Errand bike thread....

[SouthernBelle]

errant bike: Has driven off the straight & narrow path onto side roads. Probably the ones with gin mills, saloons and houses of ill repute.

[xeney]

I use my two single speed mixtes as errand bikes. The Puch (lighter weight, no rack or baskets, bullhorns) is more fun to ride so I use it when I don't need to carry very much, or when I'm just going out to work at a coffee house or something. It is so much fun to ride that my husband uses it as his main errand bike these days, too, even though it's a bit too small for him and is a women's bike to boot.

The Nishiki is also fun to ride but the weight, the balance (it is back-heavy because of the rack and baskets), and the brake set up with the Albatross bars mean that I tend to want to ride it a bit more slowly. I just finally got the baskets back on it after having them off for more than a year so I am looking forward to running more errands now. (We took off the baskets to reduce the weight, because during pregnancy the Nishiki was the only bike I felt comfortable riding.)

I am looking at a front-mounted baby seat for the Nishiki, probably a Bobike Mini. Right now bike errands only happen when someone else is watching Penelope, because there is no good way to lock up the trailer.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

errant bike: Has driven off the straight & narrow path onto side roads. Probably the ones with gin mills, saloons and houses of ill repute.

Well, those side trips could be considered 'errant errands'....

[Crankin]

Lisa, when I told Steve you were outfitting your other bike to go grocery shopping, he said, "Doesn't she live on a big hill?"
I like this thread, too. I am not commuting now, either, but I still do some errands by bike. But, I just can't get into full grocery shopping by bike, because of my hill. I too, often ask why did we move here?
Right now I have one nice pannier on my Jamis Coda. It feels really heavy when I have it loaded, although with the mountain gearing, I do get up the hill and my driveway, very slowly when I have a lot of stuff.
My best story is when I converted my old Voodoo hard tail into a commuter last year. I decided to ride to the library (I go to the library in the next town, for a few reasons, but it's about the same distance as the Concord library). I had 3 books to return and two were heavy, 400 page books. I was amazed at how slow I had to go up the hill to the library; I walked in totally drenched with sweat. Then, on the way back, I have to make a right onto a busy road and immediately get in the lane to make a left and go straight up a hill. Now, I did this route on my old commute, but on my road bike. Well, I had new, lighter books in my pannier, but I felt so awkward, I had a hard time getting into the lane. There was a lot of traffic. I almost fell over and managed to get unclipped right before I stopped, pulled over in the shoulder lane. Then I waited until someone stopped and let me run my bike across the street.
The Jamis doesn't feel quite as awkward, but riding with a load feels really different. I go to this same library at least once a week to sit in the carrells and work on my papers, but I have hesitated to do this ride with my laptop in my pannier.
My favorite errand rides are to West Concord, to go to the natural foods food store, the bakery, the acupuncturist, etc. It's really only 2.5 miles, but because of the highway, I have to make it into a 6 mile ride. By the time I get home, those 12 miles feel like 20 after lugging stuff up the hill.

[shootingstar]

Since I'm hardly doing any bike to work commuting at all these days, I continue to rely on my weekend fitness rides with errands..usually towards the end of the ride.

After not riding for last 6 days, did only 38 kms. today with 2 longish hills..which later included some food shopping, then along the way home, cycled to train station to pick up tickets for our Christmas snowshoeing vacation getaway and then cycled, stopped over for more groceries and shrimp dim sum takeout.

2 hrs. later...took the bike out to drop it at LBS down the street to have brake pads replaced for front and back. Then walked over to vote for municipal elections during LBS install waiting time. Last few wks. was gettin' scary just braking properly going downhill towards busy intersections..

Got a new "cheap" saddle at a discount to replace my damaged one with chunks that got knocked out when it fell from car rack onto a major highway. We know the LBS owner who was in same car when bike fell off rack...he's a business partner with my sweetie.

Doing errands bike is usually great especially when all interwoven with work commuting and fitness. In other years biking from work, I did do errands more often since total work commute distance, at that time were shorter distances.

But for all I need to do via bike plus cycling for fitness we're lucky to live in an area to do all this without much planning and stress with many choice bike routes.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

It's funny how to people all over the world, carrying all kinds of stuff on their bikes is no big deal at all- second nature.
I on the other hand am such a longtime namby-pamby that I need to go through all these special arrangements, equipment, and elaborate planning just to carry something more than an extra vest, flat kit, and water on my bike.

