A lesson in luggage

This was to have been Monday's lesson, but the water heater drama kept me from posting it then. I've got a few bits of advice about luggage, learned the hard way.

First, if you're riding in the rain, it doesn't make sense to put the cover over the bike when you get home - it will keep the moisture inside, so let the bike dry out. But it is a good idea to empty your saddlebags if they're not sealed hard luggage. This Monday the gloves in my saddlebags were soaking wet. Those rain covers are not completely effective, and I should have known that.

Second, some comments on carrying a laptop on a motorcycle. On Monday, I realized I'd need to work from home on Tuesday. My saddlebags don't really have enough room to close the zipper when you put a laptop in them. I made it home without incident, but I was worried that I'd have stuff blow out of the bag. It didn't, but if it had been raining I wouldn't have much choice. And don't even think about putting a laptop in a magnetic tank bag. (Jerry, I didn't learn that lesson the hard way, especially not with your laptop. That's one I already knew about. I know my boss reads this occasionally.)

So today I packed up the laptop in one of the safest ways to carry it on a motorcycle if you don't have giant-sized saddlebags: I put it in a messanger bag. This is kind of like a padded briefcase with a shoulder strap and a second strap that goes around your torso. It's big enough to carry a laptop. Another good option is, of course, a backpack.