Biking to places other than work?

[sfa]

I just today ordered a Croozer cargo trailer!!!! There is a large shopping plaza just 2 miles from me (bike path the whole way there) with 3 grocery stores, a Home Depot and pretty much everything else in between. I've been going to the store nearly every day but I can only get what fits in a backpack so if I need charcoal or soda it has to be the car for now. I was heading off to HD one day and my neighbor asked me to pick up a 12 ft length of 2x4 lumber. I seriously tried to figure out how to do it!!! Of course he was joking. Now if only I could reduce my 125 mile, one way,commute!

A surfboard rack would do it :http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000RBKA2K

No. maybe not--it only will carry up to ten feet in length.

Sarah

[Melalvai]

I just today ordered a Croozer cargo trailer!!!! There is a large shopping plaza just 2 miles from me (bike path the whole way there) with 3 grocery stores, a Home Depot and pretty much everything else in between. I've been going to the store nearly every day but I can only get what fits in a backpack so if I need charcoal or soda it has to be the car for now. I was heading off to HD one day and my neighbor asked me to pick up a 12 ft length of 2x4 lumber. I seriously tried to figure out how to do it!!! Of course he was joking. Now if only I could reduce my 125 mile, one way,commute!

A bikes at work trailer. They're 12 foot. http://www.bikesatwork.com/

[boy in a kilt]

I have this fantasy about an xtracycle. SGTiger has promised me one when I get back from Iraq. My boss discourages me from riding to work because, as he says, "You never know when you'll need to go pick up a pump or something."

I want to go to our pump supplier, pick up a pump and strap it to the Xtracycle, along with as much other crap as I can put on there. Then I want him to feast his eyes on it.

[tulip]

With the Bikes At Work trailer, I can hook up my kayak (um, well, when I get one)! I live very close to the river. Cool!

[FlyingScot]

I got my Croozer trailer today!!!! Man that was fast. Unfortunately it got damaged in shipping (thanks Fed-Ex) but I did at least get a chance to look at it in person and it's really terrific. Easy to set up, sturdy and it can be converted to a handcart so I can take it into the grocery store and use it for a shopping cart. No worries about locking it up. It has a quick-release hitch so no need for tools. Fed-Ex (should be Fed-Up Express if you ask me) is picking up the damaged one tomorrow and I should have the new one by Friday. Oh and I got a new job today!!!!! Yeah me! Sorry, I'm a little giddy.

[cyclingmama]

I bike to the gym. Its 2.5 miles on heavy-traffic roads, 3.8 on back roads. It takes me about 12 minutes as opposed to 4 in the car. As a previous poster noted, it just seems wrong to hop in the car and drive to the gym to exercise. On the weekends there are always a few other bikes in the bike rack, but at 5:30am I'm always the only one.

I really want to get a trailer and try grocery shopping by bike, but I usually take one of the kids with me to the grocery store. I would bike to many more places if not for the kids (ages 2 and 5). I know I can put them in the trailer, but to go just about anywhere from my house you have to travel a major road with high speed traffic. The shoulders are wide and usually clean, and I feel totally safe riding that road myself, but the thought of riding that road with the kids just makes me waaaayyy too nervous.

[tulip]

I got my Croozer trailer ...it can be converted to a handcart so I can take it into the grocery store and use it for a shopping cart.

Could you use it like a wheelbarrow in the garden? I'd love to minimize the things I have to buy once I get my house, and if this can double as a garden cart, I'm definitely getting one.

[FlyingScot]

Could you use it like a wheelbarrow in the garden? I'd love to minimize the things I have to buy once I get my house, and if this can double as a garden cart, I'm definitely getting one.

I think you could use it for plants and stuff but I wouldn't haul dirt. The sides are a cloth material that may not hold up well to the weight of things like dirt and mulch. It does, however, easily fold down into about a 6 inch deep package that would fit under a bed (just for reference). Otherwise I think you could do just about anything with this thing.

[FlyingScot]

Got my first trailer, first ride to the grocery store...first time HIT BY CAR! Idiot wasn't looking as he turned into the driveway of the shopping center and plastered me. Bike flipped, trailer flipped but somehow by the grace of God I landed on my feet. I pretty much knew it was going to happen so I managed to uncleat really fast. My new trailer is scraped but no other damage, bike landed in the grass and I don't have a mark on me. The jerk just blew his horn and kept on going. Of course I had feminine protection product boxes strewn all over the place and my sushi fell apart but otherwise all is well and it hasn't scared me off yet. BTW the Croozer is a sweet little trailer. I got lots of questions about it (took it into the store and used it as a cart). It tracks really well and you hardly feel it at all...well okay when it's sailing through the air you kind of notice it!!!

[sgtiger]

FlyingScot, I'm glad you're okay. Some people! Did anyone get his license?

[Blueberry]

Wow! Scary. VERY glad you're OK. Seriously - report that. At least the cops can be on the look out. Did he hit hard enough to have damages on the car? Might make him easier to find. GRRRR...

[FlyingScot]

Unfortunately I was too stunned to get even the make of the car much less the license plate. What's worse not one person in the approximately 12 cars who sat there and witnessed it so much as rolled down their window to see if I was okay. I'm pretty much disgusted with humans right now. But I'm very happy that the damage to my equipment was minimal. I thought about a police report but honestly I have no info to give them other than it was a silver sedan so I'm afraid I'm going to be laughed out the door. I am going to call the city tomorrow to see if they can add another crosswalk at this very busy intersection to allow better access to the bike path I was trying to get to. Our city law requires us to ride on a path if it is adjacent to the street and we can be ticketed if we ride in the street, yet they don't provide adequate safe access. It's probably a losing battle but worth a try I think.

[tulip]

I vote for filing a police report anyways. It may not result in catching the guy, but it could strengthen the argument for improvements to that area.

[mci021]

I was just wondering if any of you ride to the grocery store or shopping? Where else do you ride?

Going to the farmers market on Saturday mornings is a favorite bad habit of mine. So many fresh baked goods... so little time. *sigh*

I also go to the library, Trader Joes, you name it. The only downside is that I can only buy what will fit in my bag and really, that's not even a downside. I'm restricted to the essentials, which means the soda and potato chips stay on the store shelf.