Well, the reasons vary but typically include logistical hurdles such as carrying a change of clothes without wrinkling them, dealing with hygiene issues at work after a particularly hot and sweaty ride, working around weather snafus and storage for things like groceries you might need to pick up on the way home. This article deals with several of the bike to work obstacles that many people encounter when attempting this form of commuting.

The Clothing Conundrum:

Handling the stress of clothing changes is part of the bike to work scene, unfortunately. For urban commutes in cities such as NYC or even Bolzano, Italy squeeze socks and underclothing into your cycle’s panniers when you bike to work, and have your dress shirts and suits rotated in and out via a local cleaner. If you work somewhere more casual, then you can perhaps get by with wrinkle-resistant khakis or dressy jeans and a thin sweater set that can roll into your bicycle’s storage add-ons. Other bike to work tips include wearing darker slacks to hide unexpected encounters with dirt and grime and tucking your pant cuffs into your socks until you get to work, since getting them caught in the chains is a concern.

Security:

Obviously, the decision to bike to work brings with it a few security concerns. Provided your place of employment provides sturdy parking racks, you can likely get by with an appropriate bike lock. However, if they can provide inside storage, even better. This is more likely in urban centers where sidewalk space is limited. You’ll also need storage space for your panniers and other gear you bring along with you to work, as well as a place to hang your work clothing. If your boss is willing to dish out for staff lockers, then it’s in your best interest to take her up on her offer. Those working in Belgium have access to a city bike system that allows you to pick up and drop off bicycles at various stations via a paid monthly access card, eliminating the financial outlay for a bicycle altogether.

Storage:

When you bike to work, it isn’t like going out for an entertaining ride on a weekend afternoon. There are things you’ll need to take with you such as tech gear, or perhaps a full grocery bag on the way home. A front basket or side panniers can each provide support in this area. If you need to drop off a young one at child or doggie daycare, then tow-behind bicycle trailers are available for purchase as well.

Weather:

Riding in the rain isn’t necessarily fun, but if you find yourself needing to peddle through a sturdy mist, having a poncho or other water resistant gear will come in handy. As with reduced light at the end of the day, this is also a good time to consider bright colors and reflective surfaces on your bike and cycling wardrobe.

Supplies:

Water isn’t the only critical supply you’ll need to worry about as you begin to bike to work. Tire tubes, patch kits and related items will be necessary to have on hand in the event a flat tire mars your commute. A cell phone for emergencies is also a good idea. (See also: Budget Traveler Bikes to Africa)

Safety:

There are a number of bicycle safety concerns to consider if you are planning to bike to work. Certainly a helmet should be on your short list, but proper fit of the machine is also a consideration. Other important issues involve regular safety inspections of your cycle, and reflector tapes if you simply must ride home as dark approaches. If possible though, try to arrange your schedule so that your ride home occurs before sunset.

Support:

If your employer already demonstrates support for the bike to work crowd, that’s fantastic. If they don’t, but have exhibited interest in workplace health initiatives, then perhaps you need to step up as the program coordinator or liaison in order to facilitate a few perks. A secure place to park bicycles is a good step, along with a shower facility and work lockers. Informational resources on the company’s web site, detailing bike routes and other related information is also a reasonable employee request.

For more bike to work information, including tax benefits, guidelines for beginners and more, a web site has been funded by the United States Department of Transportation and Federal Highway Administration. Happy trails!

Photo Credit: This image was photographed by the Trek Hound team, and is available through a creative commons agreement with our sister site, Pictures of Travel Places.

On the Fly:

Pick up paying gigs as you go. The International Educator features classified ads from schools around the world offering tax-free salaries, relocation allowances, plane tickets and paid housing for certified classroom teachers. Native language speakers can teach business and conversational English with job leads from ESL Café and Serious Teachers. Not a teacher? Not a problem. A web site called AnyWorkAnyWhere.com lists jobs around the world for nearly any type of work, including management, driving and delivery, resort staff, tour guides and more.

