Getting Groceries

I'm transitioning from driving my car to riding my bike as daily transportation.

One problem that has come up is stopping at the grocery store to pick up a few things. I have a messenger bag that I use as a briefcase, but, you can't really fir a gallon of milk into ot.

The other day, I hit on the idea of a newspaper carrier's bag. www.raksystems.com/carrbags.htm

I figure I could fold it up, put it in a plastic bag, and carry it under the seat when I'm not using it.

The thing is, the bag is heavy canvas, has a somewhat stiff bottom, and is not easily stowable.

I'm thinking something like it, only in nylon would work better.

Does anyone have any idea where I might find something like that, or have another idea?

Could bungee the entire bagful onto the passenger seat. A WolfTrap should do nicely. Best to have the groceries double-bagged and could be placed into your own lightweight nylon bag for extra security or in case of rain.

I use my tank bag. It's expandable, and holds a fair bit.

[img] Found this picture of the WolfTrap bungee.

Or Not.

I mounted one of those plastic bins on the bake of my city bike and also have a pair of soft saddle bags. The bin will hold a couple of steaks, bread, salad makings and half a case of beer OR a gallon of milk, fuit, bread, and eggs. With the saddle bags I can fit a whole weeks of groceries but with a bike it's easier to shop every day and get what looks best for dinner.

It's a thrill when a 4 pack of ass wipe falls out from under the bungee and gets jammed between your rear wheel and the frame. Getting a bungee tangled up in the rear wheel is pretty exciting too.

Get a good napsack/backpack. You can even color coordinate to your bike.:huh: If item(s) is/are heavy loosen so it sits on back seat. I also have one of wifes old huge denim shoulder handbags that a gallon of milk just fits in. :kiss: Punch anyone in the head that makes fun of it or swing it at them.:angry:

For years I had a good quality, heavy codura nylon daypack, the shoulder straps just wrapped around the sissy bar. If it was a heavy load I pulled out the bungees from the pack, and bungee'd it immoble. Never had a spill. Could even wear it on your back. I never liked the over one shoulder types of packs. Besides always being off center, they like to move, blow, bounce around. I think something light/thin enough to stow under your seat will be too light for something heavy like milk...or beer.

Thanks for the responses.

So far, I'm still leaning towards the paperboy's bag.

I have a Wolf Trap bungee. It works well, but doesn't hold much.

The backpack sounds like a good idea, but it wouldn't be storable on the bike.

I tend to stop by the grocery store on the way home from work, picking up a couple of bag's worth of stuff. More than would fit under the wolf trap, but it looks like it would fit in the paperboy's bag easily, with no danger of spillage.

I live less than a mile from the grocery store, so riding with the bag slung over my shoulder is not that big a deal. I'm driving home at 2am, so there is no traffic.

I'm also thinking I could fold the paperboy's bag up, put it in a plastic bag, and stow it under the seat.

The other thing that occurred to me this afternoon is that it will help me be a little greener, too.

One of the reasons I'm going to the bike as my daily commuter is to leave a smaller carbon footprint. I see myself and so many other people driving down the road all by themselves in ton-and-a-half vehicles, and it just seems so wasteful. Yes, I'll save money, too, but it'll be years before those savings will offset what I have invested in the bike, even if gas goes to 4 or 5 bucks a gallon. At 3.00 a gallon, I'm only saving about 9.00 a week; at 5.00 a gallon I'll save 17.50 a week. So far, I have over 3 grand in the bike.

Another thing that bothers me is all the plastic bags that get used once, then thrown out. I've been saving them and taking them to be recycled, but, with the paperboy's bag, I can stop using them altogether.

I just wish I could find one in nylon, or some other more durable material that would do better being stored underneath the seat.

Hmmmm, sidecar? :whistle:

I bought a nice set of expandable saddlebags for just that reason. I usually stop for milk or other small items on my way home from work and plan to utilize them for that purpose. I just got my '83 550 so I don't know what the mileage will be but compare to my ranger at about 27 I should be able to pay for the bike pretty quickly.

Here's the problem with savings on gas. It's not as much as you think.

Look at my situation. I drive about 8000 miles per year (150 per week)

Let's say I ride my bike for ALL of them (which I clearly won't be able to)

My Jeep Cherokee averages 20 mpg. That means I'll burn 400 gallons of gas per year (8000 miles / 20 mpg).

So far, my KZ650 gets 36 mpg. Now, I've yet to get any serious riding since we've gotten it running properly, and I've also changed the gearing. Let's use 40 mpg, for now. At 40 mpg, that means I'll use 200 gallons of gas, instead of 400 (8000 miles per year / 40 mpg). That's a savings of 200 gallons per year.

At 3.00 per gallon, I save 600 per year.

At 4.00 per gallon, I save 800 per year.

My actual savings will be less, because I will still drive my Jeep when it's cold, raining, etc. Even in good weather, I'll drive it at least once every other week, just to avoid the deterioration that comes from letting a vehicle sit up idle.

Even at 4.00 per gallon, and the best case scenario of saving 800 per year, I have over 3000 in the bike (so far), so it'll be 4 years before I see any real savings.

Now, your bike should get better mileage (KZ550 should do 50+, shouldn't it?), and you may drive more miles per year, so you may save more. What mileage does your Ranger get, how many miles per week/year do you drive, and what mileage does your KZ550 get?

In my case, I'm replacing one toy (My Formula Firebird) with another (my KZ650), and I should be able to recoup most, if not all of the money I've put into my bike from the sale of the Firebird and all the parts I have stockpiled for it, so, I'll actually see savings sooner than the 3+ years it would take to recoup my costs normally. If someone's not in that kind of situation, though, buying a bike just to save money on gas is not financially smart, unless your car gets REALLY bad mileage, you drive A LOT of miles, or both.