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What's the most bizarre load you've ever tried to haul by bicycle?
• Household electronics?
• Musical instruments?
• Bulk grocery items?
• A washing machine? (Kudos if you could do this one without a trailer.)
• 100 kilograms of illegal drugs?
• Your boyfriend/girlfriend/husband/wife?
Let's hear your stories.
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Last summer, I transported an 8hp outboard motor from Seattle to Edmonds, WA. I used a trailer. It turned out to be a bit harder than I expected, but not unreasonable. I did go out of my way to avoid big hills, though.
Last fall, I transported a 10-kilogram Mac Classic computer by bike. It's got a built-in CRT monitor. I put it in a hockey equipment bag, and carried it on my back. Fortunately, I didn't have to go too far.
A couple of years ago, I picked up some fresh peaches and plums for preserving. I put the peaches in my panniers, but I didn't have a place for the plums. I strapped the open box on my front rack and gingerly made my way home. The front rack slopes down a little. I'm in fairly hilly country and I had some rough roads to ride. Miraculously, I didn't spill anything until I stopped in my driveway. Then two or three plums tumbled out. I'd call that a fairly successful ride. I've taken heavier loads, but usually I can secure them better.
http://homepage.mac.com/awcg/.Pictures/Bike/Giant/Rug.jpg
9x12 rug
I loaded a Spinnaker sail for my Catalina 27 sailboat onto the rear rack of my Cannondale H400 once. The sail bag measures about 3.5 feet high with a diameter of about 2.25 feet. It was held on by a bunch of bungee cords. Fortunately I only had to go a couple miles. When I got off the bike the front tire wanted to lift off the ground.
when i was in high school, i brought home all kinds of bike crap. mostly bmx stuff, but i was savvy enough to snag some other bikes/parts to pilfer. never stole anything, i'm talking dumpstered, or found in alleys or washes or gutters...
one time, i was riding thru an alley (this is in arizona, so by "alley", i mean the space between two rows of houses, not some urban type of alley...), and came across a whole pile of bmx bikes and parts. i think i counted 7 frames in various states of disassembly, and wheels and parts to go with them. i loaded them up on my handlbars, as much as i could balance/carry/still ride. rode it about 3 miles across town, without nary a strange look from anyone.
my parents were stoked, tho, that i found more bike stuff to put in the garage.
i've carried about 200lbs worth of groceries once in the trailer. I've also used it to haul large pieces of wood from a tree I had cut down. Little hard, but was prob. over the 300lb limit of my baw trailer
I have hauled multiple bags of quickcrete (http://www.quikrete.com/) in a trailer, one at a time on the rack. Probably the one that got the most comments from people I know was the 20# sledge on the rear rack with the handle sticking out with a flag on it. :p
With proper equimpent, BAW trailers (http://www.bikesatwork.com/) or an Xtra-cycle (http://www.xtracycle.com/) there is no reason that most household loads can't be moved by bicycle.
Aaron:)
When I was about 16 or 17 I saw two kids traveling on BMX bikes in series, both holding an end of a ~25 ft. 4x4 piece of wood. It looked stolen, but they were taking it away efficiently.
Last fall, I transported a 10-kilogram Mac Classic computer by bike. It's got a built-in CRT monitor. I put it in a hockey equipment bag, and carried it on my back. Fortunately, I didn't have to go too far.
A couple of years ago, I picked up some fresh peaches and plums for preserving. I put the peaches in my panniers, but I didn't have a place for the plums. I strapped the open box on my front rack and gingerly made my way home. The front rack slopes down a little. I'm in fairly hilly country and I had some rough roads to ride. Miraculously, I didn't spill anything until I stopped in my driveway. Then two or three plums tumbled out. I'd call that a fairly successful ride. I've taken heavier loads, but usually I can secure them better.
I am sometimes out in the country around the time when mulberries are ripe. A number of times, I have stopped and picked some, using filling either water bottles or whatever plastic bags I could find in my pannier.
When I had a car I would bring my bike along everywhere...which pays off.
On a date...my car's belt broke leaving us only 3 miles from the theater. My girlfriend rode on the handlebars, holding the bar ends of my mountain bike. She isn't overweight...but I am appreciative for gearing. :)
Got to the movies with barely breaking a sweat...and I allowed myself to have a pretzel for the efforts. After the movie I fetched a new belt and fixed the car.