Speaking Gigs:

If you have an area of expertise and reasonable public speaking and presentation skills, then you have a way to make money while traveling. Whether you go through an agency or book events on your own, the per appearance rate is typically enough to make it worth your while, and some people manage to earn a full time living with only 2-4 paid opportunities per month.

Inventory Acquisition:

Whether you’re shopping for antiques or purchasing affordable artisan crafts to resell when you fly back home, acquiring low-cost inventory that shoppers in your home area would otherwise not be able to have access to is a decent way to pick up extra cash and finance future travel. Certain monetary restrictions apply when bringing goods back into the country of course, but if you have a well-located barn for antiques storage or a high-traffic flea market in the neighborhood for selling funky overseas bling, you just might have a part-time income on your hands. You can also sell through online auction sites like eBay, if maintaining regular booth or store hours doesn’t suit you.

Stock Photography:

You don’t have to come home with very many digital trip pictures before you become truly curious about making money with stock photography. This isn’t a cake walk by any stretch of the imagination and the fact that it’s such a numbers game means you won’t start making fat stacks of cash overnight. That being said, many people around the world are earning anywhere from lunch money to a full-time living depending on their skill level and the depth of their portfolio.

Writing:

There a few different ways you can go with this. The traditional route is to pick up article assignments from various editors. It’s a bit unpredictable, but once you find a few regular clients you’ll be on your way. You can also start your own travel blog, or other topical web site. Monies here can come from a variety of sources, including affiliate marketing and ad networks such as Google and Chitika.

Telecommuting:

Places like Flex Jobs and Virtual Vocations list daily openings for positions suitable for the telecommuting crowd. Some of them are writing gigs it’s true, but others are customer service jobs, tech support employment and even case management. Find something that suits your skill level to make money while traveling and still have time for a bit of sightseeing each week.

Product Development:

One of the easiest and cost effective ways to make money while traveling is to use your writing skills as suggested above to develop ebooks, white papers and even article collections on sites such as Hub Pages and Squidoo in order to create a passive income stream that you can enjoy without having to check in every day. That being said, there are other digital products you can create from the road such as video clips, mobile phone wallpapers and more. Ejunkie.com lets you open a store front for as little as $5 per month, and puts your product in front of affiliate marketers around the world who will be more than happy to help promote your product for a share in the profits.

So what are you waiting for? Pack your bags and head to your destination of choice, or spend a few years touring a particular continent. Now that you know it’s possible to make money while traveling, you don’t have to feel tied down by traditional employment any longer. Happy trails!

Photo Credit: iStock

1 . Get comfortable with closer shots.

The greater your proximity to your subject, the more intimate your pictures will feel. This strategy also leaves no room for doubt as to the main subject of each shot. In short, proximity makes your images pop, which is necessary both for selling your work and for building a successful travel blog. Some of my favorite zoom shots are photographs of indigenous populations in places like Otavalo and Misahualli, Ecuador.

2 . Don’t forget the foreground.

I’m a big fan of including strong details in the foreground when possible. It adds depth and interest to the finished images. Over the years, my husband and I have used tree branches, bush leaves and other plant parts to frame Khmer temples in Angkor Wat, cathedrals and archaeological sites in Peru, and European castles in Bolzano, Italy. If you’re going for a pastoral animal image, use a bit of rustic fencing for your foreground. This same strategy can be used elsewhere as well. During a visit to Jerusalem, my husband got a great shot of the Dome of the Rock photographed through some razor wire.

3 . Keep it simple.

There’s beauty in simplicity. Sure, you’ll occasionally want to take a panoramic nature picture or cityscape. Otherwise, you’re better off to avoid wide shots that are filled up with too many objects. Another way you can streamline the photography process is by using a digital camera. It will give you the freedom to delete experimental pictures and try them a second time if necessary. Without the extra film and printing costs.

4 . Build your portfolio at zoos and theme parks.

Theme park venues and zoos are virtual smorgasbords of travel photo opportunities. Disneyworld, Six Flags and even Tampa’s Busch Gardens offer loads of costumed image fodder, ride shots and of course animal close-ups. Similarly, the Lowry Park Zoo which is just down the highway from our home is one of our go-to stops for safari-style wildlife shots, which is why we purchased an annual pass to be able to visit whenever we want. It’s provided material for imagery featuring bald eagles, orangutans, rhinos and more.

