.

We’ve got a special perk-you-up for these dreary days of winter, because spring will be here before we know it, and it’s great to have some fresh gear for the fresh cycling season!

From now until April 15, 2010, purchase any Zenit from us (in-stock or custom order) and receive one FREE Cuft Pant-leg Retainer, OR Cache Mini Pouch OR Shoulder Saviour Strap Pad!

Just mention this promotion, and which item you’d like when you make your purchase, and then wait for your new gear to arrive!

If you are in Toronto tonight find your inner winter winner as this Toronto tradition in Ice racing continues in 2010!

Who will be this years Ice champions? Come out to see at Dufferin Grove Park where you can also enjoy delicious hot chocolate and goodies at the Zamboni Cafe in the clubhouse. Cuddle up to the woodstove if you get chilled from the super spectacular coolness of Icycle racing, meet lots of fun people! Don’t forget to go to the afterparty hosted by the Bike Pirates Yar! Live Music and fun late into the night, come party with these scurvy dogs in the concrete seas of Toronto.

Icycle 2010 Facebook Page

After party @ The Bike Pirates 1292 Bloor West starting @ 10pm. All proceeds go to Charlie’s FreeWheels.

We’re constantly trying out new and different things behind the scenes here at Under The Weather, and lately we’ve been getting into some items that are less cycling-specific.

Of course we’ll always be whole-hearted supporters of cycling in every form, but we recognize that even the most determined cyclist sometimes has to get off the pedals and deserves some stylish, well-crafted bags to carry necessities for the occasion.

In that spirit, we’ve got some new limited edition items available now!

The Clutch: a small purse just the right size to hold what you need on an evening out, or to keep small items from getting lost inside a larger purse.

The Sonia Purse: this leather handbag in a classic style is elegant enough for a fancy occasion, but simple enough to carry with business wear or even jeans. Sized to carry just the right amount of stuff, and perch on your shoulder or carry in your hand equally comfortably.

The Wristlet: A handy-dandy little zip-up bag that slings around your wrist (or hangs off your bike handlebars!) and carries just what you need for a quick run to the store, or can hold all the little things that you transfer from one to another of your larger bags.

You can see the whole selection in the Special Items category. And don’t forget to keep checking that category for other new, unique, and limited edition items!

That’s right, we’ve marked down all our in-stock bags by 50%, even the ones that were already on sale!

We’ll be making a few changes to our bags in the New Year, so we’re giving you this chance to get incredible deals on our current stock to make room for new stock in 2010.

You’ll find them all here.

The sale ends January 9th, so hurry up and grab that bag you’ve been wanting before it disappears!

*Shipping & Handling - We got a message from a prospective customer that our sale isn’t really a value because shipping to the US is so much. Thanks for the email and the chance to clarify, our S&H is a flat rate for all continental North American customers and always has been. For instance; a Heavy Gear very large bag, is $25 Canadian to ship. If in the US you will receive your shipment by UPS in 3-5 days, everywhere else your purchase is sent by The Messengers International overnight and begins the journey by bicycle. All of our goods are handmade in Canada with raw materials purchased in North America and thereby tax-free between the U.S., Canada & Mexico. U.S. customers pay no duty, tax or brokerage fees. If UPS attempts to charge any fee upon delivery please refuse the delivery and we will contend with their error. We pay all brokerage fees in advance of delivery.

Thanks for the input, we’re sorry that your experience shipping with other Canadian businesses may have caused you to draw a similar conclusion regarding our products and service. Shipping to the U.S. from Canada is prohibitively expensive for many, for us it means we pay part of your shipping to offer you a fair rate.

International to Europe, Asia & Australia is a few dollars more but you receive overnight or 2 day service via The Messengers International no matter how far away you are and your purchase begins it’s journey on a bicycle.

Oh, and shipping in Toronto is free & by bicycle if within 12k of downtown, or you can choose to pick it up at a local bike shop!

Happy Holidays to everyone everywhere! We believe our bags a value even when not on sale, but please bargain shoppers take advantage of this sale because our new bags in the new year will be regularly priced. We do not do this everyday or even every year, our bags are each produced by ourselves and to us are not just a commodity we buy low and sell high. See you in 2010!

Yup, it’s got all the details worked out, been tested in the field, and had its portrait taken.

It’s a big bag, intended for those of you who need to carry lots of cargo, from a file box delivery, to all your gear when you travel, to loading up on groceries or doing laundry! We’ve built in lots of sturdy structural elements and details to maximize comfort and convenience while doing all of that, so like all our bags it’s made for long-term heavy duty usage.

