Utility Cycling - What Utility Rides/Trips/hauls/errands did you do today???

Laundry
http://i478.photobucket.com/albums/rr147/Rod_Smith/bike/DSC01943.jpg

Laundry
http://i478.photobucket.com/albums/rr147/Rod_Smith/bike/DSC01943.jpg

Nice location....and different from the work DC pics.

Would you believe that's a bad neighborhood? I know a guy who got knocked off his recumbent and beaten about a tenth of a mile up the trail from there and it wasn't an isolated incident. I was standing on the East Coast Greenway when I took that picture. I was standing on the MBT (Metropolitan Branch Trail) when I took this picture.
http://i478.photobucket.com/albums/rr147/Rod_Smith/bike/DSC01914.jpg

Would you believe that's a bad neighborhood? I know a guy who got knocked off his recumbent and beaten about a tenth of a mile up the trail from there and it wasn't an isolated incident. I was standing on the East Coast Greenway when I took that picture. I was standing on the MBT (Metropolitan Branch Trail) when I took this picture.
http://i478.photobucket.com/albums/rr147/Rod_Smith/bike/DSC01914.jpg

I can believe it. There's crime everywhere in the world where there are humans, which is most of the planet. I know the locals here find it funny that I'm so cautious and still lock everything up (house, shop/garage, vehicle, etc.). I was much more cautious when living in the D.C. area. I also took advantage of self-defense courses while living there, too. I guess a big part of it is growing up female, you get a lot more security indoctrination, at least my generation did. Where ever you are, you need to stay alert to your surroundings. Far too many people don't and many are distracted with personal music players, etc.

Saturday I did a trip to the library, hardware store, and ended up my year of car-less commuting (http://bitratchet.wordpress.com/2010/04/03/year-of-bike-commuting-ends-with-gasoline/)...by buying a gallon of gasoline--and having it drip on my panniers :-(

Yesterday included a trip to the farmer's market, then the dollar store for some cheap storage containers. Time for spring cleaning--bikes and house :)

I didn't haul two boxes on my trailer with a bike made out of bamboo, but I framed this shot to make it look like I did.
http://i478.photobucket.com/albums/rr147/Rod_Smith/bike/DSC02171.jpg

People are always asking me if I built my trailer. No, but I've parked next to someone who made his or her own bike. :o
http://i478.photobucket.com/albums/rr147/Rod_Smith/bike/DSC02164.jpg

Don't try to carry loads that don't fit in your Cadillac. Call us.
http://i478.photobucket.com/albums/rr147/Rod_Smith/DC_/DSC02187.jpg

Nice... a bamboo bike... wouldn't a rope be more appropriate tied around the rack as opposed to the krypto? Thanks for sharing about the greenway in your previous post, qms!

Lock made of hemp? I think you're onto something there, DH! :D

I wonder how a bamboo bike would hold up in Vancouver's rain, could see it starting to grow leaves or something.

Don't try to carry loads that don't fit in your Cadillac. Call us.
http://i478.photobucket.com/albums/rr147/Rod_Smith/DC_/DSC02187.jpg

Dont be silly, why would they call you? These fellas look to determined to call anyone. Look they even missed the passing UPS van :D

Regards
Tom

145056
I had been looking for a cheap trailer for doing chores around town and I finally scored one. This is the first trip I made with it. Hauling some things I sold on an online auction to the P.O. Now I'm trying to teach my dog to ride in it, but so far, she isn't having any part of it.

Two signs
http://i478.photobucket.com/albums/rr147/Rod_Smith/bike/DSC02227.jpg

There is a bike rack a few feet from here, but I can't resist parking this way. I was locked here while making the pick, not just for the pic. :D.

Just to be clear, I have two signs on board, there are at least 5 NO BIKES signs in a row there and at least as many on the other side of the enterance to this horrible for messengers government building which we have never been allowed in and now go through laborious screening just to pick up from a courier box within sight of the entrance.

Yesterday, I rode the longest ever to see a client (in my computer consulting business): 15 miles each way. It took 70 minutes out and 60 minutes back. Good weather. She was pretty surprised and kept offering to loan me her car to get back home.

Carried 5 X 8 ft landscaping ties home from the Big Box Store. 25 lbs each total 125 lbs
http://marty-thejerseypedaler.blogspot.com/

Carried 5 X 8 ft landscaping ties home from the Big Box Store. 25 lbs each total 125 lbs
http://marty-thejerseypedaler.blogspot.com/

Diggin' your trike, bent4me.

