"Dukester" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...
Quoted message said:sheets are tough enough to tote by hand. So I'm curious: is a bike really
only good for just transporting people and small items? Is anyone out there
using it somehow for more?
With a regular bike trailer (the type that is designed to carry a
couple of kids; Burley) and a couple of panniers I found I could
easily carry all of the stuff I usually bought at the grocery store
and other similar stores (stuff that before the trailer, I usually
carried in the automobile), plus one child.
When we got to three small children plus groceries I started to notice
a definite crimp on available space--but that's another story. (The
three children fit nicely--tandem plus two-seat bike trailer--but the
little rascals' breathing requirements really hinder one's ability to
stack groceries on them in the trailer, thus reducing the
cargo-carrying capacity drastically.)
Once I figured out how to do grocery shopping, various small errands
around town, school trips, library trips, music lessons, etc., on the
bike I found that covered maybe 90% of my usual around-town trips.
So, aside from commuting to work (which is unfortunately about 120
miles further round trip than I'd feel happy bike commuting) I find
that the car is sitting in the driveway more and more.
That approach seems to be reasonable and work for most of
us--especially those of us who don't live in an urban core with good
public transportation. Not all or nothing, but rather--start by
biking the trips you feel comfortable doing, then gradually expand
your repertoire. Extend your season a little later in the fall, a
little earlier in the spring, figure out routes to place you never
thought you could ride to, figure out how to carry a little larger
load, and so on.
But don't be a martyr about it--if you can't figure out how to haul 10
sheets of plywood on your bike, then don't. If you don't like riding
in cold driving rain, then don't. If you can't figure out how to get
to a certain destination via a route you feel comfortable riding, then
just take the car to that place.
Incidentally, more and more I find myself consciously choosing
destinations that are more easily accessible by bike (shopping at the
grocery store in my neighborhood more and the giant megacenter on
Highway 942 less) and planning purchases just a little to make them
fit better (instead of buying 4 cases of paper towels at once, I'll
buy one case on each of four different trips over a period of time).
All this comes under the umbrella of "how to expand your
repertoire"--how to get more done by biking/walking & reduce the
dependency on the automobile.
Sometimes it costs a little more (the local store does run a little
higher than the megacenter) but you have to figure you're saving gas
and wear & tear on the auto, plus getting an enjoyable exercise period
in--for which many people pay $X per day at the gym . . .
When you take the gradual approach, pretty soon you find your car
sitting more and more, and your gut shrinking smaller and smaller.
But it's never been painful or "all or nothing", which all too often
seems to end up being "nothing" rather than "all" . . .
--Brent
bhugh [at] mwsc.edu
