KD5NRH

No.

https://www.google.com/maps/place/St...!4d-98.2022633

Coming in from the east on W Tarleton, (crossing 40mph N Harbin just off the top of this view) I go in the back of the Big Lots/Family Dollar lot, and cross the 40mph part of Washington to HEB.
I could get on Washington closer to home, but it's busy and with intermittent shoulder westbound, and mostly no shoulder at all eastbound. It goes to 30mph about a third of the way back to my turnoff, but that's not a lot of help.

Roody

Yes, sometimes distance is less important than trqvel conditions. I used to ride 6 miles to a grocery store rather than 1 mile to a comparable store. This was because I reached the more distant store on a beautiful bike trail instead of a nasty car street.

Walmarts (and similar stores) are almost always located on 4-lane or more streets. If I want to go to a Walmart, I will often take the bus instead of the bike.

RoadRider4321

The nearest Fry's supermarket almost 1 mile from my home. I go grocery shopping for most of my major items once a week.

tandempower

I know of a Walmart with a lovely MUP trail along a 4-lane road with trees and ornamental plants growing in the median between the road and the MUP. The only problem with the MUP is several crossings where you can't really count on right-turning drivers to see you before launching into traffic. For some reason, at the crossing to go into the Walmart, the traffic signal is set up so that drivers have to wait exceptionally long to turn left into Walmart, so when you're crossing by bike you really have to pay attention to traffic that might swoop left if there's an opening. I wish that signal had a red arrow that only turned green at the beginning of the light cycle, so it was easier to cross safely.

Walmart and other one-stop shops are great for LCF, generally, because they allow people to live within walking/biking distance of the store to get everything they need without driving around to multiple stores. Big box stores are basically like mini-malls with grocery shopping and less land-waste because all the stores are combined as departments of the same store, where all the cash registers and other functions of the store are combined and consolidated. Some people hate these big box stores because they want there to be lots of small businesses in separate buildings, but really there's no benefit to using small local businesses to boost the local economy except to pay for everyone to drive around in cars anyway.

Roody

My problem with Walmart is that around here they make no effort to attract or accommodate carfree shoppers. This is in strong contrast to Meijer's, a chain that provides bus amenities, bike facilities, and safer parking lots for pedestrians.

I generall prefer shopping at smaller stores when possible. At the last place I lived, a butcher shop, produce market, and several other locally owned shops were located along a line between my house and my workplace. It was very convenient to shop by bike along this route. The smaller shops provided better merchandise and much better service than the big box stores.

tandempower

One-stop shopping attracts me as a car-free shopper, because it saves time riding around to different stores. Most Walmarts I've been to around Florida have bike parking, and Walmart is the only discount store I know that sells bikes and bike parts, besides Target maybe, but it's a bit pricier. Dollar General and Family Dollar are good general stores, but they don't sell anything bike related.

Roody

I guess your time is a lot more valuable than mine.

I-Like-To-Bike

Walmart has started a free home delivery service through UPS/FedEx for on-line non refrigerated grocery orders over $35. Pretty convenient for shoppers who choose to not not haul heavier items on their bicycle or back. I use this service for delivery of 8-packs of 20oz bottles of Gatorade, ½ gallon jugs of fruit juice, glass jars of Wheat Germ and whatever else comes to mind when I order, delivery to the door takes two or three days. Prices are equal to or less than that found in the store. Not all grocery items are eligible for this service but plenty are..

cooker

Do you have to be home to receive it?

I-Like-To-Bike

No.

cooker

Sounds good.

I-Like-To-Bike

As a further note on the on-line Walmart grocery service, my wife was disappointed that her usual supermarket (HyVe) stopped carrying packages of Saffron rice. I checked the Walmart in town ( my wife won't shop there for aesthetic reasons) and it also did not carry this rice. It was available on-line from Walmart so I just added it to the order. Easy peasy.

KD5NRH

It's not just the time, it's the stuff; I don't want to leave panniers full of WalMart purchases outside (or even in the entry area) of Big Lots for 20-30 minutes while I shop there, nor do I want to ride home to unload and then go back to a store I just passed halfway home.

tandempower

That's another reason I like one-stop shopping.

Roody

I hope you can find a work-around, if you want to be carfree or carlight.

Have you ever had anything stolen? In many years of carfree shopping, I had one bike stolen while I was in the downtown library. I had one tire taco'd while I was in a bookstore near a big university campus. Otherwise, no theft or vandalism. For me, the monetary value of my losses was small compared to the many advantages of carfree shopping.

cooker

My approach to theft has mainly been to ride cheap bikes, bought used for $200 - $250. Ironically, the last bike I had stolen (2005) was new and cost $450, and I was sorry I bought it, so I was both peeved I got robbed, and slightly pleased that they took my least favorite. I have had lights stolen off my bike so I always take anything detachable with me, and one time I'm pretty sure someone flipped the lever on my quick release hub and my wheel could have fallen off, so give your bike a quick look over after its been out for a while. Still, these are rare incidents in 25 years of commuting. In my case I save something like $600 dollars a year on the next least expensive form of commuting - public transit - so I could lose a couple of bikes a year, instead of less than one per decade, and still come out way ahead.

