Oh, i'm so glad you asked. Where i live, traffic is SO HORRIBLE that i pretty much hate to drive anymore (not to mention the gas thing)
I ride to the market, i ride to the library; i ride to 3 different supermarkets.
I ride to my mother's house (11 miles south as the crow flies) I ride to the art store.
I am fortunate that i have an older pannier that works for groceries and stuff.
Of course, i don't buy gallons of olive oil or cat litter when i'm biking; but there is a lot of stuff i can carry easily

Go for it! it's really been fun. ( I confess that my last library acquisition was a smaller book, i was thinking about my hill climb home )