My newest bike

Being, as I am, a self-absorbed American, I have to step away from the horrors the Japanese folks are facing and talk about me.

Or at least about my latest bike. I finally got around to taking some pictures of it today, in daylight.

I like how the gray/brown color works with the black accessories. If the crank arms were black, I'd like that even better. I was a little concerned that the grips and seat were going to be lighter than they are. They aren't too bad, but I still think I'd prefer they be black or darker gray. I'll be getting Ergon grips--probably these guys--for this bike at some point, and they will be darker.

This is the first time since 1992 that I've had a front pannier rack on a bike. I still have the old Blackburn LowRider I mounted on my Linear that year, but I haven't mounted it on anything since then. These pannier racks are the Axiom Adventure series, and mounting them in conjunction with the Planet Bike fender was a minor challenge--more so on the left side with the brake caliper in the area.

A commuter bike gets locked to stuff. For my Vanguard, I keep a six-foot cable with padlock in a pannier pocket. The Raleigh has a coiled cable that simply hangs over the handlebar and stem when I'm riding. For this tricked-out Vienna, though, I felt it worth getting one of the very Euro Abus wheel locks. This one has the ability to add their dedicated cable, shown here:

I couldn't bring myself to mount the faded panniers I've been using on the Raleigh on this bike, and didn't much care for moving the big blue companion set that lives on the Vanguard over, either. So, since it is a new bike, I got some new panniers--a set of Axiom Cartier DLX model. I like them okay so far--I don't expect the durability of the Arkels some of my friends have, but also don't have the investment in them. As a wish-he-was-more-of-a-backpacker, I know how to keep stuff dry in a bag like this--it's a bag of bags. Simple zip-lock bags help keep stuff organized and dry. It would be nice if the inside surfaces of these bags was a brighter color, though. I like the asymmetrical top flaps on these bags. The lock fits in the side pouch on the left bag, and the right bag side pouch holds the flat kit.

One of the fun details on the Globe bikes is their head badge. Owners can put just about anything of the right size in there--a picture of a favorite cat, cartoon character, or in my case, a  business card. This one was in there for a couple of very wet rides to and from work. I figure it'll get replaced from time to time, just to have a decent-looking one in there.

And, no, I haven't gotten around to taking out the wheel weights, er, spoke reflectors.