Saturday morning market ride

[Jo-n-NY]

loved the pics and the report. You are living what I hope my future will be

[7rider]

Okay. I'm curious about the freezer bag, as that's one thing (okay...one of many - that fact that I'm lazy is another!) that keeps me from biking to the store during the summer. I worry that milk/eggs/ice cream/etc. would be warm by the time I got home. Do you carry a "blue ice" with the bag? Does it just keep the cool stuff cool? Does it scrunch up into your pannier without breaking/cracking/ruining the insulation? I've seen some insulated bags, and wondered how they would fare in a bike pannier.

[Tri Girl]

Great blog, Emily!! I loved reading about your adventure!!

PS- we are BIG UNC fans (even have a wall in our game room painted Carolina blue with the logo in the middle). I loved seeing pictures from the area.

[emily_in_nc]

Okay. I'm curious about the freezer bag, as that's one thing (okay...one of many - that fact that I'm lazy is another!) that keeps me from biking to the store during the summer. I worry that milk/eggs/ice cream/etc. would be warm by the time I got home. Do you carry a "blue ice" with the bag? Does it just keep the cool stuff cool? Does it scrunch up into your pannier without breaking/cracking/ruining the insulation? I've seen some insulated bags, and wondered how they would fare in a bike pannier.

We actually rarely buy frozen or even cold stuff on these rides because I worry too, but DH had tried this bag to bring stuff home from the grocery when we lived out in the boonies and had a much longer drive and was convinced it actually worked. We didn't add a blue ice thing, but you certainly could (especially in hotter weather). The bag claims to keep cold stuff cold for 3 hours, which I seriously doubt, but I think it would work for an hour, which was about the length of our ride back (including the stop at the food co-op for sustenance!)

There's no real insulation; it's just a special thick mylar type material, so it seemed to fare well in the pannier without getting too scrunched up. My Mom found it somewhere -- probably Target or Wal-mart, as that's where she does a lot of her shopping.

One other point -- it was sunny but only in the 70s when we did this ride. I don't think I'd chance it in the 90+ temps of mid-summer here.