…contrary to our cashier’s expectations, we got the whole mammoth cart on the bikes with room to spare. The first time we did this we spent as much time packing the bikes as we did shopping. But as the weeks go by, we’re getting faster and finding we have room for more. Once the sideloaders reach a certain “fullness” I can’t resist stuffing them to make it all worthwhile (twice I’ve sent Anne back for more beer). We’re learning some tricks on that front. (A bakfiets would would be the ultimate in easy packing, but talking to Todd at Clever Cycles it’s probably too darn hilly here.)
And who would have thought the Wald basket, while cool in an old-fashioned-paperboy way, would represent a packing revelation? This little 14×9x9 beauty holds cameras, beer, wine, coffee cups, sweaters, gloves, hats, lunch, stuffed pink piggies, American Girl dolls, and the occasional U-lock. Once again, those guys at Rivendell are onto something simple that works fantastically. When Anne gets the rigid fork on her Xtra, she’s getting a Wald, too.
Check the the thumbnail image for some packing details.
-Tim
9 responses so far ↓
lamarguerite // October 29, 2007 at 8:45 pm |
Cool biking blog . . . And thanks for mentioning my post on ‘The Velibataires’ on another site. You may also enjoy Seacat at WordPress. She is just completing a one year experiment of no using her car at all . . .
marguerite
http://lamarguerite.wordpress.com
Kathleen on Information // October 30, 2007 at 7:02 am |
Nice. The Dutch would be proud of your bike packing talents.
Smudgemo // October 30, 2007 at 7:17 am |
Thank goodness that you have room for beer, although with the lines at our local TJ’s, even I wouldn’t go back for more upon discovery of unused space.
What’s really impressive is unless you are buying liquor, $187 at TJ’s is a lot of groceries.
Tim K // October 30, 2007 at 7:31 am |
KOI: except I didn’t see anyone carry that much at one time. They (and this is a HUGE generalization) seem to like to shop everyday. That way they can just loop some small bags over their handlebar and still talk on the cell phone and look elegant. No danger of elegance here!
Smudgemo: Beer is always important. Luckily we’ve found a weekday morning window where they’ve a) just restocked, and b) aren’t full of shoppers yet. BTW, our puritan liquor laws here mean TJs can’t sell liquor. I can’t believe how we go through groceries!
Marge // October 30, 2007 at 1:33 pm |
you should talk to Aaron Goss at Aaron’s Bike
Repair in West Seattle. http://www.rideyourbike.com/
He has a bakfiets.
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Kathleen on Information // October 31, 2007 at 5:42 am |
True, you’d never see them with that many groceries but they sure pack a lot of other stuff on the bike. You bought more groceries than what would fit in our little tiny fridge.
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