Saturday morning market ride

[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]

Nice blog Emily and a great journal of your ride. I love to take pictures riding and I visit our Farmer's Market every Saturday and fill my basket to the brim with goodies. However it's only a few blocks from home so it's not much of a ride. I usually go back home, unload then head out for my Saturday morning ride.

A pictoral is a great way to bring the story to life. Today on a ride I came across a rasher of wild turkeys scurrying across the road. Photos can be found here, or I've attached them to this post.

http://pedaltohealth.blogspot.com/

Great photos, and I love your basket! Thanks for sharing... I will have to check out your blog.

[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.

[emily_in_nc]

Buy one, get one free changes everything. I stillwould have gotten some closer to home, but you did good! I just hope it was fudge swirl

No fudge swirl -- chocolate chocolate chip and some kind of moose tracks caramel. Both yummy! Just had some tonight after a sweaty mtb ride after work. Earned it!

[Trek420]

Here's my hand for scale with Asian sweet corn. Picked and steamed right off the field the woman at the booth showed me you just peal the leaves back and eat. Delicious.

[Trek420]

And here's Bradley loaded up and ready to head home

[malkin]

Sweet!

Now I'm thinking ice cream!

[emily_in_nc]

And here's Bradley loaded up and ready to head home

Love the flowers! That's one thing we haven't been able to buy due to close-top panniers and not wanting them to get smushed. It just looks so pretty with flowers popping out the top of an open pannier or bike basket!

This weekend's market haul: kale, peppers, chiles, tomatoes, basil (last of the season, probably), zucchinis, red oak leaf lettuce. Been cooking up a storm -- yum!