Two bike errand runs today

Okay, so I'd been putting off going to Smart & Final because... well, I don't want to drive the car (not that there's anything wrong with it except that it guzzles fuel - and I'm only putting $25 in it this month and that needs to last the whole month.  So... NO driving except for emergencies and loads too large to carry on the bike.) and sometimes I just get nervous about locking the bike in places.  So, I thought I'd be a real smartie and make a video on how to properly lock the bike... HA HA!  Well, it wasn't until I got home and looked at the footage that I realized my own big FAIL - didn't get the frame inside the U-lock.  Duh!!!  Here's the proof!  Otherwise it would have been perfectly locked. Proof below!!!  However, both wheels and the seat we locked down with heavy cables all tied into the U-lock which was locked only to the metal railing.  So, I will make a proper video and post it eventually.

The Bontrager panniers in the pic are full of groceries and each weighs about 20 lbs.  I always tell them at Smart & Final that I have my own bags and will pack them myself.  Here's what I hauled:

3 - 4-lb bags of powdered sugar
1 pint lemon extract
3 lbs tangerines
4 beefsteak tomatoes
1 ginormous container of spring lettuce
1 containter of mild fresh Rojo's  salsa (the best!!!)
8 oz of Mexican shredded cheese

The panniers were pretty full but I could have squeezed in a few smaller items too.  Then when I got home, there was a check in the mail, so after I unloaded I quickly biked down the opposite direction to the bank where as always I take the bike in with me and right up to the teller window.  They know me well in there!

So, about 6 miles of biking.  Not much, but I faced the bike locking demons yet again.  Gosh, if someone ever stole my bike, I would be so distraught.  I would be less distraught if my car were stolen!  And I don't even have an expensive bike!  I may have paid about $350 for it on sale (think it was originally about $500).

Snoozer loser!

Remember that post a few days ago about the Snoozer pet carrier for the bike?  Well, do NOT buy it.  Don't even think about it!  Big waste of money.

First of all, you can't really secure it to the bike underneath.  The strapping is terrible and inefficient, so the thing could fly up and out of place on a good bump which would also dislodge the dog.

Second, the three point harness system?  Yeah, it's anchored in 3 places to the Snoozer but only one to your dog, and that's not good enough for a dog that's riding out in the open like that. 

I put my dog in the Snoozer and slowly walked her around the block in it.  She fussed and whined the whole time, and if I dared to take my hand off her, she was ready to jump out.  She was anchored in two places (one to her harness, and I fashioned another anchor in front to her collar), but that's NOT enough for a dog who wants out!!!  I managed to keep her in it the whole loooooong walk, and when we got to the front steps of my building, then I had issues keeping her in and getting the bike up the few steps. One step to go, and that's when she tried to escape, squealing and screaming as she hung from her neck for a few seconds until I scooped her up and back into the Snoozer.  Yeah, that was fun.  Not.  So the Snoozer will go into the car as a car booster seat for her, although she might not even like it for that. 

I guess if she's going to go on bike rides with me, she'll have to go in a trailer.

My  latest adventure has been to purchase a Snoozer pet carrier for the back of my bike.  This is not a pic of me, my dog or my bike.  This is from their website.  It's raining and dark today, and I can't get a good photograph of it from inside.

Snoozer Pet Products

One of the reasons I purchased this was to be able to take my dog on some rides with me when I want to be gone for longer times.  You see, I have a neighbor who calls me regularly to report that my dog is barking or whining when I am gone for more than a few hours, and well, I'm finding those calls to be quite annoying at this point, especially when I've had to listen to her high-pitched yappy pedigreed mutt for years.

I found the Snoozer on eBay, and I ordered it.  When it arrived, I immediately had to pull it out of the box and attach it to the bike to see how it functioned.  As mentioned in a previous post, my bike's rear pannier rack sits about 4" higher than a normal rack because of the way it is mounted - and this puts it too far forward beneath my seat, making that 4" of it difficult to use.

The base of the seat has a long groove to fit over the rack, and the inside is very sturdy, cushy and yet solid.  There is a strap around the front that straps it to the seat post, so it is secure there, but the straps beneath, which buckle rather than a more secure velcro, have very long dangling straps.   I haven't even quite figured out their configuration yet.  I did put my dog up into it just to see how she would like it, and she seemed okay with it.  Next is walk the bike a little with her in it, then take her for a short spin (once I figure that underneath strapping).

Because I felt it had some design flaws (a car seat sort of barely modified for a bike), I felt compelled to write to the manufacturer and offer my suggestions.

I'm writing about your Pet Rider Bicycle Seat Lookout which I just purchased online from an ebay seller.

As an avid urban cyclist, I am always interested in bicycle accessory items and their functionality.  In the case of your Snoozer seat, there are are some good things but also some things that need to be addressed for safety.

1.  Although the reflective strip in the back is great, it does not take the place of flashing lights which can been seen long before a reflective strip.  However, because the Snoozer is so large, it covers up where the lights are normally attached to the rack.  Therefore, there needs to be at least two places on the back of the Snoozer to attach lights.  Lights need to clip onto something.  This can be easily achieved by having some gaps top and bottom in the stitching of the strip so that a light can be clipped into the gaps.  As it is, I may have to remove some stitching to force it to take the lights.

2.  The straps beneath the Snoozer have too much dangling strap after it's tightened down, and the tightening down is cumbersome and slow.  A better, safer, faster and stronger solution is wide velcro strapping. It leaves absolutely no dangling parts.  Two wide velcro straps are best, spaced a few inches apart.

3.  The strap that goes under the cyclist's seat should also be velcro.  Again, no dangling parts.  However, this strap is less of an issue than the straps beneath the Snoozer.

I hope these suggestions help.  Cyclists need accessories to be fast, safe and secure.

Thank you.

Jenny Arata
Los Angeles