It’s nice how things work out sometimes. In 2020, I lost my job because of something called coronavirus. I’ve been in event planning for most of my career, and events came to a halt during a global pandemic. I was getting a little worried about money, so considering that I rode my bike basically every day, I figured to start delivering around Downtown LA for extra income.

I hit up the fam at Road Runner Bags (RRB) to get a decent-sized backpack for this endeavor. But fate would have it that I qualified for unemployment support, which helped float the bills until I got a new job. Even though I never did take a step into mess life, I now had this sick backpack. My Large Anything Backpack has been so helpful in all the other facets of my cycling life. I lead a group called Trash Panda Cycling (TPC), so whether it was carrying t-shirts for group members, picking up prizes for races, or loading up for a picnic at the top of Griffith Park – it has been essential.

Work is still great (I’m putting on fundraisers for the non-profit I work for), and I get to commute by bike all the time, dodging the traffic. RRB has been a long time supporter of TPC and supported our fundraisers ever since our very first food drive. When looking for ways to carry more, I picked up a new West Coast Burrito earlier this year to stuff all my tools and even strap my bluetooth speaker for those rides. I even foresee using this for a little overnight bikepacking, and it’s definitely big enough. I’ve had other Burrito Bags from RRB, and the fact that I still use those after so many years is a solid sign.

If you come down to a Trash Panda ride on our usual Tuesday night, you’ll probably see quite a few other Road Runner Bags donned by the riders.

Words: Raff

Photos: Juan Gomez