Crashbox

Sometimes on long weekends I indulge in little obsessions. My attention will be caught by some new object or idea and I will allow my brain to run full-throttle in that direction, sifting through all the options, scenarios, accessories, ect. associated with my new addiction. Usually things quiet down soon enough after the realities of daily work and limited finances have time to penetrate the passionate dreaming---like the time I thought I was going to build an 1899-vintage track bike replica by welding up my own frame---someday perhaps, but the wild enthusiasm has boiled off to a calm, distant desire. On other occasions, these notions have a bit more staying power, mostly because they are more modest in scope and practical in execution. The current project is to craft my own commuter/messenger bag from, among other things, salvaged materials of a nature I haven't figured out just yet, and an old seatbelt for a strap. This idea is much more within the reach of practicality, so it just might actually happen; especially because my loving wife has agreed to sew it all up for me, one skill which, alas, I do not possess. The primary motivation for this venture is the gross price I encountered for any purchasable bag that I would be willing to wear: $50 minimum, rising to $200+! (I'm way too cheap for that kind of dough!) I admit that I spent far too much time online looking for a good cycling bag to replace my fraying, ugly, too-small one, and though I didn't gain a product, I gained ideas: one person (on Etsy.com) used recycled hang-glider material; another used sailing ship canvas; and my favorite one used old sheets of billboard ads. That is an awesome form of recycling! Now to think of something just as cool for my own creation...