5 . Charitable causes can pay off.

Rescue projects and volunteer programs also provide photo opportunities. Big Cat Rescue in Tampa, Florida offers private photography opportunities in addition to regular tours. Lisa Chavis and Cheryl MacDonald of What Boundaries Travel volunteered with Global Vision International in South Africa, getting up close and personal with the local Masai people, expanding cheetah families, elephants, lions and more.

6 . Get the proper gear.

A black dollar store umbrella – held open in one hand – cuts down on reflections when shooting things inside large glass windows. Three-packs of specialty lens filters – available for ten dollars – deal with glare, florescent lighting and less than ideal outdoor lighting. Professional photographer John Milleker recommends sticking with either Nikon or Canon when it comes to making your first big camera purchase. Both products that have proven themselves to the pros, and their attachments will get you by from camera to camera over the years, saving money and purchasing time. He also recommends the manual as the best free source of training you can get your hands on. Spending time with your equipment and its features will help you know what to do when a money shot presents itself.

7 . The devil’s in the details.

Milleker’s top tip for framing your travel shots? Look for eyesores before you shoot and remove them. It will save you loads of Photoshop time later on. The most common problem, according to Milleker, is tree branches that look like they are sticking out of the subject’s head. Travel writer and nature photographer Carol Coffey, author of the book Out of My Comfort Zone, has her own way of dealing with the details. She doesn’t fight Mother Nature. Preferring the light of morning and early evening, Coffey says her favorite times to shoot are before 10:00 and after 2:00. She also doesn’t stress about clouds and fog, believing they add beauty and drama to her finished work, which is available for viewing on her web site.

8 . Don’t forget festivals if you’re in the market for great cultural photos.

Around the world, carnivals and cultural festivals allow low-cost and often free photo opportunities. The colors from various traditional costumes make for dramatic imagery that is sure to draw in your readers and generate image and article sales. The annual carnival in Venice, Amsterdam’s tulip festival and even the annual Burning Man event in the States are all sources of unusual travel pics that are sure to rave reviews.

9 . Indigenous markets provide an inside peek to local culture.

Some of the coolest travel photos I’ve ever taken are from indigenous markets around the world. They are also some of my favorite travel memories. Souk shopping in Kuwait, searching for souvenirs in Cairo’s Khan el Khalili, and bulk grocery shopping for pantry staples in Saquisili, Ecuador have all provided great photo fodder.

1 0 . A little cultural sensitivity goes a long way.

While the local women of Petra are usually comfortable having their photo taken, there are other parts of the region where it is certainly not appreciated. Be sure to research the norms of where you are traveling too. Another way to be a bit more sensitive is with a zoom lens. It’s one thing to be OK with an image or two being taken. It’s another to feel like someone is there photographing your every move. Sometimes you are better off to be a bit out of the way with a good-quality zoom lens. Chances are you’ll get better candid shots that way as well.

11 . Don’t underestimate the power of basic black and white.

If the outdoor lighting is bad on a particular day, consider switching your color digital photos over to black and white or sepia. You’ll get a fun vintage look to your imagery that looks great framed against a colored wall. I especially like to try this with photos I take from world heritage sites where there is a great deal of ancient architecture. Purchase inexpensive black thrift frames for an affordable polished look.

These are a few travel photography tips for beginners to get you started as you begin to travel. More pro tips will be added as contributed. Happy trails, everyone!

Cross-Country Skiing: While following you on a downhill run might be a bit much for your Dalmatian to deal with, a cross-country ski getaway is perfect for Fido’s participation. At Maine’s Bethel Inn, canines can join their human companions on the resort’s cross-country ski trail at no extra charge, although there is a nominal $25 per room pet fee. Grafton Notch State Park and the White Mountain National Forest are also nearby, providing additional outdoor adventure options for both you and your pet.

Similarly, at Snow Mountain Ranch near Winter Park, Colorado, families can book accommodations in pet-friendly yurts for $89. This rate includes a number of Fido-friendly freebies such as complimentary access passes for the Nordic ski trails and the opportunity for a tubing experience.

