This past Monday we held a contest to give away a Nite Ize SaddleLight LED Bike Bag to some lucky reader. The winner was determined upon the basis of the comments they left at the bottom of the review—they had to tell me why they needed this saddlebag/light combination and I selected the winner based solely on my incredibly subjective mood at the time. As usual, I had a very difficult time trying to decide who the winner was going to be, but I finally selected AlexP, a bicycle commuter from the Washington, DC area.
Alex, the Nite Ize SaddleLight LED Bike Bag Winner
To keep you from having to read through all the comments left for this contest, I’ll just reprint what Alex wrote: “I commute to work and have a seat post rack to haul everything I use on a daily basis in a set of pannier bags including my repair kit. Lately, I’ve been trailing my 14 month old on the weekend with my wife while she trains with friends for some upcoming centuries. I strip my bike down to the basics so I can try to keep up with everyone while trailing an extra human, so the rack (with my light on it) and panniers go away. I could use a saddle bag for my repair kit…the trailer is stuffed with diapers and Cheerios, both of which, according to my son, seem to be more important to him than a spare tube.”
I think Alex is the first contest winner we’ve had who did not have a cycling or fitness blog, so I wrote to him to get a little background information for this article. He is a former Naval officer (Hooyah) and when he lived in San Diego he used to ride his bike part of the way to work (it’s easy to be an “all seasons cyclist” when you live in an area with only one season). Now that he lives in the Washington, DC area he has turned his 35 minute metro ride into a 40 minute bike ride instead (9 mile each way).
Alex tries to support his wife’s cycling endeavors—she started riding to support autism awareness. His wife is a speech pathologist and her partner is an occupational therapist—they like to use their cycling passion to raise money and awareness for various conditions they work with in their patients. This year they are doing the Bike MS: Ride the Riverside, hosted by the National MS Society (click on the link to make a donation to her team).
Normally the contest winners on this site get the product I reviewed (dust and all). However, after I announced the contest the kind folks at Nite Ize, Inc. volunteered to send the winner a brand-new Nite Ize SaddleLight LED Bike Bag (thanks Julie!).
chaseitorbchased
April 21, 2013 at 5:59 AM
I love Niteize products. Got the biners, tie gear as well as some LED flash light. Plain and simple. Doing the job.
cyardin
April 21, 2013 at 6:57 AM
Giddy up Alex! I know what towing a little one is like.
AlexP
April 21, 2013 at 8:36 AM
Thanks to this blog for preparing and helping me keep on cycling through the winter.
Irish Katie
April 21, 2013 at 3:52 PM
Yahhhh AlexP!
But you do know that the extra space is needed for that extra toy to bring along for the son right? *grins*. Nevertheless…yahhhh…congratulations!
Jeff Katzer
April 21, 2013 at 4:46 PM
Good pic my friend.
unsportywomencanrun
April 21, 2013 at 10:17 PM
Awww nice job. A lovely encouraging little story on a wet wild autumn day here in Tasmania. I love that 35 minutes on the train is only a 40 minute bike ride. crazy.
kruzmeister
April 22, 2013 at 3:40 PM
Great choice. Congrats Alex!
isaac976
April 22, 2013 at 9:13 PM
Congratulations Alex !!
isaac976
April 22, 2013 at 9:14 PM
quick question since you dont have twitter, sorry to use the comment space, Which will you choose, Tubular or Clincher?
All Seasons Cyclist
April 22, 2013 at 9:25 PM
I prefer Clinchers — mainly because I ride in an area with a LOT of glass (the far north suburbs of Chicago in the People’s Republic of Illinois). A lot of glass means a lot of flat tires and clinchers are a lot easier to change on the road.
isaac976
April 22, 2013 at 9:31 PM
That’s new to me, didn’t know grass will cause flats. Gonna post this as a twitter question to my followers. Thanks dude.
Isaac
All Seasons Cyclist
April 22, 2013 at 10:38 PM
You might want to inquire about a new pair of reading glasses as well! 🙂
isaac976
April 22, 2013 at 10:58 PM
HAHAHA !! you got me good, I was totally stumped when I thought you said GRASS.. haha .. sincerely my fault ! LOL