Originally Posted by
Bill Kapaun
I just use a back pack for most items. Stuff like chips & eggs, I'll hang a couple plastic bags between the bars and carry them there.
Planning can also reduce your trips.
If you just happen to be riding by a store on your way home, stop in and get a couple items. I carry a couple Safeway type plastic bags folded up in my back pocket, so I can always carry something on the spur of the moment.
Keep a grocery list if you're forgetful like me.
Thanks, Bill, from another Bill. Actually, so far I've been the kind of person that needs a destination in order to motivate myself to ride. Furthermore, on my way to and from work, I carry a rather substantially loaded suit-bag-pannier which has a great deal of stuff in it. I pass three grocery stores within a short distance of my commute route. The first is less than a mile from work but doesn't open until after I pass it, the second is not quite 3 miles in to the ride (but is a miniature store so they have a smaller selection), and the third one (one steep hill and almost exactly one mile from my house) is a really sketchy low-budget grocery store (with
steel mesh over the front windows in a super sketchy shopping center) where I just might have my trusty steed liberated from my possession were I to leave it unattended. Finally, since I work a twelve-hour shift between the rides, every minute of sleep is important.
But your point is certainly taken and that is the way I integrate the bike into my social schedule. I rode 5 miles to visit my best friends for the first time in two months (been busy), tonight, and I added an extra mile on the way back by swinging by the grocery store to pick up that cat food. Bike Journal now has me at 98.5 miles for December and I'll break 100 before I get 1/3 of the way to work tomorrow evening. That feels pretty good, indeed.