But I look at it in terms of the alternative- driving all these short distances over and over on my flabby butt in a car year after year. I get inspired too by secret visions of monstrous power quads! (OK I know this is part self delusion but at least I am trying!)
On the bright side- I feel I have achieved a goodly measure of success already, in that I now do 75% of all my errands into town by either bike or on foot. Last year it was about 60%...and four years ago I always took the car for all these trips. I am shooting for 90% for my new year's resolution.

[shootingstar]

On the bright side- I feel I have achieved a goodly measure of success already, in that I now do 75% of all my errands into town by either bike or on foot. Last year it was about 60%...and four years ago I always took the car for all these trips. I am shooting for 90% for my new year's resolution.

I'm sure you'll get to your goal easily barring any major snowstorm in your area. You probably would snowshoe..instead.

I find if I am not hiking out in the forest somewhere, if I have to walk beyond3-4 kms. I get impatient...and think: how slow! I could get there easily by bike.

I don't have my driver's license..so I predict in my old age...if I get to a point I can't bike much, then I will wheel my groceries by walking my bike alongside instead of a buggy. It will be a wonderful illusion

In fact, I just heard from my partner here, that he knew of a guy whose 92 yr. mother in Demark, does this: she walks alongside her bike with panniers and basket full of groceries.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

I posted some photos of my new rack and panniers all set up now and ready to go shopping with!
http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showt...137#post381137

Now that the 'project' is done, I'll start posting my more noteworthy bike errands on this thread instead. I'm excited and happy!

[pardes]

Oh but it's lovely and think of the fun you'll have. I can how those brifters are a GREAT addition. I wish there was something as secure-feeling for the upright bar brakes.

So post your first itinerary of a shopping/errand spree.

[xeney]

I guess this is somewhere between an errand and a commute: my husband and I both work at home, but it is hard to get anything done with the baby in the house even though there are two of us and we can trade off. So I am working in coffee houses every other day, with my laptop.

The downside to this is that instead of simply choosing my coffee house by the quality of the coffee and the strength of the free wireless, I have to also consider the quality of the bike rack! There are two great places in my neighborhood with wireless, but man, both of them have crappy bike racks. I don't want to wind up at Starbucks (not local, coffee not as good, have to pay for the wireless) but their bike rack is a lot sturdier.

I will probably say something to the management. In the meantime, I chose the one that gets the most bike traffic, on the theory that there are nicer bikes than mine to steal.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Wow Xeney, that's an interesting situation you are in!
I see you are in an urban area with probably plenty of bike stealing to worry about going on.
What kind of lock(s) do you put on your bike? I would think that even a fairly crummy bike rack would be ok if a thief couldn't hack through your lock and would have to take the whole bike rack along with your bike. What is that arrangement for you?

My husband and I work at home too. Our children are grown and have flown the coop, though.
Where I live (rural, small town) bikes don't get stolen too often, but it does happen sometimes, and according to our local police, cable locks are occasionally cut with bolt cutters. So I wound up getting a very heavy duty U-lock and heavy cable combo. I just don't want to lose my bike to some slimy thief.

In my area, there are NO bike racks (well except one at the school and one at the library, that's it. No racks at all on Main Street or at the supermarket, bank, PO, cafe, drugstore.... So I have had to get a bit creative about locking my bike to sign poles, railings, benches, trees, stair banisters, etc.
It's funny really, because now wherever I go I find my eye automatically scanning the surroundings for suitable "bike anchors"....even when I'm not on my bike!

So I guess my question to you is- can you lock your bike to perhaps a parking sign or bench or tree instead...and do you have reliable locks?
What makes some of those racks you describe unsuitable?

[xeney]

I use a Kryptonite combination U-lock. It's pretty good. My favorite coffee house, however, has an "arty" rack that is very pretty, but made of that thin rusty-looking metal ... I think you could cut through it with actual scissors, and certainly you could just throw the whole rack in the back of a truck. There are street posts (no parking signs) but they are usually already occupied by other bikes, and I don't want to carry a cable big enough to go around a tree. I'm not too worried about theft at that spot, really, but the rack is so flimsy that my pink mixte (which does not balance well due to the rear baskets) probably wouldn't even stand up without falling over. It's just a horrible rack to use at all, never mind the flimsy factor!

