Yay bicycle! Over the last couple of months, since my mate and I are no longer sharing one, I've found myself getting much more mobile and busy-in-a-good-way just by having a bike and not relying on public transportation.
As has already been stated, get a lock you'd feel comfortable securing a safe containing the only copy of all your collected artwork for your entire life with. If the lock's not good enough for that, it's probably not going to hold the bike.
I see you've got a rack, but enwrapped in bungees; it's worth the expense to purchase or manufacture a good set of panniers- possibly two. I can carry a week of groceries for two people on my bicycle, given sufficiently aggressive packing, a large backpack, and a certain masochism about going uphill. Unlike mine, your rack has a real set of connector hooks at the bottom, so you shouldn't have the problem that I've had involving actually getting the things to stay on correctly and not fall off when biking over a highway underpass. (Although if the tension strap on a bike bag is too long to tighten properly, use sewing awl and strong cord to hem it up about an inch. That solved the "dude, where's my bag?" problem for me.)
Good luck, have fun with a greatly expanded range of mobility! And since you're in Boston, you may want to practice the move of jumping a curb, both up and down. (Yes, you'll need to get your wheel re-trued after a few months of abuse like that.) Being able to jump onto the sidewalk when some shithead with a Hummer and a Problem doesn't appreciate having to share the road with you can be a life-saving skill.
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Date: 2008-07-14 09:39 pm (UTC)As has already been stated, get a lock you'd feel comfortable securing a safe containing the only copy of all your collected artwork for your entire life with. If the lock's not good enough for that, it's probably not going to hold the bike.
I see you've got a rack, but enwrapped in bungees; it's worth the expense to purchase or manufacture a good set of panniers- possibly two. I can carry a week of groceries for two people on my bicycle, given sufficiently aggressive packing, a large backpack, and a certain masochism about going uphill. Unlike mine, your rack has a real set of connector hooks at the bottom, so you shouldn't have the problem that I've had involving actually getting the things to stay on correctly and not fall off when biking over a highway underpass. (Although if the tension strap on a bike bag is too long to tighten properly, use sewing awl and strong cord to hem it up about an inch. That solved the "dude, where's my bag?" problem for me.)
Good luck, have fun with a greatly expanded range of mobility! And since you're in Boston, you may want to practice the move of jumping a curb, both up and down. (Yes, you'll need to get your wheel re-trued after a few months of abuse like that.) Being able to jump onto the sidewalk when some shithead with a Hummer and a Problem doesn't appreciate having to share the road with you can be a life-saving skill.