Keeping old bicycle gear is a luxury we can't afford. We live in a tiny home, a studio condominium.When I got new bicycle travel bags this year, getting rid of our old touring bags became a priority. But it took three attempts before I finally made the old gear go away.
Many years ago we had panniers. I hated them. They were noisy, always needing adjustment, and awkward to pack. We replaced them with several sizes of rear hard-side trunk bags that we used for years. They worked well on trips, but they took up a lot of space when not in use.
It was easier to part with the old bikes than the old bike bags.
The bags held memories. Before I could part with them, I found I had to spend a little time archiving those memories. Then I was ready. We pulled the bags and racks into a pile. Some we threw away. Some we donated.
It was surprising to feel sadness and loss for something as prosaic as travel bags. But of course the sadness was simply the bittersweet feeling you get whenever you deal with change. Stuff changes. If you're lucky, little is lost and some things get better.
And besides, now we have just baggage enough.