Sledding: If spending the day sledding in the snow appeals to you, then bring Fluffy along to a venue that includes access to a great tobogganing hill. For example, the Tenaya Lodge at Yosemite National Park has a sledding hill with snow-making capability on site, and rooms booked for families with a four-legged friend come with a gourmet dog bone prepared by the resort’s executive chef. If your pennies need extra pinching, consider a daytrip to a local snow-covered hill where your dog will be welcome to participate in the festivities. Your only cost will be a bit of hot cocoa, a few snacks and fuel for your vehicle.

Explore Some Wine Country: Hoping for a little less snow? Head to California’s San Luis Obispo County, where affordable lodging, pet-friendly wineries and free access to dog-appropriate entertainment are in abundant supply. The 5.6 mile Bob Jones Trail is complimentary to area visitors, including those with names like Beauty and Max.  It’s suitable for hiking or jogging with your dog, and includes views of the Pacific Ocean. The region also has a number of free, off-leash dog parks, including those in Cambria and Olde Port Beach. For further information, visit www.winecoastcountry.com.

Photo Credit: Carterse

Trade:

Volunteering in exchange for accommodation is one of the best ways to control overhead expenses, according to Dunn. She’s taken care of dogs, painted murals, cooked and cleaned at retreat centers, milked goats, managed marketing plans and even led ecological treks on llamas. Another perk with volunteering she says, is the sense of home she receives from being off the beaten track and away from the hostel scene.

Transportation:

A self-proclaimed frequent flyer mile junkie, Dunn saves up her program points in order to upgrade her long-haul flights to business class. This strategy has previously cost her less than the price of an economy-class ticket! When she can’t manage to pull that off that minor miracle, Dunn enjoys traveling by train. The price is often less, and she prefers the extended scenery enjoyment that train travel provides.

Streamlining:

While it can be tempting to accumulate souvenirs and activity gear while you’re on the road, the reality of lugging those items around often destroys the fantasy of the extra comfort you hope they’ll provide, according to Dunn. When it comes to gear such as bicycles, snorkeling gear or similar equipment, Dunn chooses to rent if possible. If at the end of your research, you feel you need to buy a particular item, try to buy used. You may or not be able to sell it quickly when you move on she advises, and donating something you didn’t pay a great deal for anyway doesn’t seem to pinch as much.

Speed:

Moving at a breakneck pace is not only exhausting says Dunn, but it can wreak havoc on the long-term travel budget. Slowing down and getting to know the locals a bit before rushing off to the next destination will assist greatly in ferreting out the best deals. It’s also a sanity saver. Says Dunn, “In 2010, I traveled through over 10 countries on a whirlwind itinerary. Never sleeping longer than five nights in one bed, I emerged from the year completely exhausted. I had to simply stop moving for about six months to catch my breath.”

Photo Credit: Oakley Originals

Packages: A pretty penny can be saved by participating in package deals, and concierge services are a great way to find them. Northwest Golf Adventures assembles affordable packages to Washington, Oregon, Idaho and British Columbia based on the type of lodging, amenities and budget limits golfers want. Typical cost savings range from 10 to 20 percent. Similarly, Golf Maine helps travelers plan affordable golf getaways throughout the state.

Public: Private courses cost markedly more than public ones, many of which offer a comparable experience for a fraction of the price. Denver’s city park for example, offers a municipal 18-hole golf course located near the city’s science and nature museum. The Jekyll Island Club in Georgia is a popular public golf resort featuring 63 holes and a club hotel that is a national historic landmark.

Planning: Book a cottage or condo within easy driving distance to one or more golf courses at your chosen destination. The National Trust Holiday Cottages of Wales provide money-saving kitchen access in idyllic settings near several quality courses within the country. To save money in Scotland, the birthplace of golf, use Green Fee Savers for half-price savings at courses throughout the country. Golfholiday.com’s Chris King recommends later tee times and replays as two of the top ways golfers can save money. Afternoon and early-evening golf rounds routinely come with reduced fees compared to early morning sessions, and courses tend to offer discounted rates when you play a course for a second time.