Always have a tool kit...whether you're in a car, scooter, or bicycle. I recently broke down on the scooter 60 miles away from home, 20 miles from any stores. Ended up being a kinked fuel line. Cut it, relocated the hose clamp and I was back on the road.
Besides that I've gotten a 150lb treadmill using the burley trailer. Only had to haul it half a mile.
While it isn't really a big deal, I returned a borrowed VCR to a friend via bike. It was about 8-miles to where he was so I guess he assumed I was driving there and was surprised to see me arrive on bike then swing my Chrome Metropolis around pull the VCR out of it. The weight of it wasn't an issue by any means, but a large flat object laying against your back does get uncomfortable pretty quick. I have a rack and basket now, so it's much less of issue carrying awkward stuff these days.
When I was in China, I saw I guy with a cargo trike who had 3 refrigerators loaded up on the back. I wish I had a picture....
The refrigerators that they used over there are quite a bit smaller than the ones that we are accustomed to however. They weren't as small as the little cube models that are popular in dorm rooms however.
Giant package of TP from Costco. You can imagine the way people were looking at me as I went down the road.
Giant package of TP from Costco. You can imagine the way people were looking at me as I went down the road.
:D
35# sack of dog food draped over the rear rack, with 2 12-packs of soda bungeed on top of it, and a sack of groceries on the front rack. I seriously thought my rear tire was going to give out with that one.
I bungee a bushel of apples or carrots (in a clear plastic bag) on top of my rear rack (panniers full of other purchases) and ride 3 miles home from the market pretty routinely.
Giant package of TP from Costco. You can imagine the way people were looking at me as I went down the road.
I'm trying to imagine the looks you were getting from the people AT Costco. Most people bring their Excursions or Navigators to Costco, to stock up for the next two months or something. Did they have bike racks?
Giant package of TP from Costco. You can imagine the way people were looking at me as I went down the road.
People were probably thinking that you needed to change your diet :D.
Besides that I've gotten a 150lb treadmill using the burley trailer. Only had to haul it half a mile.
One of the reasons I ride a bike is that I really don't like using treadmills or doing other indoor exercise.
One of my strange loads was two bicycles. One on my back (my backpack has straps on the back of it that'll hold a bike) and the other rolling alongside me.
Another one was a wooden futon frame, which was a bulky 70 pound item. Not a terribly difficult load for my trailer, but it was just a little awkward since it had to be on top of the trailer, 24 inches up.
What's the most bizarre load you've ever tried to haul by bicycle?
Let's hear your stories.
One time I borrowed a friend's wheeled motor hoist. It was a large A frame, all steel, about 8 feet high and 3-400 lbs. He lived up the hill and a little more than a mile from me. I walked it from his home to my home. Pretty easy going down hill though it tended to careen back and forth across the street like Godzilla. It took me about 45 minutes to haul it down.
Then I pulled the motor out of my Chevy Nova with the help of some friends.
The hard part was getting it back up the hill. I decided to try to use my Specialized Hard Rock to drag it up the hill. I used the chains used to life the motor and tried to mount them to the bike. The only problem was that as I started to pull the hoist, the rear wheel of the bike would lift off the ground. And my house was on the flat part of the hill. I was able to get it to go a little way, but I had no control over where the hoist was going in the street. As the street was lined with cars on both sides, that could not happen.
So I had to push the hoist back up just walking. Even so, it veered wildly and I had to work hard to avoid hitting cars. At one point the police passed me and I thought I would have to account for my actions. But fortunately it was hot enough that they didn't want to roll the windows down long enough to question me. It took about an hour and a half to get it up the hill and half an hour to walk back down.
I had a full-size computer tower wrapped in blankets and bungied on it's side to the rear rack. I'm pretty sure this would be a much easier task with the rack I have now, but the one I was using at the time had a lot of sway.
I got a lot of funny looks that day.
I guess two people, one of the front rack, one on the rear. They were two fairly petite women, so, it wasn't that difficult.
I had a full-size computer tower wrapped in blankets and bungied on it's side to the rear rack.
