I enjoyed the cool weather yesterday evening as I took a quick ride to one of the nicer shopping centers in town on University Drive just north of the river. I rolled up to Starbucks for a cup of coffee and relaxed for a while. Unfortunately there really aren't many decent coffeehouses in Fort Worth so the choice is usually limited to Starbucks or Panera.
I've been living with the Ostrich bag for several weeks. It is a well constructed bag and I load it full of extra gear on every ride. It is a little awkward to carry the bag off the bike. The large square shape and short shoulder strap are the culprits. I've been meaning to search the local military surplass stores for a matching replacement strap, something wider and much longer would help greatly. I am considering buying a Wald basket from Rivendell and zip tying it to my Nitto rack. I would still use the Ostrich bag but for everyday riding, but I think a basket and my old canvas military shoulder bag would be more practical. Plus I could carry my SLR camera along with my usual load of junk. I've been limited to using my compact camera and it runs through batteries at an amazing rate.
Speaking of baskets, I read in this month's Bicycling magazine that the basket on the Gary Fisher Simple City bikes will be available as an aftermarket item. I think they are good looking baskets and with five attachment points they should be nice and sturdy. I haven't found a price for them yet.