Pairings: A single trip with multiple family activity options makes the most of your vacation dollars. For example, the Algarve region of Portugal offers beaches, thermal spas and historic architecture in addition to numerous golf courses. Golfing in the wine country of Washington state or California’s Napa Valley on the other hand, will bring numerous wine tasting opportunities. Lovers of tall, historic ships will enjoy the golf and sail getaways offered by the Samoset Resort in Rockland, Maine. For all-inclusive packages starting at $400, you can enjoy a round of golf along with a three-day windjammer cruise.

Photo Credit: Fevi Yu

Destinations: Choose a place that’s rich in bird life with affordable day-to-day expenses to maximize your money. For example, Uganda is home to half the bird species in Africa, according to the Uganda Wildlife Authority. Numerous national parks offer spotting opportunities there, including the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest and Murchison Falls. Vanessa Townsend, tour guide for Volcanoes Safaris in Uganda, favors Queen Elizabeth National Park in particular, for the more than 600 species of birds that call the refuge home. However, according to Amos Wekesas, owner of Great Lakes Safaris, the entire nation is fair game. Says Wekesas, “In Uganda, birding starts at the airport and continues throughout the country.” Adios Adventure Travel’s Jacquie Whitt, recommends Mindo, Ecuador with more than 350 bird types, and rooms as low as $50 per night.

Gear: Sheridan Samano of Reefs to Rockies, a conservation tour company, advises purchasing the best pair of binoculars you can afford. It will make a difference in the level of details you’ll be able to see. Samano says it isn’t so much the size, but rather the glass quality and light-capturing capabilities that are important. Audubonguides.com sells affordable mobile field guide apps for smart phone users, while traditional paperback guides are available from both Sibley and National Geographic.  A few sun-protective clothing items should also be included. Tilley makes an Audubon hat for example, that provides protection from solar rays and includes a hidden security pocket.

Parks: Wildlife refuges offer free and inexpensive bird-spotting opportunities. McCurtain County, Oklahoma has three, including Beaver Bend State Park, Little River National Wildlife Refuge and Red Slough Wildlife Management Area. Michigan’s Department of Natural Resources has a first-time campers program which includes two-night park stays with the use of all necessary gear for $20.

Share: Carpool and share accommodations with other birders to save money. The Blue Heron Inn in Darien, Georgia offers a four-bedroom cottage at $250 per night with a three-night minimum stay. The inn is minutes away from the Harris Neck National Wildlife Refuge, part of Georgia’s drivable Colonial Coast Birding Trail. Similar trails exist in Maine, Oregon and Texas.  Of note is the Pine to Prairie Birding Trail, linking Minnesota to the Canadian province of Manitoba.

Photo Credits: These images were photographed by the Trek Hound team, and are available through a creative commons agreement with our sister site, Pictures of Travel Places.

Create a portable grooming kit.

Gym-sized hanging toiletry bags or zippered pouches purchased at dollar stores and international markets are the perfect solution for storing your cosmetics, hair accessories and personal grooming products. Bobby pins are a great secret weapon for having great hair on the road. You can match them to your hair color to craft elegant French twists and other hair styles. Invest in smaller, compact sizes of things like emery boards, nail clippers and cuticle sticks to remain prepared for proper nail care while traveling. One place to stock up on such things is the beauty supply store, but pharmacy chains also have a fair number of miniature travel supplies.

Manage your makeover costs.

In addition to free makeovers available from such merchant chains as Merle Norman and Origins, you can also check with local beauty schools at your destination to book discounted services such as hair cuts, colors, perms, facials, pedicures and more. This particular grooming hack works well for both men and women, and is a great solution for keeping Mommy and Me getaways affordable.

Stay posh with performance clothing and a few travel secrets.