The coffee house where I am working today is probably fine. Lots of bikes, lots of sidewalk food traffic. The racks are very old fashioned and flimsy, but really their biggest problem is that they are usually fully occupied so there is not much room.

The city recently removed most of the parking meters here and replaced them with two-bike bike racks, but they are only on the busier streets (side streets didn't have parking meters to begin with). That is what makes the Starbucks, etc., better for bike parking.

Aren't they cute, though?

[Blue_Wildflower]

Blue, I too look forward to your first farmer's market trip report. I know just how excited you are...I am going through the same thing now myself!

Well, I did not make it to the Farmer's Market. Had my first fall on Saturday. Twisted my left ankle, which is still a little sore. It rained heavy in Northern VA last Friday night and early Saturday morning. I put too much pressure on my front brake while going down a hill. My back wheel slipped out and I did a lovely fish tail down a paved trail. While sliding, trying to break my fall, screaming and praying, my ankle got twisted in my bike frame. I walked the bike down a hill, rode to a spot where I can sit and my boyfriend rode to get his car and pick up the bike and me.

I have to run some errands this weekend to get ready for my Turkey Day tour, so this weekend I should have a better update.

[PscyclePath]

errant bike: Has driven off the straight & narrow path onto side roads. Probably the ones with gin mills, saloons and houses of ill repute.

That sounds exactly like my old Fisher MTB... It isn't silver & green, is it?

Hopefully the #$%@&*! who nicked it last year found a good and loving home for it.

Sadly the Caliber that replaced it and its new cousin the Cross-Check have developed the same bad habits of wandering off onto the long ways around and other paths less traveled...

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

I did it!!!!

I did my first supermarket trip with my Rambouillet "grocery bike" today, and I lived to tell the tale.

It's only about a mile and a half from my house to the supermarket (3 miles round trip), but as I noted before, there is a pretty steep 1/4 mile hill to go up right just before I get back home.
Today was very COLD and WINDY. I dressed pretty warm (need more glovage next time)....balaclava and everything. It was 28F degrees out, but the wind chill factor was 17F.
I made my little list, determined to not overdo it the first time out. I was a little afraid of the whole attempt, it was a whole new thing for me, not like just stopping at the bank.

I found a really excellent railing near the superm. doors where I was able to lock my bike up visibly and safely and not in the way of anything at all. My new super heavy U-lock and heavy cable were just right for the location (and the U-lock reached around my frame and the railing with only 1/2" to spare!), and I was able to feel very safe about leaving my bike out where I couldn't see it for 30 minutes. That felt good.

So I got the things on my list, and it didn't look like too much at all, so I added a few other small things. The stuff wound up filling my two grocery bags about 2/3 full each. When I lifted the bags they suddenly seemed awfully heavy though, and I wondered if I had goofed bigtime.
I pressed on bravely, and got them outside and into my two panniers without incident. Taking off my lock and loading the panniers, I saw how much the bike wanted tip to one side or the other now with the load in back, sort of like a motorcycle.

I headed home, careful to not turn sharply and staying aware of the potential tippiness that wasn't there before. My hands were cold. I noticed I needed to stay in one gear lower than my usual while riding on the flat parts of my route.
I approached my big hill and downshifted almost all the way, ahead of time. I was nervous- what if I just tip over or can't pedal up it?
Well I made it up. It was not easy- my heart was pounding and I was trying to just spin slowly up while maintaining a zen-like frame of mind. But I got to the top ok and knew I was home free. YAY!!! I could do it and not die.

First thing I did when I got home was brag like crazy to my DH while doing a happy dance, and then I went to weigh the two bags before I unpacked them.
Exactly twenty pounds total of groceries. Plus my now 35 pound bike....
So that means I hauled 55 pounds up my hill (not counting ME) with just my two legs for power. COOL!

I never thought I could do anything this ambitious. And in the below freezing temps and wind, too. Who'dda thunk?- not me!

I'm psyched and I feel like I won a prize.
Next trip I might try to load up a tad less though.