One change I would have to make is to have TWO stuff sacks – one for the “stinky” stuff, and one for the clean stuff. Years of gym workouts have taught me that the chance of truly fresh clothes emerging from a bag also used for dirty gear is around zero percent.

On the “zipper closure” topic, after one very close call (I heard my keys hit the ground and looked back to see both my wallet and phone halfway out of the bag and waiting only for the next bump to make their escape), I have made certain that the bags I use have a “key keeper” snap sewn inside the zippered compartment where I attach the keys and the small bag that now holds my wallet and phone – belt AND suspenders.

Thinking of your day and what you need (and as importantly, what you do not need) ahead of time makes the stress and excuse of not taking the bicycle to work disappear.

Zippers, I have had a few OOPS with them but they were not anywhere near as painful as the one I just read. My next to last check of my bicycle after I close the garage door behind me definitely includes a physical tug on the top handle of my rack mounted bag to ensure that all zippers are closed and the bag is secure to the rack. The last check is that my lights are on both front and rear.

The truckers have nothing on me that “My lights are on all the time for safety.” I have a Portland Design Works Radbot 1000 1 Watt LED Tail light and a Cygolite Hotshot 2 Watt LED Tail light on at all times, night or day, when I ride. I have two heavy duty lights on my front, one blinking and one steady, at all times when I ride my bike. They all used batteries that are capable of being recharged so battery life is never an issue, my life IS the issue.

Note to self: Make sure the batteries are charged!

Dorky or not, I check to make sure that I have my ANSI 107-2004 Class 2 vest ready to go. I purchased two of them, XL and XXL. The XL is for summer and the XXL will fit over my bulkier jackets in the winter. I spent a few extra dollars and ordered the type with two horizontal reflection stripes instead of the standard one. It has over 260 square inches of 3M reflective material with a minimum of 75 square inches visible in any direction and over 150 square inches visible from the front or back. I feel that this is the best overall safety item that I can have as I ride. Increased visibility during the day and a last resort no fail passive reflector system at night or in the fog. It does not need batteries and surpasses just about any amount of reflectors that I can add to my bike. I look like a barricade barrel on wheels at night but the vest is seen for over a thousand feet as witnessed by my neighbor as he passed me in his car. He was not sure what he noticed first, the lights or the vest but he noticed them far in the distance before he could see that it was a bicycle.

In case all else fails, a charged cell phone better be on my person as I humbly plead for assistance on the journey.

The list goes on and on but without my lights, reflective vest, and cellphone, I go nowhere on my bicycle.

Plus, if I don’t ride then that means that I have to go back to the gym and that’s another $50/month.

Oh, and that briefcase pannier looks brilliant, but someone is going to have to walk me through the sticker shock.