Many travel clothing companies have stepped up with wrinkle-resistant, stain-avoiding, quick-dry items suitable for business attire as well as adventure travel. Wrap dresses, dress blouses and career slacks make my list of faves, as do camisoles, leggings, peasant tops and sarongs for quick weekend getaways. Instead of dishing out for stain wipes (which are great for tucking in a biz jacket), consider packing a few baby wipes into your suitcase. They’ll remove a wide range of things from your clothing should you suffer a spill, and are available in flat travel packs you can easily tuck into your messenger bag. If all else fails, there’s always the classic club soda solution. Ask your waitress for some after a spill, along with an extra napkin. I’m also a huge fan of carrying a small lint brush to remove bits and bobs you pick up from lobby furniture.

Shoes need love too.

In addition to giving them a bit of a shine before your trip, you can also grab a quick shine at various street stalls in the Middle East, airport venues and with smaller sponge brushes that pack into your luggage.

Save space with accessories.

You can save room in your luggage by packing accessories to create different outfits. Wraps, belts, bling and scarves can all be included while requiring less room than an additional outfit. A great hat is also a helpful addition, as it can keep you shielded from harsh rays and cover up a bad hair day when time won’t allow you to spend extra time on your do.

Keeping coiffed doesn’t have to require an entirely separate suitcase, as these tips demonstrate. What are your favorite travel beauty tips?

Photo Credit: iStock

Equipment choice will play a large role in how successful you are with one-bag travel.

Luggage with expandable compartments or removable inserts like the Tenba laptop messenger bag for media professionals or rolling backpacks for adventure travelers will serve you well. Choose gear that’s functional and available in the smallest size possible. Universal earphones with retractable cords, tablet devices like the Kindle Fire instead of bulkier reading material and toiletry bags designed more for the gym than packing the kitchen sink are all great places to start.

Wear what you can.

Travel jackets with hidden storage pockets large enough to store a small laptop and cargo pants are a huge help. They allow you to physically wear a fair number of items and tech gadgets that would otherwise need to take up space in your daypack. When it comes time to navigate security, simply remove the jacket and place it one of the security bins like you would any other bag. Bulkier clothing and footwear are also best to wear on travel days requiring a plane ride. Save your flat-packing flip flops and thinner layering tees for your carry-on bag. Remember, it doesn’t cost more to wear extra clothing, but it does to check luggage. Pack accordingly.

Road warrior wardrobe choices will serve you well.

Thin, light quick-dry clothing suitable for layering works well on the road. Not that I don’t appreciate a good pair of dressy jeans when I’m traveling for a longer period of time, but leggings, sarongs, thinner tee shirts and wrap dresses will provide wardrobe flexibility while still allowing you to pinch pennies on luggage fees. Pack the thinner lightweight items and use Space Bags to save even more room.

Toiletry choices can either cost you or save you money.

Trying to squeeze on that giant bottle of perfume or specialty lotion will likely get you flagged for luggage check and result in having to watch a smug security guard toss it into the confiscated items bin. Invest in a practical kit of smaller containers that are airline approved and can fit into the one-quart bags required for TSA screenings. These containers can easily be refilled from the bulk sizes you purchase for home, saving you the cost of paying more for travel sizes of your favorite products. I like the kits that have labels included so you can easily identify sunscreen from conditioner and other frequently-mistaken personal care products.

When possible, choose solid shampoo and conditioning bars instead of the liquid versions. This will allow you more room for other products such as nail polish and skin toner. Certain cosmetics can perform multiple duties. For example, I like to use lip liner for its original purpose, as well as for lip color and an impromptu rub-on blush.

In the interest of full disclosure, I should probably admit that traveling with one bag has gotten more difficult since I’ve become a full-blown media professional, although I can still manage to pull it off for an overnight if minimal wardrobe changes are required. That being said, those who simply need to check in occasionally for email can easily accomplish one-bag travel. And save a ton of cash as a result!

Photo Credit: Cea

At roughly $110, Tenba’s large engravable messenger bag might seem a bit steep. Until you compare it to other pro gear bags on the market. There are a number of reasons why I dished out the dough for this particular Tenba bag. What follows is my complete Tenba messenger bag review, along with the several ways I use this product on the road.

The large Tenba laptop messenger bag can actually accommodate my 17-inch monster of a machine.