KD5NRH

Meh; I'd still call it car light if I made the car trips into trips the bike isn't practical for and maximized them. For example, stopping at several stores on one loop and buying all the bulky stuff that isn't easy to handle on the bike like 36+ roll packs of toilet paper.

I've had things disappear that I didn't notice were gone until later. I suppose it's possible some of them fell off the rack or out of bags, but I'm generally pretty good about making sure everything is attached well. The other drawback there is that the most expensive/highest theft risk items are the ones that come from the stores that are farthest out. Of course, that means I could hit them last, but that means hauling everything from the closer stores an extra couple of miles over the bigger hills.

Walter S

I've stopped at walmart roughly weekly for several years and leave my trailer hooked up with a simple velcro cover securing the food I'm bringing home from the farmer's market. I go in and shop for 10-30 minutes and nobody messes with my stuff. I often have lunch at the Subway inside.

The bicycle is locked to a rack in a high traffic zone. Most people just don't want to be discovered stealing stuff with no good place to run but heading thru the parking lot. Walmart has greeters, people gathering carts, one or two security guards on duty, at least one if not more in a line of sight to my stuff. I'm familiar to them also.

If my stuff ever gets ripped off I may re-evaluate. But I can afford to take the risk which is obviously not all that significant. I prefer the convenience I'm afforded by not guarding against the worst case scenario every friggin day of my life. I usually make a third stop at Aldi's on the way home and again leave my bike and trailer secured in a conspicuous area right outside the door. Never a problem.

Of course if you're an a-hole you might not want to depend on the kindness of others (karma and all).

Roody

I think sometimes we have to do things differently if we're carfree.

If I bought a few high price things from Store A I would put them in my backpack and carry them with me while I shopped in Store B.

I might buy smaller packs of toilet paper, even if it meant spending a couple nickels more. I have often hung 6-packs of toilet paper off my handlebars for the ride home. They are bulky but light and soft, so they don't hurt if they bang against your knees a bit.

I did belong to a warehouse store (Sam's Club) for years while I was carfree. I often rode my bike there for smaller items like clothing and vitamins. I also had an arrangement with a friend's family. They drove me to Sam's every couple months. They would shop for what they wanted, then pay for it on my membership. That way, they didn't have to pay the annual membership fee. And I got a free ride so I could pick up the bulky items every so often.

And sometimes you just have to accept that there are places you can't shop because you don't have a car. Unfortunately, we live in a car-addicted society. Some retail chains like to locate in the outer fringes in order to save money on real estate and taxes. These chains often have sweetheart deals with local politicians that border on corruption. In many cases, Walmart in particular has closed a store, then opened a new one a couple miles further out. They save enough money on taxes to cover the expense of building a new store! And we accept it because we have been totally brainwashed into thinking that this endless sprawl type of development is normal.

KD5NRH

When I lived in Dallas, there were a lot of stores that wouldn't allow any sort of backpack inside, and wouldn't put it behind the counter, either.

On big ticket items, it can make a major difference; you see a lot of car and heavy equipment dealerships just outside the city limits because in TX, the cities can (and usually do) charge their own 2% sales tax on top of the state's 6.25%. On a $50k purchase, that's a $1,000 tax savings. (And actually, at least picking up heavy equipment from repair is something I've found the bike handy for; ride over, strap it on the loader bucket or telehandler forks and drive back to the site.) Of course, on smaller purchases, convenience outweighs the 2% savings, but some retailers are also avoiding other city issues, like signage ordinances, high-fee permits that are essentially back door taxation, or zoning restrictions.

wolfchild

Why no backpacks ??..What's all the paranoia about ??....Personally I would refuse to shop at any store which doesn't allow me to come in with my backpack.

KD5NRH

Theft, they claim. Of course, women with purses the size of a footlocker were allowed to wander the aisles freely.

smasha

Most of my shopping is walking distance. On the weekends I load up a hand-truck with a few cases of fruits and veggies at the local produce markets.

Yesterday I rode 17km to a restaurant supply place to get some goodies.

smasha

When someone at a shop asks me to leave my backpack with someone who isn't paying attention, I just give them a very puzzled "are you stupid?" look and ask them: "If you can't stop someone from walking out of here with your merchandise, how can you stop someone from walking out of here with my bag?"

5MilesLater

I'm pretty lucky - there's a QFC -exactly- 1 mile from my apartment. Sadly, no bike racks, and a good chunk of the road is under construction, so you have to either ride on the sidewalk, or take to the road to get there.
Also, QFC tends to be both smaller selection and pricier than my usual Fred-Meyer.... but Fred Meyer is at least 4 miles away - mostly trail but some roads & stop sign crossings). I think there's a Target that's closer...