For something like that, I'd prefer to carry it on my back. I'd be worried about damage from jarring motions from rough roads or potholes.
I guess two people, one of the front rack, one on the rear. They were two fairly petite women, so, it wasn't that difficult.
Best load ever. I never get to haul anything fun, just groceries. I do, however, plan on borrowing my friend's pedicab soon to make some money towing drunk people around downtown.
Last Memorial Day I brought the cookout: Two 12s of beer, two folding beach chairs, charcoal grill (Weber kettle type), charcoal, lighter fluid and a longboard. I used the Trek Rocket trailer (I got it on the cheap) folded flat for everything but the beer, which went on the front and rear racks. It was only about 3 miles, but I got all sorts of cat calls up and down the hill.
For something like that, I'd prefer to carry it on my back. I'd be worried about damage from jarring motions from rough roads or potholes.
I agree there. In my early career I used to carry military IC chips on my bike between sites of the company I worked for. These were designed to be used in attack helicopters so I suppose they were designed to be a little shock resistant. Carried in my backpack, I never lost a chip. Lashed to the rack, I had some failures of the chips after carrying them on the bike.
Not that unusual, but the most I ever carried was a bunch of Christmas presents:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v214/lamplightsg/Rockadile/IMG_0126-small.jpg
Mine aren't as bizarre as others, but I'll post.
Every week, I go to community concert band practice immediately after work, so if I ride my bike to work, I also take my alto sax. Fortunately, I have a backpack case for that. So I have one pannier with clothes. A briefcase pannier with any papers and my sax on my back. Recently, I started taking a clarinet with me also. I was considering looking for a case that would hold my saxophone and my clarinet and hoping I could find one with backpack straps. That probably would have run me over $300, but I got wise and figured out that I could strap it to my rack with a bungee cord. I haven't gotten the serious motivation to get a trailer yet, but that may happen some day.
I didn't think it was bizarre, but I took an broken flat screen monitor to be dropped of for recycling a couple of weeks ago. I probably would have rented a car if I were taking more things, but when I saw the traffic, I'm glad I didn't get the car.
the largest and most unwieldy things I've acarried happen to be garden equipment. I transported a rototiller across town in my BoB trailer. Last weekend I traded in a gas lawn mower for a battery powered electric one at an Air Pollution Control District event. We rode our tandem pulling the trailer with the old gas lawn mower in it. On the return trip we carted the new electric model still in the box. Got quite a few looks both ways.
When I was about 16 or 17 I saw two kids traveling on BMX bikes in series, both holding an end of a ~25 ft. 4x4 piece of wood. It looked stolen, but they were taking it away efficiently.
i've thought about building some sort of lumber carrying trailer for my bike. it would basically be two wheels that share an axle, about 36" apart. all i'd have to do is tie down the back of the load to the trailer, and figure out a way to tie the front of the load to my rack. doesn't matter if they're 16 ft 2x4's or what. sort of the same engineering behind a semi trailer's wheels...
For something like that, I'd prefer to carry it on my back. I'd be worried about damage from jarring motions from rough roads or potholes.
Well, the system had no harddrives in it and I took the ride slow over a route I knew quite well. It was very well cushioned. I think I may have placed a pillow under it between the case and the rack. Either way, I'm still using that system over a year later, so no damage was incurred.
Several times I've used my mountain bike to pull a two-wheeled cart ten miles one-way loaded with sawdust. We've got some pretty steep hills in south-central Kentucky!
35# sack of dog food draped over the rear rack, with 2 12-packs of soda bungeed on top of it, and a sack of groceries on the front rack. I seriously thought my rear tire was going to give out with that one.
Add two grocery panniers full of food and a 6 pack of toilet paper and that's a fairly common load for me. ;)
Most unusual? My wife's bike:
http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c269/AzCowboy/Bike%20stuff/S7300146.jpg
Hauled it about 20 miles that way.
My job for this afternoon is to travel over to the garden center and then figure out how to bring back a dozen transplants. I don't think my panniers will work at all here. I'm thinking cardboard box bungeed to the rack.
Giant package of TP from Costco. You can imagine the way people were looking at me as I went down the road.