Carried 5 X 8 ft landscaping ties home from the Big Box Store. 25 lbs each total 125 lbs
http://marty-thejerseypedaler.blogspot.com/

Nice bike; impressive load.

Woodpecker Chariot
Be carefull when stopping at junctions - Slow down very gently or else you may feel a slight tapping of wood on the back of your head :D

http://www.bikeforums.net/attachment.php?attachmentid=145635&d=1270937940

Regards
Tom

Sometimes it's hard to get the tub of mail in the shot.
http://i478.photobucket.com/albums/rr147/Rod_Smith/bike/DSC02311.jpg

Another day, another wicker trike
http://i478.photobucket.com/albums/rr147/Rod_Smith/bike/DSC02313.jpg

love the fenders on that wicker trike. but the total wickerness is bit much for me

Just a 10 pound box of oranges. Stuffed what I could into the pannier, and bungee'd it tight. Wish the panniers I had sat flush with the top of my rack instead a good 1/2 inch above it.

146604

146605

Okay, I didn't haul anything, but we had our first warm day of the year yesterday so I went on a 14-mile trek into the forest (I'm still cautious about going too deeply into the forest because the grizzlies and black bears haven't been out of hibernation that long and are still more dangerous). My trips into the forest are always dual-purpose--enjoying being out in nature as well as looking for fallen trees and marking any I find on my GPS unit so I come back with my truck and chainsaw. (I don't fell trees since I'm always by myself.) Here's a short video with some footage from yesterdays ride.


http://www.vimeo.com/11000165

I rode my wife's old steel trash-find Giant Yukon ("The Purple Nurple") to the LBS to get a new set of shifters and brake levers. Wound up with a big set of silver SKS fenders, too. * mile beach side R/T all alone in the drizzle. Perfect.

Here's mine for today. Got a lot of funny looks from people.147267

Here's mine for today. Got a lot of funny looks from people.147267

It kinda of looks like a rickshaw..... you could give rides

Yesterday, I put my dog in the kiddie trailer. He's an extremely tall 75-pound greyhound. He wasn't happy. On the return trip, he kept getting out just as I started to move, which was very disruptive. Eventually, I had to strap him in so he couldn't get up. Gotta work out something more comfortable for him.

Yesterday, I put my dog in the kiddie trailer. He's an extremely tall 75-pound greyhound. He wasn't happy. On the return trip, he kept getting out just as I started to move, which was very disruptive. Eventually, I had to strap him in so he couldn't get up. Gotta work out something more comfortable for him.

Good luck. I've given up trying to get my dog to ride in the trailer. She can't get out, I've got her seat-belted in it and there's a nice cushion for her, but she cries constantly (gets louder the further we go). I think my dog is terrified because she's low and behind me so she can't see me and we're riding in traffic, which scares her.

He seemed fine once we got under way. At the worst, he was resigned. And he might have been enjoying the sights and smells.

I have another greyhound who adores rides in the car, and I suspect she'll like the trailer more. She's also smaller.

I really should have taken a picture. It was a cute sight to see Red in the trailer.

Laundry day is no longer dreaded...

http://hphotos-sjc1.fbcdn.net/hs502.snc3/26366_378346602990_638192990_3814993_2859989_n.jpg

Rode into the nearby town 9 miles away to mail some things at the Post Office. We keep getting teased with a few nice days and then pummeled with windy, wet, cold weather. This is to be our only dry day this week, but it's cold. I finally got the chain and gears cleaned and lubed this weekend. Wow, I'd forgotten how much more smoothly it pedals and shifts with everything cleaned and lubricated. Rode like a new bike.

anyone ever carry a grandma on their bike???

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs459.snc3/26242_1405016478191_1015752767_31205500_942927_n.jpg

Wife and I rode down to the grocery store after it cooled off (read: got dark) and bought the equivalent of six paper bags' worth of groceries. We each have two baskets, one on her handlebars and one mounted on the top center of the rear rack, and I have one on each side of my rear rack. All but the one on her handlebars aren't designed for bikes, but are nice and sturdy and are just a little wider at their bases than normal bike baskets, so we managed to hold a good amount.

We frequently ride down to restaurants within about three miles of home. We figure we can offset the calorie intake by not driving.

From Saturday (have been away from the interweb for a few days).

