An Adventure in Toting Home Fabric on My Bicycle

[kajero]

Here is my latest adventure:

I rode my bicycle 10 miles to Hancock Fabrics last Sunday to check out their going out of business sale. Fabric is 95% off but you have to buy the entire bolt. I figured as long as I was on my bike I wouldn't buy much of anything. So what do I do . . . . I buy 30 yards (whole bolt) of some fabric I have been eyeing every time I went to Hancock Fabrics. I mean if it was still there it was meant for me, right? How could I resist it at 45 cents a yard? Full price was 9.99 a yard. I also bought 5 yards at 65 cents a yard of some other fabric I had been eyeing.

You should have seen me riding the 14.5 miles home with all that fabric on my back. (Note: The cardboard thing the fabric goes around was removed.) The distance was longer on the way home because I missed the turn-off on the trail and wound up taking another trail home which, ugh, is very hilly! The fabric was heavy -- at least 10 pounds! There is a really nice lady there who helped me get it all together and on my back. Her method of packing worked! We put the stuff in a great big triple plastic bag, I put my arms through the handles like a backpack and she strapped/taped it on me like a backpack. I bicycled all the way home and didn't lose it, but my shoulders were pretty sore when I biked up the driveway! It was adventure. And there is still another bolt of fabric I want but is probably gone by now. I don't think I will ride the bicycle if I go see if it still there.

What's very odd is that I had the best mph I have had in a long time. I wonder if it was because I had to sit a certain way to be comfortable! I am going to try to sit that way on my next ride and see what happens.

It's hard to believe that only about 2.5 miles of my ride was not on trails, but on roads with designated bike lanes and through residential areas where I rarely see cars. Minnesota is the BEST for bicycle riding.

All in all, I had a very fun, interesting, and adventurous 24.5 mile ride.

In case anyone wonders, I felt very comfortable and well balanced with the weight on my back. If I hadn't I wouldn't have attempted this adventure. In fact, sometimes I felt more in balance than I do without the extra load. Weird, Huh???

[BikeDutchess]

I couldn't have resisted a 45-cents-a-yard deal either! I wish I could have seen a picture of you hauling the load home

[kajero]

I wish I would have thought of taking one. I had my camera along!

[ny biker]

What will you be using the fabric for?

I would have been worried about the bag handles cutting into the front of my shoulders and arms, unless the bag was really big, which I guess it was.

[emily_in_nc]

I absolutely loved this post, kajero, especially the image I had of you riding with that fabric on your back. This totally sounds like something we would do. We buy huge amounts of groceries on our bikes, take our laundry to and from laundromats, and my DH even took two car batteries to Autozone to be recycled on the back of his Bike Friday!

LOVE these kinds of adventures.

Thanks for sharing -- only wish you'd had a photo to share!

Oh, and I totally agree with you about Minnesota -- we spent 10 days in Jackson County and are now up in Melrose and doing tons of cycling. The storms have been bad, but in between, the cycling has been amazing. It's a very cycling friendly state!

[kajero]

My goodness. I live in New Hope. It would be fun to meet if you have time!
I surely hope you were able to ride the the Medicine Lake Regional Trail, Elm Creek Trails to the Rush Creek Trail, to the Coon Rapids Dam, the Dakota Trail, the Luce Line Trail, and the Grand Rounds. If you need a guide, let me know. I ride slower than you, but we could work something out.

[kajero]

The bag did cut into my shoulders. I just kept saying to myself "It won't be long until I get home." It really wasn't too bad but it was surely a relief when I got home!

I have no idea what I will use the fabric for. I just like it because it has a really nice musical theme which is very hard to find anywhere. My family, except for me, is very musically talented so I will come up with some ideas! I might sell some of it on eBay, too. After all, I bought 30 yards.