TerraTrike has kicked off a "Bag and Flag" promotion good from now until December 31st. Buy any new TerraTrike and get a free frame bag and WizWheelz safety flag.

And, uh... that's it. I'm not suggesting that's small potatoes. Actually, it's a $70 value, yours free. But I guess what I'm saying is that blog posts that are only one paragraph long can be a little dull.

So I made it three paragraphs. Much better.

A Swedish gentleman has shot some stunning footage of a ride on his Optima Orca.

Next time you're in, have a seat on an Orca and pretend that you have the arm strength of a lone person holding a boom cam on a long ride. If it helps, we can turn up the music so you feel like you have your own personal soundtrack.

Now that I think about it, we should just do that anyway. That would make test rides even more fun!

We have some new items in the shop. Some of them for purchase, some of them not. Okay, I'll come clean. There are only three things mentioned in this post, one of which has almost no interest to anybody who isn't into display hardware. I'll save that one for last.

First up are our new RBR logo panniers. These new bags are adjustable for nearly any rack and feature a spacious interior with an external mesh pocket for those items you want to get to quickly. Check them out next time you're in the shop.

Second are some Schwalbe studded tires we got in for the winter season. Fortunately, the weather has not yet turned enough to test these out, but there's a multi-use path nearby that freezes over quite nicely every year. And most of it is an incline. Truly, there will be no better testing ground.

Finally, here's the bit you likely won't care much about. While at Interbike, we placed an order for some new bike display racks, and they came in about a week and a half ago. These photos are of some of our short wheelbase bikes on them, but we've also mounted long wheelbase using these.

So that's a quick look at what's new around the shop.

The days grow ever shorter and cooler here in the northeast US. It is a time when photographers who are stopping by the shop on their way home from their day jobs run into the dilemma of shooting new photos in sub-optimal lighting conditions.

So what better scenario than to shoot a black long wheelbase Longbikes Slipstream in the dark and hope the flash works well? I can think of none better, and I've done just that. But to spruce it up a bit, I've done so on a bed of fall leaves.

I'd claim that last bit was a pun, but a spruce is a coniferous evergreen.

Chances are that you expected video from the 2009 RBR Rally to show up in, say, June. Or maybe July. August would be pushing it. September is unreasonable.

Which is why I'm both proud and shamed to present 5 whole minutes of video from the 2009 Rally. In October. Late October.

Enjoy!