I get this question a lot (Comments: 12)

12 comments to “I get this question a lot”

Ted, February 17th, 2008 at 11:48 pm:

• lol I do that! AND I’ve got a milk crate on the back!

Noah, February 18th, 2008 at 9:48 am:

• Panniers, bungees and a duffel bag when there’s a significant load.

  http://www.focushacks.com/kc-bike/photo/2008-01-27-groceries.jpg

Julie, February 18th, 2008 at 10:40 am:

• This fall I got some waterproof Ortlieb panniers (I’ll do a review at some point). I love them! I’m shopping for a household of 2 adults, 1 teenager, and one more teenager on college break, so we need quite a bit of food. Occasionally I need to fill up my backpack as well. It works great for me!

brucew, February 18th, 2008 at 4:09 pm:

• It all depends on what you eat and where, I guess. Joey, it looks like either you subsist on hot dogs and yogurt, or you must buy meals out a lot.

  I do all my cooking at home. I use open-top grocery panniers ($17 @ Nashbar), bungees and, if there’s room, my trunk bag. Per trip, I can carry a little more than the handbaskets hold at the store. When the handbasket is full, I’m done for that trip. I shop roughly three times every two weeks.

  Grocery panniers folded for travel

  And open, ready for loading

brucew, February 18th, 2008 at 4:12 pm:

• Well, it ate my image links. Try these:

  
  Grocery panniers folded ready for travel and And open, ready for loading

brucew, February 18th, 2008 at 4:13 pm:

• It ate my image links. Try these:

  http://www.brucew.com/gallery/albums/portland-bath/shopping

  http://www.brucew.com/gallery/portland02/000_0016

Joey Mac, February 18th, 2008 at 4:24 pm:

• well, in addition to the veggie dogs and yogurt, there is also a box of cereal, a half-gallon of milk, a box of hamburger helper and a pack of veggie grounds, as well as pop tarts and a jar of jelly. I probably can make that last a week with eating lunch here at work in the cafe. I might need to make another run later in the week for more bread, which I skipped on this run.

Ted, February 18th, 2008 at 6:28 pm:

• That reminds me, I need to pick up bread this week! :) Thanks Joey Mac!

Jack, February 19th, 2008 at 12:16 am:

• I’ve got a selection of old, somehwat beat-up but tried-and-true panniers of various sizes. Of course, my self-imposed rule is to always bring the panniers that are just a little too small for the load of groceries! :) But seriously, folks, I usually have plenty of room in the panniers; plus, there’s room atop the rack. (Always have some bungees handy for unanticipated loads, too.) And for serious hauling, I’ve got a hand-me-down kids trailer. It will hold maybe a half dozen full traditional grocery bags, plus odds and ends. (I also use the trailer for hauling my music equipment – keyboard, amp, etc. – and once in a great while, getting my canoe over to the river or canal. I’ll have to write about the latter experience one of these days.) In general, I think cyclists should be careful about how they carry their stuff: keeping the center of gravity manageable, keeping stuff dry, preventing breakage and securing items so they don’t go flying when you hit a bump or take a dive.

Smudgemo, February 19th, 2008 at 12:25 am:

• I try to get most of it done on weekends with the Xtracycle, and only pick up needed items on the way home during the week. It’s great fun (at least for me) to take the family downtown for lunch and get groceries on the way home. I also love the comments by other cyclists that pass us (unburdened by kids/Xtracycles/groceries) going up the 1.7 mile hill to home.

chip, February 20th, 2008 at 5:37 pm:

• panniers, they hold a lot more than you’d think. I usually get just about the right amount of groceries to fill the two panniers, but every once in a while I end up having a bag of light stuff (bread, etc) hanging off of the handlebars. Fortunately there’s a grocery store only about four blocks away, so if I forget something I can just zip over — much quicker to do it by bike than driving.

jimbo, February 26th, 2008 at 11:01 pm:

• I have a burley trailer flatbed with a huge rubbermaid container on it. Quite the site at the store. I am seeing more trailers here Bob trailers are popular but I like the configuration of mine. I also use half of a large dog crate on the trailer to contain my cans when I go to the recyclers. I really look homeless doing this but, it is a lot faster on the bike.