Biking to the Grocery Store

published

2008-06-09

Biking in the City Have you ever tried biking around town? Photo courtesy of wvs

Today when I was checking out at the grocery store I told the bagger that I didn't need any bags. He seemed surprised and said "I've been working here three months and nobody has ever said that before." Apparently not many people have discovered the idea of biking to the grocery store.

I think it is actually really fun. One of the best parts is when your friends see you riding down the road pedaling really hard up a hill on a bike loaded up with gallons of milk and a big bulky backpack. I left one of my friends bent over in laughter after I passed him on the street. But on the more practical side, it also saves on gas money, provides some decent exercise, and you can even pull your bike right into your kitchen instead of carrying all the bags in from the car. Just recently, the grocery store even started giving me a 10 cent discount for saving their bags.

So how reasonable is it? Well I can manage to feed myself for a week off one trip to the store on my bike, and I eat a lot; it costs around $45-$70 a week. So if you don't have a big family to feed and you live within a few miles of a grocery store, it might be reasonable for you too.

Here's how I do it. First I got a cheap bike from Wal-Mart, which is a good deal unless if you are really serious about biking. Then I bought a $35 rear bike rack with a 50 pound weight rating and a pair of Wald folding grocery baskets for $40 from Amazon. The attachments that came with the baskets didn't work, so I used some heavy duty cable ties, which work really well. Cable ties are amazing by the way. I also bring my backpack to hold the lightweight stuff that takes up a lot of space. Every time I go to the store I screw the rack on and take it off when I get home because it is a bit too heavy to leave on all the time. There are some pros and cons with biking to the grocery store, but I recommend giving it a try because it might work well for you too.