You would think I would not worry about getting a flat with all those tyres except they are all for wheel sizes that are no longer made like the Ea1 size on my 1955 Raleigh... I got three pairs of those as well as some rarish 27 inch racing tyres, and a pair of 26 by 1 3/8 wheels with tyres for a rebuild I am doing.

The bags were also loaded with a variety of small parts and more hard to find tyres.

http://www.ravingbikefiend.com/bikepics/tirehaul2.JPG

http://i206.photobucket.com/albums/bb84/westhavenmusician/Bike/2010_5_1123.jpg


http://i206.photobucket.com/albums/bb84/westhavenmusician/Bike/2010_5_1126.jpg

To target for super soaker water pistols for the boys, then to Lowe's for dog fencing and a composter.

Totally got picked up in the Water Toys aisle of Target. Made my day. I think the bike has me looking pretty young these days. :)

Bike+Trailer makes a good shopping cart in the garden section of Lowe's.

Sucks that Lowe's made my local HW store close, though. It's a heck of a ride up a huge hill and deep into asphalt desert territory...

That's a great shot, the one with you and your boys in it.

I carried some boxes from the Smithsonian to DOJ. The carousel was closed.
http://i478.photobucket.com/albums/rr147/Rod_Smith/bike/DSC02589.jpg

Sunday night, I had an unplanned adventure!

Last week, I blew my car engine out. I think the head gaskets are blown, and this could cost me thousands. I haven't gotten around to bringing it into the shop yet, so I either borrow my wife's car or cycle.

I have a rehearsal every Sunday night in Mendham, about 24 miles from here. My friend Debbie and I take turns driving. Except right now, I am in an opera production that she's not in, so I stay later than she does. I asked her for a ride and put my bike in her trunk. I was going to ride back to the Morristown station and take the train home.

I left promptly at 10pm even though rehearsal wasn't over yet. The train was at 10:30. That should be enough time to ride 7 miles.

It's a rural road, very dark and somewhat hilly. I was riding a Raleigh Twenty, a folding bike built in 1973. It has an upright riding position, 20" wheels, and a Sturmey Archer 3-speed hub. Of course, it has rubber pedals. I didn't estimate the time well for such a slow heavy (40 pounds) bike.

It was kind of scary, and I thought about foxes and bears while riding in the dark.

I got to the train station just as the train was pulling away.

I called my wife and asked her if she'd be willing to pick me up. She said no. Nice, huh? She had to get up early for a medical exam. We agreed to meet somewhere between where I was (Morristown) and home (Maplewood). So I rode more hills all the way to Livingston. We got to the meeting point almost at the same time. The Morristown-to-Livingston route was along a shopping highway, speed limit of 50 at some points. But traffic was very light, thank goodness.

My calves still hurt.

And yesterday, I used the Twenty to haul some stuff. I brought a computer over to a client for her to rent it. I never before had taken a working computer in a trailer, for fear of damaging the hard disk. But this is my computer, not a client's. From there, I went grocery shopping. I didn't even take the least steep hill back home. I took one of the steeper streets, with the load and the 3-speed, heavy bike.

My calves hurt. But in a good way. Should I be stretching them?

Today, I did another bicycle delivery by bicycle. Last time I put two full size bikes in my kiddie trailer. It was rough going. This time, I rode a full size bike. This is the bike I was delivering to someone who just bought it. I put my folding bike (Raleigh Twenty) in the trailer. I have found that putting weight forward helps a lot. It reduces the pull-push oscillation. I dropped the bike off, took my bike out of the trailer and towed the trailer home emtpy.

After teasing us with a few nice spring days, Mother Nature has been pounding us with cold, wet and very windy weather for the past few weeks. Although it was windy today, 12 MPH winds were much better than yesterday's 25-40 MPH winds and we had a break in the rain so I took the opportunity to cycle into the nearby town 9 miles away to go to the post office. I'm ready for this weather pattern that we're in to end.

http://pic50.picturetrail.com/VOL442/7447283/15664551/386699237.jpg

http://pic50.picturetrail.com/VOL442/7447283/15664551/386699240.jpg

http://pic50.picturetrail.com/VOL442/7447283/15664551/386699238.jpg

Wow, what kind of bird is that?!

the bird shot is awesome-- are those from a helmet cam or....?

