MetroGnome Music

Today I rode to one of my close friend's business, MetroGnome Music. They specialize in used musical instruments, but they also have DVDs, music cd's, vinyl, and video games. They also drive around in a cool old Metro van that has been restored.

The Long Way Home

Today was the first real commute to work (to & from).  Not much different in the morning... rode at about the same pace.  But I was super tired on the way home... and hungry!  It was much more of a cruise on the way home, and since I wasn't in a hurry I took the opportunity to snap a few pics for you all to enjoy!

These pics were taken just off of the Aviation bike path.

The following pictures are taken outside of the Boneyard at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base.  A bit of trivia... this is where some scenes from Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen were filmed.  Yes, Megan Fox was 2 miles from my house!

The first commute (sort of...)

I took the first ride into work this morning. I loaded up the C-bag with my work clothes plus soccer gear for a little pickup after work. Here is the bike loaded up:







Fortunately the weather was ideal this morning and the ride was pleasant. Having the bag off of my back was really nice.

I wasn't too much slower on the Brommie compared to my other road bikes... Maybe about 5 minutes slower.


After I got showered up I rode to the building that I work in and was able to fold up the bike, attach the C-bag and was easily able to roll the whole unit down the hallways. I wasn't able to take pics of the unit while I was at work, so I took some when I got home.









I had lots of co-workers ask about the bike and check it out. They definitely dug it!

By the way, I did get a ride home after soccer, hence the title.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Out and About

I took the B out this morning.  First, I rode to breakfast at my favorite place, Poco & Mom's (green chile sauce to live for).  This place is typically packed for breakfast, so space is at a premium.  I was eating alone today, so I was able to pack the B under my table and by C-bag in the open seat.

After breakfast I went to Target (a department store for those outside of the US) to pick up a few things.  When I arrived, I was able to pack the B into the shopping cart while I was picking up my items.

Even though it was a pretty warm day, I gotta say it was pretty nice not driving the car around today.  It was a lazy Sunday, so I was able to take my time getting around.

So I've put about 50 miles on the bike since I've gotten it.  Here are some observations I've made:

• The Brooks saddle is definitely starting to break in.  It's happening a little sooner than I've anticipated, so it is a happy surprise.
• The Brompton luggage system is worth the price of admission.  It's so nice to not have to carry your bag on your back, especially on a hot uncomfortable day like today.
• The SON hub dynamo give great piece of mind.  The beam lights up the road rather well, and it's great peace of mind since most of my commutes will be before dawn or after dusk.  Not having to worry about batteries rocks.
• I'm a couple of MPH slower than on my road bike.  I think this is due to the type of tire I'm using (Schwalbe Marathons with Flat Attack injected) rather than the wheel size or gearing.  I could also be out of riding shape.

Brompton C-Bag Review: Capacity & Visibility

Still no word yet from Brompton about my P6R-RL, but in the meantime I'll wax poetic about this pretty sweet messenger-type bag.

Brompton C-Bag.

Interior view of C-Bag.

Interior view of C-Bag with a DVD case for size reference.

Rear view of the C-Bag showing the two medium sized pockets that would straddle the stem post.  This is a cleaver way to increase capacity.  The pockets fit a normal sized water bottle and is a good place to stash your wallet and keys.

Small side pocket with pen slots.  This pocket is perfect for a cell phone.

The shoulder strap quickly cinches up so that it doesn't interfere while riding.

This is the larger Brompton messenger-type bag, with a capacity of 25 liters (the smaller S-Bag carries 20 liters).  How much is 25 liters?  Consider Exhibit A:

C-Bag with a change of clothes in a packing cube, shoes, rain cover for bag, body wipes and iPad with case.  The packing cube contains jeans, belt, a polo shirt, underwear and socks.

This is close to what I would carry with me on my typical commute to work, plus whatever is in my pocket (iPhone, wallet, keys, identification, etc.) stuffed into the back and side compartments.

Packed C-Bag.

Side view of packed C-Bag.

Even with the all of the above items jammed into the C-Bag, there was still some space left over for my footy jersey and shorts in case I was playing a game after work.

In the earlier photos you can see that the large interior compartment is has a sort of zippered pocket partition thingy.  It seems like a good place to put items that aren't need often (in my case it would be the rain cover).

The smaller inner partition perfectly holds my early 2011 13" Macbook Pro with protective sleeve case.

13" Macbook Pro with Tom Bihn Cache.

Macbook stuffed into smaller inner partition.

Another positive attribute of this bag is how incredibly reflective it is (and how visible you'll be at night).  Here are a couple of pictures of the C-Bag in my hallway:

C-Bag, no flash.

C-Bag lit up with the flash from my iPhone.  The trim is so bright that it actually created an artifact in the photo.

  

So far the initial impressions are positive.  I'll have more insights when I finally receive my brommie and a able to use the bag on a regular basis.  Hope you enjoyed this initial review!

Finally, some loot! No main prize though (yet)...

While I was taking care of some other business up in Scottsdale I took the opportunity to swing by Portapedal Bike in Tempe to chat and pick up some of the accessories that I had ordered and to see if anything was new.  I also wanted to check out the Jubilee edition while they still had it.

Jubilee Edition Brompton at Portapedal

The Jubilee Edition is limited to 500 units and included a limited edition S bag with the Union Jack on the flop,  This model is basically a tri-colored M3L (white main frame, red handlebar stem and fork, cobalt blue rear frame) with a Union Jack design under the Brompton logo.  Very cool looking!

Also new was a Brompton polo shirt.  Looked sharp, had to have, and did!

I was also given this trouser cuff (basically a big slap bracelet) for being a good sport for waiting so long for the bike.

Here's all the other stuff I had ordered and picked up:

Spare tubes - Essential since this size may be difficult to find.

Brooks Proofide (12g) - Helps break in the Brooks leather saddle. 

Cover & Saddle bag - It'll be handy when I have to kinda conceal the bike, plus I can stash a spare tube and  levers in there.

C-bag - To carry all my stuff while commuting.  I brought my worst-case commuting cargo load  and tried stuffing the C-bag at Portapedal.  It was a tight fit, but everything fit.  I'll do some posts outlining what kinds of loads I'm able to carry in this.

Waterproof zippers on the C-bag... a very nice touch!