Frozen cargo?
 

What do you recommend to safely transport frozen & chilled foods?

Our nearest supermarket is at least 7 miles away. I would love to use my bike to do grocery runs, but I fear that anything frozen/chilled will get too warm before I can make it home. I estimate the trip would take about 45 minutes or so from market to home, allowing for added weight and no direct route available. Is this just not do-able with frozen/chilled cargo?

Any and all suggestions welcome, please. :)

They may defrost a little bit but it isn't that big of a deal. Make sure they're wrapped in in a plastic bag to prevent leakage on other groceries and you'll be fine. I've done five miles with groceries without problems at all, well almost none. Avoid dropping off a curb if you are carrying eggs and put your bread on top and away from your bungee cords.

Tow a kiddie/pet trailer with a cooler in it. I ride a Schwinn Town & Country Trike that I carry a 28 can cooler for frozen/perishable items and I pack my non-perishables around it. If I didn't have the trike I would put together an Xtracycle and come up with a kiddie/pet trailer for overflow and "Frozen Item Transit"

Due to the hot climate here in Houston I'm of the take-no-chances school of thought on frozen and perishable food. My closest store is just a mile, but I don't relish the idea of coming home to partly cooked steaks and eggs. So, when I need these items I find it worth it to pack a cooler and bring it with me.

If you're buying a variety of groceries you should be able to arrange them in your bike bag to provide considerable insulation - this can either be instead of a cooler or in addition to putting things in one.
Also consider that some frozen items can be allowed to thaw without harming them while others (e.g. ice cream) can't.

So on the bottom and sides of the bag put items that won't crush easily but do insulate (cereal boxes, canned goods, pasta, etc.), next refrigerated items like meat, then place some of the frozen things that can thaw (frozen vegetables, juices, etc.) around things like ice cream that can't. Finally place good insulators that are crushable on top (eggs over the frozen things and then loaves of bread over those). So the things that need to stay frozen are well-insulated by being in the center of the bag and surrounded by other cold food. In turn, the things that should be refrigerated are kept cold by being near frozen items. This should easily handle a trip of 45 minutes to an hour with a full grocery load.

There are plenty of collapsible fabric coolers, as well as the larger insulated lunch boxes.

:)ensen.

I use a trailer and an ice chest.
A couple of Blue Ice® fake ice packs in a pannier does fairly well too.

If you have waterproof panniers a pouring a bag of ice over you perishables will help them keep for a good while.

My grocery store is only maybe a mile away but I like to use my Wike trailer with a mini cooler. It's not that I can't make it home before the stuff thaws but hauling a cooler justifies the money I spent on the trailer. :)

I use a styrofoam box that Omaha Steaks came in on my trailer, because it weighs next to nothing, and I have a few different fabric coolers for when I don't have the trailer. Some grocery stores sell silver reusable bags that insulate fairly well for short trips like that, especially if they are small enough to fit in panniers or otherwise out of direct sunlight.

Those things (Omaha Steak boxes) get reused around our house for all sorts of things, going to the grocery store is one.

I'd suggest going with those store sold freezer bags or some type of cooler setup.
You can use blue ice type things or ice (frozen water bottles?). Most stores now also sell dry ice. A small block might help at added expense and weight. Other than melting ice cream, I think you'd be fine with just some insulation. It'd be about the same as most housewives do with their cars.

My tail trunk is foam lined, and does an excellent job of keeping frozen and cold stuff until I get home.

I use a "cool bag" (insulated shopping bag keeps food cold or hot) from the supermarket with an ice pack thrown in for good measure. I also pack my water bottle on top for easy access. In 40C + weather you look forward to stopping in the shade for a drink. Frozen food won't stay totally frozen but good enough to get it home - way better than the boot of a car! These cool bags are great - use in the winter too as pretty much waterproof but the cheaper supermarket ones don't stand up to daily abuse.

+1 on insulated soft bag and blue ice

http://www.school-for-champions.com/...oam_cooler.jpg

:D

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A Worksman Ice Cream Trike should keep things cool.

http://worksmancycles.com/shopsite_s...ikewwheels.jpg

http://worksmancycles.com/shopsite_s...frontload.html

I'd like to thank everyone for their wonderful ideas! We found a kiddie trailer that had been converted to a pet trailer on Craig's List, so we bought that and are now searching for a small cooler that will fit nicely inside. I have to tell you, when I told my husband what I wanted to do he was much more enthusiastic about the idea than I ever expected. He's already using the trailer as "his" cargo trailer, that is when we're not towing our Havanese around.

Here's a pic of him taking the trailer out for the first time - to the post office - with Pepper (Havanese) along for the ride.

Again, thank you everyone!

Does that mean AllenG and I win the thread?! :)

Along with Sirrus Rider :thumb:

They were all great ideas (okay maybe the ice cream bike was a bit much)!

On my cargo tricycle, I've used a cheap styrofoam cooler.

On tour we have put a bag of ice into an Ortleib pannier (they are waterproof) and then put the food we wanted to keep chilled in there (fish). Worked great.

Oops, I missed his post. sorry, no slight intended.

I line my Ortlieb's with Refletix. It's sold by the roll in home centers and is basically foil covered bubble wrap.

More photos and info here...
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/worksmanfrontloaders/

Remember when packing , that cold [ frozen items ] the temperature FALLS, so pack the frozen items on top of the cooler, box, etc. Also, old newspapers make a good insulator. Line the bottom & sides of a cardboard box with newspapers, pack groceries, put frozen items n top, & some newspapers on top as well.

Xtracycle sells a cooler
 

Their cooler is long and narrow, to fit into one of their Freeloader bags:

http://www.xtracycle.com/sport-utility-cooler-slim.html

An elegant solution, I think.