Thanks noglider and standalone. That's an eagle sculpture. There are a couple of local artists who work in metal, including bronze. The town has bought some of their works and has them on display in various parts of town. That one is my favorite of the eagle sculptures (there must be about a half dozen eagle sculptures around town). The shots are from my new Kodak Playsport HD camcorder, which is mounted to my handlebars. I just captured a couple of stills from the video. It was my first time shooting with it and I made the mistake of choosing 720p at 60 frames per second and I wasn't too happy with the video. Next ride I'm going to set it at 30 frames per second. I like the camera, though. It can be used underwater, up to 10 feet. Incentive to take my tiny boat out this summer.

Here's a better photo that I took of the same sculpture a while ago.

http://pic50.picturetrail.com/VOL442/7447283/14154973/373969019.jpg

Today, I did another bicycle delivery by bicycle. Last time I put two full size bikes in my kiddie trailer. It was rough going. This time, I rode a full size bike. This is the bike I was delivering to someone who just bought it. I put my folding bike (Raleigh Twenty) in the trailer. I have found that putting weight forward helps a lot. It reduces the pull-push oscillation. I dropped the bike off, took my bike out of the trailer and towed the trailer home emtpy.

Tom - You seem to like that Twenty a great deal and we have ways of making them lighter, faster, and capable of holding their own against modern folders and they can be very capable towing vehicles as well.

:)

The stock weight of an R20 is about 36 pounds... mine was down to 24 pounds before I put the stock fenders and a rack on it.

I dunno. I'll wait for now. My daughter may want to bring it to college with her in September. She'll be in Olympia, WA. It's a nice bike, but I may not fall in love with it, no matter what I did. I had one many years ago, and I started souping it up the way John S Allen did his. I put on drop bars and an S5 hub. I built wheels with aluminum rims, BMX tires, and a quick release front hub. I probably put toe clips on it, too. When it was all done, it still wasn't all that great to ride.

Mostly, I'm just seeing what kind of uses each bike is good for. The Twenty does seem good for hauling. If I used the rear rack or added a front rack, it could hold quite a lot. I saw women using them for shopping in England in 1981. And unlike my Sports, the gearing is right. The Sports is geared much too high.

My calves hurt!

I hauled my first human cargo on the Xtradale today. I took a teammate back to his dorm after pole vault practice a few minutes ago. It was a heavy haul up some hills, and I could feel the thing flexing side to side a bit, but otherwise very nice. I don't have any pictures, but I'm sure I will have more opportunity to get some.

I don't have a bike or trailer that could handle today's task. I needed to get a 14' 2x6 pressure treated plank at the lumber yard which is about 1km from my house.
So, I had to do it on foot and carry it home on my shoulder. Sorry, no pictures.

I don't have a bike or trailer that could handle today's task. I needed to get a 14' 2x6 pressure treated plank at the lumber yard which is about 1km from my house.
So, I had to do it on foot and carry it home on my shoulder. Sorry, no pictures.

You could have strapped it to the top tube. Not much different in time from walking 1 km vs loading up a bike, but any further and a bike would have been much faster.

:)ensen.

Last night I rode out to a local music store chain that does a lot of trade-in business. I had a mandolin, an acoustic/electric bass, and an EHX Memory Man pedal loaded up. Rode it up a million hills into a headwind and up into super-fast suburban concrete jungle four lane high speed shopping strip (Route 1).

I wheeled and dealed (Wheelt and Dealt?) and traded only two of the three things I had planned on trading in for a vintage Ibanez similar to what Sting used to play. Sweet!

http://www.geocities.jp/visrds/ibanez-rb850-10.JPG

I was late for choir practice, so I took Route 1 directly into the next town, right down Route 1 through the 4-6+ lane Route 1/I-95 interchange.

Amazing thing was, traffic simply evaporated for the two or three miles of the ride-- just me, my bike, my basses, and my trailer. (and the headwind!) zoom!

Sharp looking axe! Congrats. Glad you got to keep your other bass. Is the acoustic/electic an electric double bass? Post pics.

Hauled the girlfriend to a local free concert series last night to avoid dealing with traffic/parking. Only went about 3 miles but it was quite hilly although the xtra-cycle handled it well.

She said the one thing any self respecting utility cyclist wants to hear "when we get a new car in a few months we should take some of the money from the old one so you can get a stoke monkey" I am in love...

Some thought the fax machine would mean the end of bicycle messengers. But who's going to transport the fax machines?
http://i478.photobucket.com/albums/rr147/Rod_Smith/bike/DSC02701.jpg