Transporting weapons on a bike

Okay, so it's not a technique question....

Since our dojo only has one dedicated weapons class and I've recently started working with weapons, I'm adding a weapons class at another dojo to my schedule. To get to this dojo, in time for the class, I ride my bike (14 miles one-way, 28 round-trip). It's easy enough to throw a gi into a pannier, but a jo and bokken simply don't fit. The couple of times I've gone so far, I've used bungee cords and strapped my weapons bag on side of the rack opposite the pannier, sticking straight up. This makes getting on and off the bike a pain, since I can't simply swing my leg over. Sticking them straight out the back, by strapping them on top of the rack, would make a few turns I have to take a bit difficult. The easiest way to transport them might just be to sling the bag across my back, but I don't really like carrying anything on my back, on a bike, for any distance.

Does anyone have any thoughts on a better way to do this? (At some point, I'll get around to posting this on Aikido-L.)

Thanks,
Jim
jdsingleton@earthlink.net

visions of bicycling aikidoka lopping, okay, bonking, the heads off passersby...

Options for safe carry:

Guitar case (used by musician friend).
Bungee cords strapping sticks to middle reinforcement of bike (the bar that isn't there on a "woman's" bike).

I used that method for transporting weapons down the trail to practice in solitude or to transport my flyrod in its case to fish.

It's not foolproof, but it works.

mle

Originally posted by mle Bungee cords strapping sticks to middle reinforcement of bike (the bar that isn't there on a "woman's" bike).

This is what I would suggest. I've seen it done, both on bicycles and motorcycles. It doesn't work too well for bo, though.

jeff

This is what I was going to sugges but had a mental blank and couldn't think of a way to describe it in words!!

Well done MLE!!

Originally posted by mle visions of bicycling aikidoka lopping, okay, bonking, the heads off passersby...

On a bike-related list, I read, there is someone who has a cyclist riding through his neighborhood with a katana strapped on his back. Another cyclist lives in a town where someone bikes around all the time with a broadsword strapped on his back.

Thanks for the suggestion. I hadn't really thought about strapping it so that it was partially under the seat or even extending out fron a bit. Since I usually only take a bokken and jo, that should work.

Thanks, again.
Jim

Originally posted by jdsingleton there is someone who has a cyclist riding through his neighborhood with a katana strapped on his back ...

Whew. While I don't want too sound paranoid about this, it's pretty much impossible to live in a municipality that wouldn't look askance at this sort of thing. I seriously doubt most cops would bother to 'pull you over' for this under ordinary circumstances, but if anything happens that does involve the police, you get to look bad for free, not to mention opening yourself up to all sorts of legal liability.

On a more helpful note, those hard plastic, adjustable length tube carriers might be useful on a bike.

John

When we had a seminar at our dojo when I was about sixteen, Sensei asked me to assist in making the dojo (a public sports gym) look more dojo-like.

So I asked some people I know to let me use their things for this purpose and one gave me his iaito, a live blade look-a-like.

In Germany you may not drive cars before you are 18, so I had to carry the sword by bike. I tryed the mentioned stick-it-to-the-middle-metal-thing-that-is-not-there-on-a-female-bike, but that did not work well.

So I took a belt around my hips and just put the sword where any samurai would have put it on started my (11 km) way to the dojo.

Guess how long it took until this teenage mutant power biker got stopped by some police officer ...

From my more experienced today's point of view - try a different method ;-)

Markus

In college, all I had to get around was a motorcycle. So before I made my weapons bag, to get my weapons with me to practice I wrapped them in a bright orange beach towel and then tied my obi to it as a strap and threw it over my back. Worked great.

I got a lot of weird looks from everybody, including the cops. Never got stopped, though. I think it probably looked more like a wrapped up rifle, which is acceptable here in Texas

I even did a 1300 mile (each way) budo trek on my bike with my weapons bag strapped to the back of the bike, sticking straight up. Unfortunately, I never got the "Hell's Aikidoka" flag I wanted to attach to it.

Originally posted by will I even did a 1300 mile (each way) budo trek on my bike with my weapons bag strapped to the back of the bike, sticking straight up. Unfortunately, I never got the "Hell's Aikidoka" flag I wanted to attach to it.

Since I'm considering this very approach for the Boulder seminar, maybe I should spend some time on flag design. :-)

Tarik

Originally posted by tarik Since I'm considering this very approach for the Boulder seminar, maybe I should spend some time on flag design. :-) Tarik

What are you talking about, "designing" a flag? You're supposed to find someone with one already and "take" it from them. (Be careful, though, they fight dirty...)

Just don't forget to complete the look with the leather hakama and the sleeves ripped off your uwagi.

Hmm... Perhaps a flag made from the dogi top I've ripped off a fellow aikidoka while training?

Tarik

I bolted two lenghts of PVC pipe to, and parallel with, the front forks of my motorcycle. The bottom end is sealed with a plug. This works great for transporting my jo, shotgun, or rifle, etc. (check your local laws before carrying any weapon).
You can probably adapt this to a bicycle and probably will only need a single tube. At higher speeds, a single tube caused my motor to pull to the side a bit.
Hope this is helpfull.

TomCat

Just yesterday I found that I had no problem at all just tossing two bokken in my Timbuk2 currier bag along with my gi. I had them in there diagonally so that they stuck out over my left shoulder and hovered just at the edge of my field of vision - something that was every bit reassuring as annoying. They didn't move a bit. Though, I will confess to being a little wary passing an omnibus to the right.

Get together with someone who knows how to use a sewing machine and design and build your own solution. I made my own weapons bag with an extra-high top loop attachment for the strap. By shortening the strap until it's plenty tight, I can sling it diagonally across my torso with both head and one arm through, like an old-fashioned arrow quiver. I can ride a bike with it like this easily - but can only mount and dismount from one side - and can even wear a backpack over it as well. The only problem with the diagonal tight carry is that it's a bit of a wiggle to get on and off... so I installed a quick-release buckle at the bottom of the strap (at about waist level) for easy exit. At the time, I sold a few at my dojo, but the demand was not that high.

get or make a weapons bag with a comfortable strap. I have to take my stuff by bike/ train all the time. (believe me, a white guy in japan carrying a bokken gets noticed).

I used to strap my weapons to the cross bar with a couple of bunji cords - if you get it right you don't have to keep your legs too far apart when riding.

Ian