Some of My Bike Stuff

Here is some of my bike stuff. I am usually a very frugal person and kinda stingy when it comes to my own needs. It was hard for me to spend lots of money on some of this stuff, but I kept reminding myself of the context. I could either buy this gear or buy a car. So in reality I am saving money whenever I buy something that will enable to go through the winter without paying for a car.

Tuvizo Reflective Vest

I call these my “safety suspenders”. I have a dark jacket so I wanted something to enhance my visibility.

Waterproof Helmet Cover from J&G Cyclewear

I hang one of my taillights on the tab on the back of this cover. It makes me feel safer to have a blinking light at head level.

Glacier Gloves

These gloves are warm but don’t seem very breathable, my hands get really sweaty. I am going to buy mitts soon, I think.

Light and Motion’s Urban 550

Love this little guy.

Taillight from Serfas

I just ordered another one of these. I am impressed at how bright this light is and how wide it spreads that light.

Bolle Mojo Snow Goggles

These haven’t fogged up so far. So nice to bike in snow and rain without it hitting my face. I am buying another one of these without the tint for nighttime biking.

Avenir Excursion Panniers

These are reflective, which is great.

Crazy Morning

Yesterday started out with pizzazz. Woke up, got all ready for work, headed out the door with my bike headlight, pressed the on button. It didn’t turn on! WHAT!?! I rush back to my bedroom and hook it up to the usb charger. The indicator light on the back is solid green, meaning that the battery is fully charged. But when I unplug the light it refuses to shine and the indicator light blinks red.

So I find my cheap walmart light and attach it to my handlebars using hair elastics. Then I bike. Halfway to work there is a hill so I downshift while ascending. At the top of the climb I try to shift to my third gear but suddenly the gear line snaps.

So I get off my bike to figure out what is going on and after a few minutes I realize that I am going to have to bike five miles on first gear. Wanting to make it to work on time and knowing that I am already somewhat behind schedule, I pedal lighting fast. I have never pedaled so fast in my life while going so slow.

Of course my walmart light runs out of battery 3 miles before reaching work, so I am biking slowly and dangerously. Bad combo. (Actually that little light didn’t really help so I guess I was biking dangerously the entire ride.)

The good news is I pulled into work just as my coworker did. Win.

The best news is when I called tech support for my bike headlight, the guy figured out in five seconds flat that I had put my light in travel lock mode. So I felt kinda dumb but my light is working so I am super thankful.

So the only not good news is that I had to bike back home on first gear which took a while, and I will be stuck on second gear until I get the gear line replaced. (My dad figured out how to change it to second gear, he is pretty awesome.)