Zimbale bag and farmer's market

Before the unexpected appearance of the gorgeous his-and-her Superbes, the big news of this week was going to be the arrival of my Zimbale saddle bag.  I'd agonized over which color and size to order, pestering friends like Velouria and EcoVelo for more perspective and opinion.

Here's what I finally selected:

It's the 7-liter saddle bag in black.  I love the olive green version, but this seemed well-suited to go from a brown bike to a blue one to a green one.

Although the bag was a tad smaller than I envisioned, it appears to be big enough to hold all you'd need for a long day's ride or a lightweight tour.  Still, I think the next one will be the 11-liter version.  Mounting was pretty easy and largely intuitive, but I have to say that I had tons of help from the helpful posts and photos at both EcoVelo and Lovely Bicycle.

The test ride came today at the farmer's market.  It's still a bit early in the season, but there already are good tomatoes, cabbages, asparagus and potatoes to be hand.

Here's the bag, mounted on Geordy, the original Raleigh Superbe, waiting to be filled.

The default cargo is a cable lock, a light and a small pump.  An extra tube and repair tools are in one of the side pockets.

Now here's the bag with two bunches of bok choy, a bunch of shallots, a couple pounds of tomatoes and some almonds added:

It's worth nothing that this load did not tax the bag in any way.  In fact, the Zimbale features a fold-down flap that can be extended to accommodate a large or bulky load.  I didn't need that for this small load of groceries and was able to close the bag using the regular setting.

And here, his cargo secured, sits Geordy in the Capitol Rose Garden.  He looks satisfied, as he should.