papa's got a brand new bag

papa's got a brand new bag , originally uploaded by ( kurtz ).

(or at least new to me)

my 3 year-old backpack's finally on it's last seams. 12 seasons of biking, hiking, falling, grocery runs, rain, submersion, dragging, and dog-chewing are at an end.

finally, it was time to grab one of those waterproof backpacks I so covet. as always, budget was a big concern, so I searched the Russian Roulette marathon that is Craigslist. friday afternoon, I sent a USPS money order to Portland, OR, and by yesterday, Wed nite, I got my bag back via UPS. a 4 month old, perfect-condition bag, purchased at 50% of Retail. no small feat for a product from a bag company who, based upon my research, never has sales.

i celebrated by new acquisition with a little grocery shopping. afterwards, i tooled around Naro Video looking for an old Cronenberg flick for about half an hour.

by the time i got home i noticed i had been adjusting my posture repeatedly to compensate for the load. obviously, i'm not an Army Ranger hucking 80lbs of gear around 40 hours a week.

so, i checked the difference weight on the bathroom scale: 47 lbs

- bike chain (usually around my waist)
- 3 packets of Kung Pao powder
- can of peanuts
- stick of Pepper Jack cheese
- 2 cans of Campbell's Chunky
- 2lb bag of plain Grits (insert redneck joke here)
- floor mop replacement sponge
- bag o' oranges
- 2.5lbs of chicken breast
- 12 pack of Miller Lite, to replace what i've stolen from Michelle
- 3 dvd's - Hiroku the Goblin, Hedwig & the Angry Inch, The Brood
- 5lb bag of Kokohu Rose Sushi Rice (so much better tasting that long grain, imho)

hopefully i'll get stronger and faster riding loaded down. the bag is freaking huge, though, and i found myself tucking the Wings for the morning commute, to accommodate for the occasional shoulder-check.

i think i'm satisfied, but i do feel that this may be a bit much on the summer morning commute, considering the sweat-in-business-clothes factor. we'll see...

and I get to pose as a bicycle courier, telling tall tales of death-and-traffic-defying mortgage document deliveries. for joy!