.

Message scrawled on pillar of newsroom at Mount Mercy. All you need is love, air in your tires and some good chain lube.