In Atlanta!? I spent a month down there 2 years ago, and the only bikers I saw were weekend roadies, never saw any commuters, _at all_. Surprising to me.
when i was a kid, must be nearly forty years ago, my mother handed me a note and told me to ride to the drugstore and hand the note to the woman behind the counter. i jumped on my schwinn stingray and rode to the store and handed her the note. the woman walked me down the aisle and handed me the largest box of 'kotex' sanitary pads that they had. if i remember correctly the box was bright blue and i swear the damned box was three feet tall. they put it in a bag for me but it stuck out half a foot on the top. i wasn't quite sure what they were used for, but i did know that the weren't something that a ten year old boy should be carrying on his bike. fortunately i make it home again without running in to any of my friends...
a live parrot.
that's the weirdest thing I ever carried on my bike.
a live parrot.
that's the weirdest thing I ever carried on my bike.
What did the Parrot have to say about riding on a bike?
http://www.wonderfulitems.com/bicycle3.jpg
About three times a year I have to haul a 120lb. crate of industrial cutters into town to the Fedex drop off. I put the crate in a Blue Sky cart and ride 4.5 miles. I do 400 feet of climb, mostly on 7% grade. Thank god for granny gears!
Rifles. And lately I've been running down to the range with a double barrel smokepole and 2 pounds of FFG black powder. If a car hits me hard enough, we're BOTH going up!
http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b52/Gussick/bike2-2.jpg
http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b52/Gussick/rr1.jpg
http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b52/Gussick/Framnew.jpg
I have a kid trailer. I folded it down flat and lashed on a chest and moved it a little over a mile. The next week I used the same setup to take a bunch of boxes of junk to a storage shed a few miles away. Recently I strapped on a huge desktop computer to my rear rack and took it over to my sisters place.
I take blankets that are too large (or thick) for my home washer to the laundromat up a hill 30 minutes away. I put my laundry basket on my back rack and bungee the blanket in.
I brought 3 30L bags of triple mix home the other day. Only 2kms, but getting started was a trick! Felt like the rack was made of spagetti. 150kg capacity my ass.
I went to the superstore the other night and a little boy with his mother made a comment when he saw me stuffing my shopping in the panniers, his mother explained what I was doing, and said I can carry a lot of stuff in my bags. ( she stressed it a bit for the little guy ) I then walked into the gardening section and her expression was interesting when I came back with a 32Litre bag of cedar mulch and proceeded to strap it on top of the rack/panniers. When I paid for the mulch in full cycling garb, the cashier said "How the hell are you going to carry that on a bike?!" I pointed at the bike and said "watch."
Another time I bought a 48inch double fluorescent light fixture. I used the elastic straps to mount it on my back pack and rode it home with some what of a forward lean. Going under a low bridge on the pathway, I was so intent on keeping low and not snagging that I missed the best straight line I've ever had, good looking girl rides past, ( I wasn't going too fast ) she says "that's quite a package" I missed it completely! just said something about no headroom. D'oh! :bang:
This thread is full of inspiration :)
Best I've done so far is 30 lbs of porduce - this was before I got the big panniers, so there was a bit of juggling involved. And the people at the pet food store think I am completely insane for carrying cat litter and cat food home on my bike!
When I paid for the mulch in full cycling garb, the cashier said "How the hell are you going to carry that on a bike?!" I pointed at the bike and said "watch."
Ah, that's a great feeling. :D One of the first times I got a full load of groceries on my bike, there was a lady parked very nearby, watching me from her idling vehicle. I could see a look of amazement/confusion as eventually the entire shopping cart load disappeared into various bags, and I rode off. :D
When I was still running my old trike with 20 inch rear wheels I hauled an 8 foot long hardwood workbench home. The new owners of a house a few streets over didn't want the bench and put it on the side of the road with a 'Free' sign on it. Fortunately it was fairly flat going to get back home, but I still managed to bend the rear axle due to the weight of the thing. It's a really good solid bench and it now has pride of place in my workshop :D
Ah, that's a great feeling. :D One of the first times I got a full load of groceries on my bike, there was a lady parked very nearby, watching me from her idling vehicle. I could see a look of amazement/confusion as eventually the entire shopping cart load disappeared into various bags, and I rode off. :D
That is always fun! :thumb:
Aaron:)
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