Mary9761- you've inspired me

[shellkay1212]

Heck, yes! I will make all kinds of new friends in my new neighborhood!

[mary9761]

ah geez you guys.. you're embarrassing me... I'm not trying to be inspirational, I'm just a fat and sassy, metal head grandma who decided to hop on a bike one day.

back to the panniers, one of the sites I found talked about getting some material (they said at Lowes) like is in the refridgerated bags that can be used as a liner to keep cold items cold for a time. I'd imagine it would work for hot items too going to your family dinners. I didn't know where to look exactly the day I was at Lowes getting some other stuff and didn't have the extra to get it anyways. Of course for that matter, I found a cloth grocery bag sized cold bag at Walmart today in the freezer section for $1.50 that will fit right down in one of the panniers.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Good job, TriGirl!
I like them in red.

[Tuckervill]

Tri-girl, that's not the same bike you had in July, is it?

That means you have TWO Frankenbikes! I like it!

Karen

[pardes]

I'm sooooo glad they are RED!

Clever, innovative, recycling in action, and it DOES NOT look like a Frankenbike! I think it's almost lovely.

Please give us a detailed report on the amount of groceries they will hold. I'm sure it will be impressive.

[Tri Girl]

Tri-girl, that's not the same bike you had in July, is it?

Karen, it's a different frankenbike. I still have the other, but it sits on my trainer permenently now. It's the "I don't want to go outside for a ride" bike. This new one is my dedicated touring/grocery/errand bike. I LOVE her!

I went shopping on Saturday and almost bought too much stuff. Granted, I'm the master packer who leaves no space empty, but even I had to cram to get it all in.
Here's what fit inside:
large box of cereal
half gallon milk
2 liter of soda
small jar of jelly
3 large canned goods
2 boxes of brownie mix
box of instant oatmeal
cheese
1 large carton of OJ
flour tortillas
2 pears
1 apple
3 bananas
2 library books (from my errand before the grocery store)

On top of the rack I had the large 3 box bundle of Kleenex bungeed to the rack and boxes.
It was a lot of stuff that fit inside, but I almost over-did it. I didn't take them inside the store because the paint fumes were still REALLY strong. Next time I'll take them in and pack them as I go to make sure I don't have too much stuff.

[shellkay1212]

Many thanks to Mary and Trigirl!

I've rounded up kitty litter buckets from freecycle.org! YAY!

A friend at work and I are going to make these together. We are thinking that people are going to be begging for the instructions. It's kind of like Pay it Forward!

Now, people all over Fort Wayne, IN will be traveling around with reused kitty litter buckets.

Oh - what kind of paint did you use?

[Tri Girl]

I think Mary used Krylon. I used Valspar for plastic. Even tho I sanded to rough up the surface, it still comes off if it gets scratched. I think as long as you buy a paint for plastic you'll be fine. They make a plastic primer, and maybe I should try that next time.
I just picked up 2 more kittly litter buckets from another lady on freecycle. They are different. The lids don't come off, but hinge at the top. I might like that, too. I think I'll make them into panniers and then decide on my favorite pair.