Add =your= thoughts for the short haul of groceries (and other stuff that helps you and your bike)

[Jeffrios]

I had a yogurt explode in my trunk bag a few weeks ago. That was a mess.

I'm sticking to my backpack from now on for precious cargo.

 

[john peck]

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...?[/QUOTE]

I've found a number of insulated cooler-type bags at Goodwill that are simple to convert into bike bags. Just ziptie some key rings to your
bars & some leash clips to the bag, I've got a bunch of bags interchangeable from bike to bike. The one shown can handle as much as
10 pds. of frozen stuff. A bubble wrap liner inside a garbage bag might also work in a pannier.

 

[MisterBritcom]

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.)

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.

 

[ebikemom]

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.

 

[john peck]

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.

Why didn't I think of that! My market has a crumby 3 bike rake placed so close to the wall you can only get 1 bike in it....if you
lift the front whl. in; It's useless. Great tip mom

 

[Drew]

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...?

Some of the specialty grocers sell insulated shopping bags. I bought one at Whole Foods for $10 that has a zippered top. Fits my grocery bag pannier perfectly and keeps all my refrigerated items nice and cold even on 90+ degree days. I believe I have seen similar bags at Trader Joes. Of course, Amazon has a wide variety as well. (Link Removed - No Longer Exists)

 

[Bruce Arnold]

One of the grocery stores I use has a bike rack, the other doesn't. At that one, I lock it up to a cart corral.

 

[Mr. Coffee]

I use cable-tie locks and park the bike right next to the window so lots of people can see the bike while I am shopping. Plus I have a ferocious dog that vigorously defends my bicycle.

Generally I only carry one pannier, an Axiom Hunter DLX. If I expect to buy more groceries I take another pannier which is a little more robust. Between the two of them I can cover most grocery runs, the post office, the hardware store, the bike shop, and the outdoor stores (though not all on the same trip).

 

[christob]

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.

With all this biking and sweating, I'm finally at long last a hoopy frood!
I think I'll soak the corners in something nutritious for emergency sustenance later.

 

[Mr. Coffee]

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...?

Unless you live someplace that is baking hot, I can't imagine that anything would get too hot in just three miles of travel. The trunks of cars get hot too.

I don't buy a lot of frozen food, but when I do I try to buy quite a bit of volume because it makes it harder to melt and you can use things like bags of frozen vegetables and frozen meat basically as chunks of ice to keep other things (like those Lean Cuisines) cold.

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.

 

[Bruce Arnold]

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.

 

[Dewey]

Wald 137 front basket and a bungee net, and on the back folding grocery panniers similar to these from Banjo Bros that attach to a rack secured with pannier hooks.

 

[Oldbkr]

I really like my Wald detachable basket up front.Dont have to bring it all the time.

 

[Dewey]

A solution to a very Dutch problem, the Yepp Cargo Boxx folds up on the bike. If you've ever seen the mass of bicycles jammed together outside many urban train stations in the Netherlands a conventional basket would get damaged pretty quickly. This would actually be quite useful for fitting 3 bikes in my shed.
(Link Removed - No Longer Exists)

 

[john peck]

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.

 

[Reid]

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.

Call me an honorary Dutchman (yourselves, too!) Much more than 760 mpy on the bike. I experience much faster arrival times to short-distance destinations. Mostly shopping. As for parking, I have the frame ring lock and the hidden, under-seat alarm, so I will even just use a car parking spot if need be, because I am mostly in a blessedly low-crime (no organized bike thieves) neighborhood. My Wald rear basket is opened when I park. I go in the store and get a few groceries and pedal more or less two miles to get home. If the sun is hot I will use assist. This posting does not mean to go off focus of the topic. But our bikes are holistic devices. They help us live better, longer, freer and faster in congested urban areas, no matter how we accessorize them with basket or bag.

My bike (a CCS) is running these days better than ever. It is precisely accessorized for my shopping needs. I won't pretend to say it would be ideal for anyone else but me and no car can serve as well as the ebike for 90% of my daily needs.

 

[john peck]

My bike (a CCS) is running these days better than ever. It is precisely accessorized for my shopping needs. I won't pretend to say it would be ideal for anyone else but me and no car can serve as well as the ebike for 90% of my daily needs.[/QUOTE]

Same here, (also a Juiced CCS)

 

[ripman]

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.

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.

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.

 

[Reid]

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.

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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.

I like your ideas!

Today: I just won't leave the bike very long unattended in a high risk area. So, I just only use the cafe lock and its plug-in chain and the motion alarm.

A motion alarm would "protect" a bike trailer, too, I suppose. I think it might be enough. An alarm is so key, IMO, and this is the one I have been using for months. Today it is double-stick foam taped to the underside of a Brooks saddle, really inconspicuous. I don't use the awkward, supplied mounting brackets of the alarm. I just have it directly stuck to the saddle underside and have permanently attached a USB charging cord to it.

The surprise element of a bike making noise, in this era of ours where bikes almost never make noise, is the protection. I will guess that the thief will presume the owner has been alerted by phone app of his setting off the alarm, and so the thief may not persist in messing with the bike.

Someone messing with a wailing bike cannot very well explain WHY he can't shut off the alarm, while everyone today has a camera and phone to record unusual things...so, that is my rationale for not worrying too much about short term parking at the supermarket, for instance.

I don't carry that frame lock anymore. I just use the Abus frame lock, the plug-in chain and the motion alarm.

Am lucky I do not ever have to risk to leave the bike unattended in public for very long. When I go and park at the local train station I use an old cruiser bike instead of the ebike.

 

[Dewey]

Sometimes I unhook the trailer and loop a 4’ kryptoflex cable around the side of the trailer frame and loop the cable end through one eye then through the u-lock to secure the trailer to the bike.