Did errands on my bike!

[emily_in_nc]

Good for you! We ride to do errands all the time. Every Saturday morning is the farmer's market and food co-op, sometimes Trader Joe's and/or the post office too. Recently I had to get my car inspected and had to leave it for an hour, so I just took my bike in the car and did a fun little bike ride while the car was being inspected (it was close to where I live, so I was familiar with the roads). Better than sitting and waiting in a grungy little gas station "reception" area!

My best "errand" ride ever was years ago. I had had to leave my Subaru Forester at the dealer overnight to have work done. My DH drove separately to take me back home. The next day, instead of doing the double driving thing again, I mapped out a route and rode my bike to go pick up my car. It was around 17 miles one way, as I recall, and towards the end, involved some challenging urban riding on busier roads than I like to ride on, but it went just fine, and I felt so empowered doing it!

[eofelis]

Isn't it great!

I'm to the point where it's unusual for me to take the car to do errands!

[bluebug32]

Curious how you guys haul things like groceries? I love the idea of running errands on my bike, but get stumped when I think of things like grocery shopping.

[zoom-zoom]

This Winter I had to have some work done on my car at our favorite shop, about 2 miles away. I already planned to run 3-4 miles, so it was convenient to drop off my car and run home taking an extra long route. The receptionist at the shop (the owner's wife, actually) looked at me like I was nuts, as it was only in the teens and the roads were very snowy, but it was nice. It made me feel a lot less dependent upon my car.

[PinkBike]

I always do grocery shopping on the bike.
A backpack can carry lots of stuff.
I've had 1 gallon of milk + bag o' bagels + head of lettuce + bananas + more in my backpack.
Only had 1 problem -- one nite someone stole DH's seat off his bike while we were in the store for just a coupla minutes. He rode home with no seat (coupla miles)!
And a few times I had to sling a bag over my neck to carry extra stuff that wouldn't fit in the backpack.
And some times I have to stuff a bag up under my jersey (but that's usually a taco bell bag).

[Bike Writer]

I love to run errands by bike since I got one last year, but it's a no-brainer because the bank, library and small grocery store are within 2 blocks, it almost a 1/2 mile to the post office and work is just a mile away. I live in the downtown of a small town. We also have a lake in our downtown and many friends are within a few blocks to a mile. Small towns can be neat.

[redrhodie]

Curious how you guys haul things like groceries? I love the idea of running errands on my bike, but get stumped when I think of things like grocery shopping.

I have a rear rack and panniers. The rack is permanent, and the panniers are easy to take on and off. I bring my panniers into the store with me, so I don't use any plastic bags at all. Best of all, it's fun!

[skhill]

Thanks for the reminder of the thrill it is to do errand-y things by bike for the first time! It's become kinda old-hat for me, and it's easy to forget how fun and empowering it is to leave the car behind....

My favorite annual errand to do by bike: renewing my car's registration, down at the county clerks office. There's no way I'll ever drive there again-- the free parking is in a garage that looks like it's about to fall down, and it's less than 2 miles from my home. Showing up for jury duty in December by bike was awesome too, and brought on a lot of interesting reactions.

I find that grocery shopping on the bike can help cut down on impulse buys. Even with both panniers and bungees for attaching stuff to the rack, there's still limited space.

[eofelis]

I have a rear rack and panniers. The rack is permanent, and the panniers are easy to take on and off. I bring my panniers into the store with me, so I don't use any plastic bags at all. Best of all, it's fun!

Same here. I usually have a front rack on my commuter bike. I don't at the moment as I'm playing musical forks with another bike for a while for a while.

I've grocery shopped with a bike for quite a few years. If I know I'll get a buncha stuff I'll take the front panniers too. I've never managed to buy more than I can fit into all my panniers! I've had bystanders watch with amazement as all those groceries disappeared into my panniers. I also keep a bungy-net with my bike for strapping large bulky things on top of rear the rack.

It's amazing how much stuff you can carry on a bike.

[alice]

For grocery shopping I take both panniers, and a backpack, and a cargo net to strap stuff on top of the rack. I buy a lot of groceries.

But it's fun!

Also, unlike most of you dedicated people, running errands is pretty much all I do on my bike. I can't motivate myself to get out there unless I'm going somewhere. Which is not to say I don't sometimes make up places I "need" to go, but I always have a purposeful destination when I'm on the bike.

[hebe]

Well done! It really is empowering, good for you, and saves a bundle of gas as short car journeys are the least economical. I drove into town one morning last week as I just had too much to do to get everything done and ride in the time I had, and it felt really strange as the last three weeks I've cycled in.

Depending on how much I have to carry, I use either a clip on basket, panniers on the rear rack, or a trailer. I also have a cargo net that can stretch either over a full basket or over the rack for boxes. A lot of errands don't need a lot of storage space though - dentist, bank, optician, post office... it's quite surprising how rarely need more space than the basket. I do get my big grocery shop delivered.

[shootingstar]

Isn't it great!

I'm to the point where it's unusual for me to take the car to do errands!

Except for 1 bike (which is used bike) I've always had a bike (I have 4 bikes) where each bike had a rear carrier and always threw on the pannier(s).

I don't have a car. If it's not snowing much or not a ton of rain, I go grocery shopping by cycling there.


Frankly, cycling to grocery shop is...semi-survival for me. The other alternative is public transit which I will use in snowy winters.

Grocery shopping is usually more enjoyable. Sure the loads maybe heavy, but it isn't for long usually and a good fitness ride if it is.

[Melalvai]

I have a trailer with an enormous plastic bin on it that I use for groceries. It's a flatbed trailer which I made using the wheels, axle & hitch off of a kiddie trailer that had broken. I just attached all those things to a piece of plywood, and added hooks so I can strap down the plastic box.

[Susan]

I just use my rear rack and a basket on this rack. For groceries I take a big bag with me and put it in the basket afterwards, and use some bungee straps to be sure everything stays in place.
If I have _really_ big or heavy things to carry like potting soil, beer crates or furniture, I use a small trailer.

[emily_in_nc]

Curious how you guys haul things like groceries? I love the idea of running errands on my bike, but get stumped when I think of things like grocery shopping.

Rack and Arkel panniers. We initially bought them for touring but use them for grocerying now! You can also buy (for a lot less $$) metal folding baskets that fit on your rear rack, one on each side. Put a grocery bag inside each one!

Here are a couple of photos. One shows my DH's bike (I'm behind it) when we got home from a grocery store run. The other shows DH getting ready to take packages to the post office.