Commuting on your day off: running errands by bicycle.
 

Let's try this as an alternative to the How Was Your Commute? thread. I get every other Friday off and sometimes I just go for a pleasure ride, and sometimes I actually get stuff done by bicycle. If you want to share your off-day errands, post away.

I'll start: We got something in the mail that said my son's college bill was messed up. After about a week of my wife *not* getting over to campus to clear it up (she works on the same side of town where my son's college is), I said I would take care of it.

I decided to ride, even though my only other foray over to that side of town took me through some scary neighborhoods. I chose a route that kept me on the west side of town for as long as possible then headed east. Fort Worth is bisected by I35W, and in just a few blocks it can go from run down, but okay, neighborhoods to totally neglected ones and basically there's no way to get to Texas Wesleyan University except to go through one of those.

So after crossing the interstate, things went okay until I spied up ahead a dog in the road at a railroad crossing. Deciding discretion is the better part of valor (and also realizing I'd left my pepper spray at home), I jogged over a block. Problem solved. Actually, not quite. About a half a block later I heard the tickety-tickety of doggie toenails on the road and realized I was being chased. Up out of the seat and two or three strokes bought me some time while I grabbed my water bottle (in the absence of pepper spray, water is the next best option). I turned around to size up my pursuer and noticed he was getting winded and easing up.

Campus was only a half mile beyond that, so I went into the cashier's office, straightened out the mess, and went home on my intended route. This time, I didn't do the jog over a block and went through where I saw the original dog. By then he was gone.

On the way home I met a friend for breakfast and stopped by the LBS, so I guess those stops weren't necessarily errands, but they were on the way home anyway. My work commute is 34 miles round trip, I did almost 28 today instead.

I will occasionally run errands by bike on one of the days I don't ride to work, it's a good compromise that allows me to get some exercise. I walked to the pet food store today, I try and avoid errands I can't walk to before work.

I am trying to understand the co-relation of thread title and the points made.

Well, today I did this. I had to mail some items, return a rental game (for my son) and a few other odds n ends. So 6.5 miles later I am home...

We went out yard-saling on bikes today. I put all 4 panniers on my commuter bike in case we found something good. The first yard sale was a few miles out of town. It was in an affluent area and mentioned bikes, so we thought they might have some cool stuff. It was a bust when we got there, just junk.

So we rode back into town, hit another yard sale and stopped by the library to pick up a book that was on hold. Had lunch at subway (split a sub, and a coke, that we have occasionally, tasted good after riding all over town). Went to another yard sale and then stopped by REI. We didn't buy anything at the yard sales, so we just had a fun bike ride all over town.

Did some grocery shopping at the end and I filled all my panniers.

We still prowl the yard sales as we have hit some in the past that had some great bike stuff, like the $25 pair of new Sidis (!). (Sold them on for $75)

We are going to run back down to the library, as I need to pick up another book that was on hold.

Every day that I don't start the car is a little victory.

If I rambled too much, I apologize. This is the point:

Commuting on your day off: running errands by bicycle.

I immediately connected with the title of this thread. I'm primarily a year-round commuter, and a very destination/goal-oriented cyclist. My usual work-week is Monday through Friday, but my duties are such that I find it useful to go into work on Saturday at my convenience when I can catch up on things without interruptions. Especially during the winter, having a useful destination gets me out on the road.

During the nice weather months I follow a rigorous planned schedule with daily mileage quotients for Century training, with long rides on Saturday. Usually I just elongate my 14 mile straight shot into a longer loop of up to about 75 miles. I can then take a commuter rail home with my bicycle when I'm done at work. So I do indeed commute on my day off. Never on a Sunday though ‘cause that's my day of rest. ;)

8 km round trip to pick up groceries. There was a sale on mozzarella cheese! We'll be enjoying pizza for a month, I am so happy. It's great that the round trip takes a total of maybe 30 minutes while taking the bus would take over an hour including waiting for the bus and the actual on the bus travel. Walking with groceries would mean melted ice cream. Love my bike errands.

I use my bike for errands. But it's not commuting. Commuting is back and forth to work.

Called 'Utility cycling' - check out the forum.

http://www.bikeforums.net/forumdispl...tility-Cycling

I run errands by bike whenever possible

Nope. Commute merely means a trip taken repeatedly. Most often it refers to going to work but not always.

Aware of that and thought about it when starting the post. But while some people mentioned carrying stuff, I was thinking of just.... running errands, whether or not carrying stuff was involved.

I dropped off my fiancee's coat at the dry cleaners yesterday. :o

If it's a nice day, I might jump on the bike and do some errands on my day off, otherwise I'll save the errand trips for either before or after work.

I agree and so does the dictionary

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/commute

I commute to the grocery store on both Saturdays and Sundays. Health food store quite often. Bike co-op downtown.

Any trip less than five miles is a candidate. Trips > 5 miles are pretty rare in my case.

Good lord. Yet another pleasant conversation ruined by a pedant with a full bladder.

One of my joys is to hook up the kiddie trailer and just cruise on a Saturday morning. My 1-1/2y.o. daughter adores it, even in cold weather (a little polar bear!) On the way back, we stop by the farmer's market for some meat, cheese and veggies for a saturday night meal.

I'm a night owl, so tonight I went to go get some bread and milk from the local all-night grocery for breakfast - it was a fine excuse to figure out how to get the cy-fi bluetooth speaker working (crummy sound, but it works in the rain.) The rain squalls were passing, the clouds breaking into a perfect star-flecked sky as I rode along... yes. I like errands.

I ride 5 days a week, year round, but also do my errands by bike. I dont have a car at the moment, and in the last 4 years, have only driven a hire car for three weeks last year.

Today I went to a big department store with imported goods to get good coffee, and some comfort food. It is the start of a 4 day weekend, and I didnt want to be caught short or have to go there later in this short holiday.

The only downside is that the whole trip there and back is on my commuting route! I did stick to my route instead of diverting, as it was nice to ride slowly, I usually average just under 20 miles an hour on my commute. Didnt see much out of the usual, for China, anyway. Did manage to cut across 4 lanes of traffic and split an electric three wheeled bike and an electric two wheeled bike riding no hands on the turn back into my small street :)

z

Okay, I got it. My bikes are not just to commute. I ride to the markets, pharmacy, health appointments, the pools, restaurants, my income properties, community gatherings, malls and races.

I always have my bike with me. When it comes to grocery shopping I have large timbuk2 bag and it does rather well for everything so its all good =)

I rode my bike to watch a movie last Saturday... then I went to the store and got some beer.

we have a car (now)
but both of us probably only drive once very few weeks.

most errands are done by bike, even my wife, she's a trooper.
she often delivers for our bakery by bike.

Went to Post Office to get a package, then Hardware store to get a better plunger. Came back home. Plunger sucks both literally and figuratively. Went back out to get yet another plunger, but ended up getting an auger. I won a 3 hour battle with a clogged toliet. As you can see, I lead a glamorous life.

Doesn't ruin it for me.

I found nothing out of line until your post, with name calling.

i've been car-free since i left the states, and cycling since a year after that.

something weird happened to one of my toes a couple of weeks ago. spider bite? it was swollen and blistered, and just not right. i'd been staying off the bike, out of yoga and not doing my push-ups. i had a backlog of stuff that needed to be done, so i spent $9 on a day-pass for the buses.

other than that, it's hard to remember the last time i didn't run my errands by bike.