Originally Posted by
bragi
For example, one of my challenges is grocery shopping. I have a touring bike with two panniers, and I can carry quite a bit in terms of of weight, but volume is a killer; I keep buying a single roll of toilet paper at one time just so I have room for actual food! And I find myself going to the store a few times a week, rather than just once, just because of the volume issue.
Can you add front racks and panniers as well? Obviously as others have mentioned is a trailer. I rarely used my trailer for groceries though unless I was buying kitty litter as I was already used to buying food in smaller quantities more frequently. It saves having to figure out in advance what to eat and ensures fresher produce. Its especially handy if there are places to stop on route from work to home and particularly if they aren't the big box supermarket which just getting in and around and through it takes excessive amounts of time.
I found at first that it was hard to buy certain things being car-free, and then later determined they were crap and I didn't want to eat crap food anyway: cases of soda, large quantities of milk, frozen prepared food etc.
Since the loads were already light I've never had a problem buying 12 or more rolls at a time, and that means not having to shop for toilet paper very often. If your grocery store is far away is there somewhere closer (drug store?) you could pick up some TP? Otherwise just bungee on top of the rack across the two panniers.
Another problem I have is looking presentable when I get to my destination. Work isn't a problem, because I arrive much earlier than anyone else and can change clothes if necessary, but what about meeting friends at a pub when it's pouring rain? I've arrived at plenty of social occasions wearing dripping-wet rain gear, and fortunately for me everyone has been fairly tolerant, given the local culture, but it's still a bit awkward, and I can imagine that this sort of thing would be social suicide in some other places.
That's what I would do, just peel off the rain gear when I get there. If its somewhere that's a bit awkward and its either slowed down raining or there's an overhang, I'd probably peel off the rain pants, booties, and stuff the helmet and cover etc. in my bag before going in.
So, what are your car-free/ car-lite challenges and how do you deal with them?
I think that since I've become car-lite rather than car-free I have gotten a bit more used to using the car so am perhaps more wussy when it comes to conditions I would have easily dealt with before. We usually park the car off-island so we can't use it for local trips, but have access for longer trips. Things like wondering why isn't the car over here when I have to go to X place in the pitch dark (country) and pouring cold rain. Also not fond of 13-15% hills with cargo
Going to potlucks perhaps with hot food that should stay that way. Hard to keep it flat sometimes too without bringing a trailer. Solution: bring salad instead