Yes, yes. I know. Why don’t I bump down to a smaller laptop size and make my life easier? Believe me, I wish I could. Lugging this beast around through airport terminals along with all of my other gear is absolutely brutal. But the truth is, with what my husband and I do for a living the only machines strong enough to do what we need are the juiced up gaming computers. And they’re not cheap. So having a piece of professional luggage that can keep a computer that size buffered while still being easy to remove for airport security was critical. And as I discussed in my travel bags for digital nomads article on Wise Bread, the search to find such a bag was not an easy one. So I was thrilled to find the Tenba large messenger.

These Tenba bags come with one of the better padded shoulder straps I’ve seen on the market.

If you’re not sure why this is a huge perk, then try loading a boatload of pro gear into your average duffel and carry it across your body for even a half mile. Crippling will be the word that comes to mind. Mind you, even with fantastic shoulder padding a loaded gear bag will still be heavy and a bit cumbersome. But at least these Tenba bags will distribute the weight more appropriately and keep your equipment organized in an efficient manner.

Another feature that immediately caught my attention was the Tenba messenger bag insert.

For those that need to carry around even a moderate amount of camera gear, the Tenba messenger bag insert is a Godsend. With padded sections that meet professional protective standards for your lenses and camera bodies, you can confidently carry your gear in the same bag as your laptop and other tech equipment such as cables, extra batteries and additional memory chips. Since the insert is removable, you can also store other items in the bag on days when you don’t need your full photography arsenal.

Note: Photographers who normally take several wheeled cases of various lenses and giant tripods will likely not be able to use this bag to carry their full range of equipment. The people I’m referring to here are those who make their living across multiple platforms and need to carry pro cameras along with screaming laptops, smaller video cameras and other writing supplies. That being said, if you have a multipurpose work day on your horizon and need only a lense or two along with a way to send the photos in to meet a deadline, then you can likely put the large Tenba messenger to use and justify its purchase.

The Tenba laptop messenger bag has a discreet access point for crowded areas.

This is pretty critical when you don’t want the entire coffee shop or group of surrounding tourists to see what you have for gear inside your bag. While this isn’t a good idea for anyone, it’s an especially bad idea for someone carrying their entire livelihood along for the day. A livelihood that would cost a small fortune to replace. The top zipper allows you to access your camera and other items without opening up the entire bag, and is one of my favorite features on Tenba bags in general.

The fact that the large Tenba messenger doesn’t look like a designer piece is a good thing.

It certainly looks like a nice piece of gear, don’t get me wrong. What I’m saying is the fact that it’s made of something that looks like ballistic nylon makes it stand out less. At most, the average person on the street might assume you do indeed have a laptop inside, but they would certainly never guess about your camera equipment. It’s the sort of messenger bag that looks like you’d have files, a few clothes and perhaps a few toiletries.

Where and when do I use my Tenba bag?

Well, for starters it comes along with me to any media event. Typically, those types of professional situations require anything from live tweeting and Facebook updates to photography, email access and the ability to meet outside editorial deadlines from the road. In short, I need access to all of my gear, all of the time.

Second, I typically pack up the Tenba bag whenever I head anywhere to work outside of the house for the day. This could be anywhere from my favorite coffee shop down the road, to an area bloggers’ meeting or lunch with a PR contact when I’m searching for story ideas.

Also, whenever we travel anywhere for the weekend or even to stay overnight with friends, the Tenba large messenger comes with me. When your professional and personal lives are as integrated as ours are, being able to crank out a quick article during a half hour of downtime or snag an unexpected yet iconic photo op with no prior warning is pretty critical to maintaining a location independent lifestyle successfully.

Sure, we’re still downsizing and figuring out where to go next from our Tampa Bay location. It’s been a crazy few years with flood recovery, bulldozing the lake house that got destroyed, finishing up my husband’s degree and transitioning into the second career stage of early retirement. But our work requires we hit the road quite often, and we’re also getting itchy international feet again. So equipment such as this messenger bag that allows things to flow seamlessly between travel and traditional home life is pretty critical to our long-term lifestyle mission.

Photo Credit: Amazon