Commuter Ready Bicycle

I haven't posted a picture of my new bike!  Here it is with all its gadgets and prettiness.  Richard and I got the same bike actually.  We could only get them in one color too.  Mine is just a smaller version.  I really liked the design of the men's bike over the women's.   I plan on jazzing the bars up with stickers.  The front basket is for Matilda, one of my cats, to ride in!

Love my bike!

I just finished making my set of pannier bags.  They are inspired off the purse I carry everywhere.  They are made of 100% cotton duck cloth that I dyed purple.  The front is pieces of cotton, linen, silk, and polyester fabrics, some of which I dyed.  I put Iron on Vinyl on the whole inside of the bags to make them more water resistant.  On the sides is a reflective strip so cars can see how wide my bike is with the bags. 

Here is a close-up of the front of both bags.  They are similar design but different birdies.  {Click on the image to see a larger picture}

I put a front zip pocket on the flap to carry small things in. 

The inside is nice, big, and deep.  We want to use them mostly for groceries so I wanted to make sure we had the room.  I also added an adjustable strap so we could carry them into the store with us.  The strap unhooks on one side so you can tuck it in the bag out of the way.  I considered making the whole strap removable but I thought keeping it attached on one side would keep us from losing it. 

The back is supported with corrugated plastic, the stuff yard sale signs are made of, to stiffen it.  It has been sewn into a pocket in the back of the bag.  I sewed down the hooks with webbing.  It has been sewn down into the plastic.  They are not going anywhere.  The bungee with the vinyl covered S hook is to keep the bag from wiggling around while riding.  The bungee is removable so you could use it separately. 

I'm currently finishing up Richard's bags.  I'll post them when I'm done.

Cheers,

Kyle