A hoopy frood always knows where his towel is.I picked up a Banjo Brothers Minnehaha Canvas Utility pannier on sale early on... which has been fine for my casual rides (holding a small towel -- always know where your towel is! -- bug spray, sunblock, perhaps a light rain jacket...) But as summer came on, I needed to start carrying my work clothes + lunch into the office; at 750 cubic inches the bag quickly reached "stuffed" capacity on commutes. While I love the look of it (black canvas with a tan leather strap running centered from top to bottom with chrome buckle) it is just slightly too small for my summer commuting, let alone considering a grocery run (beyond perhaps 1 bagful.) So I have yet to try a grocery run of any size, via bike.
But this weekend I picked up a Bontrager Town Shopper Large -- while not nearly as stylish looking it delivers a whopping 1,700 cubic inches. A zippered top opening, center strap + buckle to cinch down/compress when not full, plus reflective tape, an outer zip pocket and an inner zip pocket. I like that it is completely "rectangular" in form, inside, like a traditional kraft paper grocery bag -- 4 straight walls and a flat, rectangular bottom. The Banjo Brothers canvas bag tapers down to a narrower bottom than the opening at top; creates a nice, sort of tailored look, but at the cost of usable space.
Heaps of room now for my summer office commuting needs (besides the daily pair of pants, shirt, socks and my lunch -- I could pack in different shoes and still have room for sunblock & bug spray, a rain jacket and even more.)
And it definitely has me thinking I should try a grocery run soon... Being single, I could probably retrain myself to make more frequent, smaller grocery runs, vs. the traditional once-every-8-to-10 days car trip (usually resulting in a far larger, heavier grocery load than I could effectively bike home, even with this big pannier.)
If there's not a bike rack at the grocery store, they have other good places to lock up--cart corrals, shelving for potted plants, handicapped parking space sign poles, narrow pillars, etc.
I might need to consider a form of insulation for frozen items... I tend to stock up on say, Lean Cuisines as a convenient office lunch. They'd probably be ok on the ride home (about 3 miles?) but both panniers are black, and in the full summer sun that could make the interior toasty, quickly...?
With all this biking and sweating, I'm finally at long last a hoopy frood!A hoopy frood always knows where his towel is.
You can use it to keep the sun off your seat, spread it on the grass to sit on, wrap it around you for warmth and even dry off with it.
I might need to consider a form of insulation for frozen items... I tend to stock up on say, Lean Cuisines as a convenient office lunch. They'd probably be ok on the ride home (about 3 miles?) but both panniers are black, and in the full summer sun that could make the interior toasty, quickly...?
Recently I hauled about 40lbs of frozen ground moose (moose tacos are a thing at my house) from a friend about two dozen miles away on a fairly warm day. It was basically like hauling a pannier full of ice. Aside from putting everything in a garbage bag no extra effort was needed and the moose spaghetti sauce is delicious.
I've seen Dutch bicycle parking. I wonder if we'll ever be that civilized*. The dutch annually ride 760 mi. for every man, woman, &
child in the country.
*doubtful.
In use for months now with entire satisfaction, see the alarm @ 53 seconds in? And the frame lock and chain, great for short stops. I just don't worry. Am in an area at high risk of opportunistic theft, low risk of bolt cutters and angle grinders, especially for short term parking at public places. I wheel my bike into the Home Depot. It's my shopping cart. But I have to leave it in front of local supermarkets. Risk of theft seems low with the "cafe lock" and its defeatable chain. But the ALARM that no thief expects, is the great comfort provider. If I am within earshot I just don't worry about my bike being picked up and carted away etc. And the Abus cafe lock is super quick and convenient to set.
I like your ideas!Thanks for sharing this video,Reid! I also bought a foldy lock for my CCS. Have been thinking about how to secure the cargo trailer I bought for groceries - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0029KKQSK/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 (holds 6 full grocery bags quite easily, two of which are in a cooler container to keep frozen perishables cool.
View attachment 23649
View attachment 23650
I'm thinking that I will use a cable to attach the trailer frame to the foldy lock and am also looking into bike alarms that sound and send notification to my smart phone. That way I don't have to worry while I'm inside shopping and can just listen for my phone to alarm if someone messes with my bike. Won't be more than 30min or so inside the store, so I'm thinking foldy lock + cable + motion alarm should be plenty to deter opportunists.
With your Juiced battery, do you think simply keeping it locked in its frame position is sufficient? Or do you take out the battery and bring inside with you? Seems like that might be a bit overkill for lunch trips, errands and grocery shopping but you never know.