Discoveries by my rubber chicken and I about using my bike as a grocery cart

Guest writer Hans Bernhardt is a Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition member and active with the Sunnyvale Local Team.

I just HAD TO SHARE THIS!

You see, last week I attended Tim Oey's awesome presentation "How to Haul Anything By Bike,” by Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority and SVBC, and learned a lot!

Something Tim advised is to use our bike with bag(s) and our basket(s) as a grocery cart in the store.

An argument for this is that our bikes are typically about the same size as a grocery cart, and just as maneuverable. So it is very convenient. And they’re also more secure, because for stores that do not have safe bike parking nearby, it is much better to keep your bike with you. Store staff should be happy to know you will keep shopping there as a cyclist . 🙂

See SVBC’s full lineup of online and in-person bike classes, including the How to Haul Anything By Bike video.

So the other evening while out training with my rubber chicken, as we talked about food items we needed at home, the rubber chicken came up with a cool idea! We would test Tim's advice! So we headed to Sprouts on El Camino. The staff is very cheerful and helpful there.

So here are the results of our tests:

Test 1

RESULT: INDEED, A grocery cart and bike DO take up about the same room!

AND THEN

Test 2

RESULT

A grocery cart DOES NOT make a good bike carrier. So better stick to just food items. BETTER YET, forgo the grocery cart and just use the bike with bag to get the few things needed. PLUS as I use my bag, I will already know how much fits that I can carry home (vs. shopping with cart and not properly estimating what will fit in my bag.). Very convenient!

Disclaimer: This stunt was performed by a highly trained professional rubber chicken. Do not perform this at home. 😉

SO there you have it! For trips where I only need a few items, that little "Ortlieb" bag on my bike holds plenty. For other trips requiring more, I have side baskets.