Breathing room

Now that we have officially re-scheduled this thing for Sunday, February 27, 2011, we find ourselves with a bit more time in which to provide additional tidbits of advice. I daresay I shall not waste a moment on the type of drivel populating other blogs of this nature.

Recalling last year’s Dapper Dan Dash/Shannon Tweed Ride, I remember a particularly useful piece of equipment. You see, my own bicycle is not outfitted as a touring bike; it has no racks, no panniers, no bungeed-milk-cartons, no carrying capacity of any kind (save for the odd water bottle cage and pipe rest, that is). If your bike is similarly situated, a shoulder bag, haversack, or musette comes in awful handy on a ride such as this.

Well, you may ask, what kind of bag would be appropriate for this ride? I would say that any one of the now de rigueur messenger-type bags most likely would suffice. In choosing one of these items, one must consider one’s overall image, however. Take, for example, the offerings of a particular outfit from the Bay Area of California, known as “Chrome.” Sure, their bags are in with the hipster crowd, what with the seat-belt-buckle that looks like it came off of a circa-1974 MoPar product:

seat-belt-buckle-style buckle

The colors of such products are a bit garish, and they are likely to clash with a fine muted tweed:

A bit on the bright side

On the other hand, the product of another Bay Area company with the unfortunate name Rickshaw Bags, particularly those with a herringbone pattern, fit in a bit more with our theme:

Rickshaw Messenger bag and Talmud cover

Here’s a closer look at Rickshaw’s fine woolen fabric:

Those of you with more of a “buy-local” philosophical outlook might care to peruse the products of a bespoke bag-maker, Psychlist Subversive.

In any event, we’d love for papa to have a brand new bag when he’s out riding with us.

*Full disclosure: Dapper Dan receives no (ahem) compensation for mentioning certain brands in this correspondence. Should anyone feel the need to provide recompense, I will gladly accept samples of your current line.

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