Check out all the details right here

Are you in Toronto? Are you looking to get some unique holiday shopping done? Don’t miss the Holiday Marketplace at 401 Richmond Street West!

This great event (now in its 17th year) is a fantastic opportunity to find one of a kind gifts from the 401 Richmond creative community, plus guest artists and artisans, this year including Under The Weather!

You’ll find a huge variety of creations, from natural skin care products to musical instruments to baked goods to bike-themed art. We’ve even gone out of our way to make some special items just for the occasion, like the cards and purses pictured below.

We’ll have lots of great gift-ables in a wide price range (most discounted from our regular website prices!), so if you’re in the city, definitely come check it out!

Admission is free, there’s great food, music and an ATM on site, even a raffle so you could win something from one of the participants just for being there!
Hours: Thurs-Sat Dec 10-12; 11am-8pm: Sun Dec 13; 11am-5pm.
This historic building (voted by NOW magazine 2007 as Toronto’s “Best Free Hangout”) is located just off Spadina Ave., one block south of Queen St. West, so it’s easy to get to and there’s lots of other great shopping in the area too.

See the event website for more details including links to other participants.

Please note our Holiday Shipping deadlines:

Purchases made by December 15 at noon EST will be shipped on the 15th with pre-Christmas delivery.*

Purchases made between noon EST December 15th and noon EST December 21 will be subject to extra shipping charges for pre-Christmas delivery.*

*There may be some exceptions based on location and item(s) purchased. Please include a note with your purchase if you would like to guarantee pre-Christmas delivery.

We will be closed December 16-20, December 23-28, and January 1-4.

Wishing the best of the holiday season to everyone!

We’re pleased to announce a special Limited Edition Collection of bags and accessories made especially for the Japanese market, now on sale exclusively through www.messengerbag.jp.

This Limited collection is a small run of modified Zenit, 2Hip4U, Cushy and Cache UTW bags and accessories.

This collection is made from remnant pieces of the high quality PVC we once used as the liners on all of our bags. These remnants were mostly assembled into fabric randomly and then made into bags and accessories. However, one or two of these bags follow a theme and have matching Cushy top tube pads. The bags feature interior liners of the same remnant PVC.

Each Zenit bag and 2Hip4U hip pouch is signed, numbered and dated. All pieces of this collection are unique. We no longer use this material and we won’t ever repeat this special collection!

Check out the whole collection at www.messengerbag.jp.

We’re thrilled to announce that you can now find UTW bags at the messengerbag.jp concept store in Tokyo!

Messengerbag.jp has been a great resource for quality messenger bags and other cycling accessories for years, and their physical shop has bags as well as t-shirts, shoes and other cool stuff.

So if you’re in Tokyo, swing by and check it out!

Lots of Hallowe’en fun in Toronto this year! Here are a couple of scary, spooky bicycle related amusements to amuse you on the 31st!

Start your party outright with some Bike Polo! Beginning at 11AM and rolling until 7PM join the West Side Maniacs for some polo ballin’ on the polo courts at Scadding! That’s at Dundas West and Bathurst. Come to play or to watch and hang out, wear your costume if you dare, you won’t be alone! The best teams around will be competing for bragging rights and a bunch of cool prizes.

More Info ++Halloween Polo Massacre Facebook Event Page.

Then get yourself to the First Annual Hallowheelin’, a new “Urban Cycling Challenge”! This isn’t a race, it’s a challenge apparently, so you roll how you want to. I’m picturing a bunch of people in costume on bikes doing a group ride. There are 2 courses, easy and hard so pick your poison muhwahahaha! This starts at 7PM just a bit north up the street from the Scadding courts at Manic Coffee near College and Bathurst. I hear that Lights and A BAG of some kind are necessary. The lights are so people can see your cool costume while you ride around town, I think the bag is probably for the same thing all bags are for at Halloween, candy and stuff. Really, wear your costume, it’s fun riding around town in costume we did it last year going from party to party, it’s a blast.

After challenging around town on the Easy or the Hard challenge you will end up at CineCycle for a great big Hallowheelin’ blowout bash with lots of fun people, bikes and costumes. Come in costume or just come by to laugh and point at people in costume, either way you will have a blast.

Proceeds from Hallowheelin’ are being donated to FoodShare and there will be some great pieces of art on the walls there from local and not so local artists! You can buy it and every penny goes to good causes specified by the artists!! Make an offer, all offers considered, get some nice bike art for that bare wall at home.

More Info ++Hallowheelin’ Facebook Event page.