I'm a newbie - a week and a half into the bike commute - riding ~ 3miles to the closest subway the then train it the rest of the way - all is going well, even managed to avoid the rain the last two nights - even though I had rain gear w/ me and lights.
Today, running late to begin w/ - 3 blocks/ at 1st light noticed that my rear rack was wobbly - pull to sidewalk - missing screw and nut - ok have a plastic zip tiein my bag (the safety pin of hardware)
Another mile or so in - my pant legs slips out of the ankle band and gets caught on the front gear, catches on/ rips the hem. Pull over, fix ankle band.
Block from subway, avoiding parked car w/ door open, car passes on left a little close to comfort
Still managed to make to the train in 21:11 minutes (about the average time I rode last week) and overall only 15 minutes latefor work!