Excess Baggage

I have many bags that I use for travel.  I usually determine which one I utilize based on how much crap I'm going to need to bring with me.

I have a giant dark blue duffel from the 2005 Trans Rockies that's seen better days.  It's so big that I can crawl in and zip myself into it.  The tears on the bottom have been sewn and Shoe Goo'ed, and it's so capacious that if I fill it up, it's way over the current airline overweight limits.  I hardly use it anymore, and to be honest, it might take some searching around the house to put my finger on it.

I think I have a smaller blue duffel from the 2006 Trans Rockies... somewhere?  These Trans Rockies duffels are like ghosts, popping up all uninvited and never when I need them.

There's the 2013 BC Bike Race bag that sees the lion's share when I'm traveling like a normal human.  I can't fit in it, but when it's full, it's probably in that oh so sexy for air travel 50 lb range. Also, it's red and sticks out like a sore thumb on the luggage carousel.

The yellow bag from the 2007 La Ruta is perfect for shorter trips that don't require camping gear and tons of spare parts.  These are the kinda trips I rarely take tho.  It's almost always ALL or next to nothing.

Lastly, my old PAC messenger bag is for day trips and one day races where I leave the house that morning and come back that night.  One huge compartment, one small zipper compartment, and one pouch on the front.  It's not easy to organize my belongings, and getting ready for a ride usually requires some searching around in the dark nooks and crannies for small things like my Shuffle, mustard packs, Wahoo, lip balm... sundrious small items and some piece of black cycling garb amongst all the other black cycling garb.

So, this last time that Topeak was like, "Hey, look at our new stuff.  What floats your boat?  Mebbe you'll get it... mebbe not."

I'm a man of few needs, so it's always hard to pick something.  It has to fit the bill.  With so many travel bags already at my disposal, I somewhat reluctantly put the PakGo® Gearpack on my wish list.

My rationale was that when the nervousness of pre-race preparation only adds to my anxiety, mebbe a little organization would help.  Also, when everyone is standing around waiting for me in the parking lot to go for a ride while I dump my bag out on the ground looking for some tiny widget I can't ride without or a vague layer that I can't remember if I packed or not...

Back when I put it on my wish list, the details about the bag were fuzzy.  I was concerned about where I'd keep this giant cube in my house...

To find out that it folds down pretty flat.

BTW: Those are drain holes that are located under the waterproof side compartments for wet clothes, thank you very much.

It also looked like it couldn't ever hold that much gear (when staring at two dimensional images for months while I waited for it to show up), what with the helmet and shoes taking up a what looked like a fair amount of the internal space.

I was wrong.

For that last extended weekend trip I took, I managed to fit in three riding outfits (shirts, bibs, gloves, socks, humble shorts AKA baggies), shoes, helmet, Shakedry rain jacket, vest, two pairs of glasses, pressure gauge, fanny pack, Wahoo crap, Shuffle, various chargers... and whatever sundrious items I can't remember.  And there was still room for a lot more stuff.

And if I needed more room...

They added a three point attachment system to store the helmet on the outside to increase the space inside the pack.

Then there's shoulder straps so you can... ummm... put it on your shoulders... which would be nice for something like hands-free cruising around airports with your gear... but at 16.1” x 12.2” x 11.8” it falls a bit outside the 22" X 14" X 9" limits for carry on luggage in one but not two dimensions... but who's gonna let that stop them?

Man, I just wasted too much time trying to find an image of Marty Feldman in Yellowbeard trying to board the ship carrying a crocodile-shaped suitcase.

Oh well.

Mebbe that image isn't needed... and speaking of something not being needed, the straps can be removed entirely or tucked away at your leisure.

Dare I say that it's overwhelming size and ability to carry so much gear might be the only reason to even consider giving this my...

SEAL OF SEMI-APPROVAL.

There are times (like right now) that a day trip to the mountains might not be all that gear intensive.  The kinda rides when I'm wearing close to the bare minimum amount of clothing to not get arrested for indecent exposure climbing up 181 under the hot sun.  If you count a pair of shoes as "one thing," I'd bet I have less than ten things to pack and keep sorted, so this pack might be a bit too roomy.  That said, as the weather cools, I've fallen into the habit of bringing way more than I need... better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it.  I certainly learned that lesson this past winter... several times... again.   Keeping all those layering options well sorted should net me a lot fewer impatient side-eyed looks at the trailhead in the future.

And when racing starts up again?

I can't wait to have gadgets here, shoes there, nutrition over in here, shoes where shoes go, glasses in a location that doesn't take google maps to find...

Etc.

Should allow for more time to finish my coffee and get in line for the porta-potties... for the third or fourth time.

I know some folks are gonna say it's nuts to pay more than a hundred dollars for a gear bag when you've got this potato sack you've been using since middle school, and it's been to the top of Mount Whatever that one time you were on a class field trip.

That's fine.  Totally fine.

You enjoy your thing, and I'll enjoy my peace of mind.

While I still can have it.

Speaking of...

Today is my 51st birthday.  I think I'll go to work to celebrate.  My dad died at 61 when I was only 39.  I used to have his age as my benchmark, but now it's only a decade away.   That and the fact that my friend Bill died just before his 51st birthday...

That may make me sound like a morose mother fucker, but if I ever needed a reminder to live each day to its fullest, I got plenty now.

Hug your family, pet your dog (under the chin where he likes it), and reach out to a friend.

I think I'll head to Knoxville (again) this weekend and celebrate my birthings with Nick by riding squiggly circles in the woods.