A good friend of mine has the coolest full name I’ve ever come across. I won’t type it all out here, because I’m not sure that he wants his info all over the internet, but I feel like “Korbi” is a good teaser. And it’s what he goes by anyway.
Some exposition: Korbi was the reason I joined the club triathlon team at my college. At the final “welcome week” event (a rooftop barbecue), we split into teams for a triathlon trivia challenge. Being a tri team vet, Korbi was my team’s captain. We hit it off immediately, riffing back and forth like we’d known each other for years, and I decided I’d join the team. Due to a number of factors, mostly his impending graduation, I ended up seeing him only a few more times that year. However, through triathlon and the team, I ended up discovering a passion for seeing new places and spending long days out on the road or the trail, moving through the world and interacting with it. I no longer really participate in tris, but I credit Korbi with introducing me (however indirectly) to the world of wilderness pursuits. I could not be more grateful.
In the spring of 2021, he had moved back to the bay area and was going on bike rides with my roommate, who happened to be a good friend of his. I invited myself along and we immediately hit it off once again. He mentioned a ride idea he’d been thinking about recently. 140 miles with around 12k feet of vert. Starting and ending in Berkeley, while tagging the summits of Mt. Diablo and Mt. Tam all in a calendar day. I told him I wanted in, and we planned it. Unfortunately, due to a stick breaking my derailleur hanger at mile 60, I was unable to complete the tour, but he polished it off admirably and had some great stories to tell on the other end. He was quite jealous of the bar bag I’d made for myself and said he’d like one too.
What do you do when your close friend says he likes your bag? You make him one! But much nicer and more professional-looking than the crappy one you made for yourself long ago. He wanted it to be able to hold a water bottle and sunscreen with maybe room for snacks and arm warmers.
I stuck with a box-like design, partially because I was scared of round ends, but partially because I really like the way my original box bar bag carried. I sent him a paper draft of it, and he gave me the thumbs up. He has since ridden with it and the feedback has been only positive. It holds everything he wants it to and it carries well.
Key features: light blue ripstop lining to aid in finding things in the bag and to look nicer, a shock cord loop with a cord lock to secure the bag to your head tube, and pleated pockets for stashing gus or trash or whatever you have.
Elliot DH 