How far to the grocery store?
05-28-17, 04:37 AM
#176
tumbleweed
I am afraid to leave even my beater bike unattended at the groceries.If I can't see it,I'm not going in.
Kinda sucks and limits my usage but my town is shady A.F.
Kinda sucks and limits my usage but my town is shady A.F.
06-01-17, 12:58 AM
#177
Sophomoric Member
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.
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.
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06-01-17, 10:37 AM
#178
Prefers Cicero
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?"
06-02-17, 03:35 PM
#179
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I shop at Aldis regularly and routinely hand my backpack to the security guard on entry. After I checkout, the pack is about 20 steps from the register. No biggie. I understand them not wanting me walking around with a bunch of stuff from Walmart in my pack and then checking out with my mix of goods.
06-02-17, 05:22 PM
#180
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I shop at Aldis regularly and routinely hand my backpack to the security guard on entry. After I checkout, the pack is about 20 steps from the register. No biggie. I understand them not wanting me walking around with a bunch of stuff from Walmart in my pack and then checking out with my mix of goods.
06-03-17, 12:36 PM
#181
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B-B-but you are missing out on giving the store employees an earful of snarky crap about the precious contents of a backpack and feeling smugly superior about yourself if they tolerate it, or conversely, if they refuse to bend the store rule to your satisfaction you could work yourself up to a mega snit, walk out without buying anything and bragging/whining on BF about the injustice of those nasty people.
06-04-17, 04:50 AM
#182
Full Member
I really need to set up a grocery bike. Meijer is 1.4 miles, Aldi's is 1.5 miles and Walmart is 1.6 miles. How spoiled am I.
06-04-17, 08:58 PM
#183
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Well, scratch my earlier statement about QFC being 1 mile away. So much of the town is under construction atm, that google Maps can't keep up and much of the route is barricaded off or just gravel and debris. I was scouting the route over the weekend, and it's a no-go.
I can take a combo of bike trail and road-that-actually-exists making it 2.5 miles one-way. Still not bad, really.
Shame the store doesn't have bike racks. You'd think they would, with all the shiny new apartment complexes nearby...
I can take a combo of bike trail and road-that-actually-exists making it 2.5 miles one-way. Still not bad, really.
Shame the store doesn't have bike racks. You'd think they would, with all the shiny new apartment complexes nearby...
06-06-17, 12:24 AM
#184
Sophomoric Member
06-06-17, 09:31 AM
#185
Prefers Cicero
06-08-17, 12:32 AM
#186
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I'm just starting again.
But it's exactly 1 miles to the nearest grocery store. But it's around 5.3 miles to the whole foods store.
But it's exactly 1 miles to the nearest grocery store. But it's around 5.3 miles to the whole foods store.
06-19-17, 08:22 AM
#187
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I only have around 2 kilometers to closest grocery store and the hardware store is on the same street. The downtown area is 3 km away, I dont have to go far for much of anything where I live right now.
06-19-17, 07:32 PM
#188
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2 miles to Kroger. 5 miles for hippie food. I likes hippie food.
06-24-17, 12:43 AM
#189
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Those are walking distances. You need a "bundle buggy". You can buy it and use it on the same trip!
And we're still 18-25 degrees from what we should expect August's daytime highs to hit.
06-24-17, 12:47 AM
#190
Sophomoric Member
Not in the Texas summer if you want anything refrigerated to make it home. Even with insulated bags, I'm not getting ice cream two miles home from WalMart without a lot of melt, so walking even to the HEB at one mile wouldn't be an option. As it is, biking hard from HEB, I can get things in the freezer just as the ice cream tub is starting to feel a little soft.
And we're still 18-25 degrees from what we should expect August's daytime highs to hit.
And we're still 18-25 degrees from what we should expect August's daytime highs to hit.
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06-24-17, 11:31 PM
#191
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Lightly insulated bags and ride fast. ~8 minutes from HEB to home, depending on traffic. Not a chance I could do that walking, much less dragging a cart of groceries. The big hill on the way back from WalMart makes it closer to 15 minutes most of the time even though I can avoid a couple of traffic areas on that route.
06-25-17, 12:38 AM
#192
Sophomoric Member
Lightly insulated bags and ride fast. ~8 minutes from HEB to home, depending on traffic. Not a chance I could do that walking, much less dragging a cart of groceries. The big hill on the way back from WalMart makes it closer to 15 minutes most of the time even though I can avoid a couple of traffic areas on that route.
https://www.bikeforums.net/living-car...ping-cold.html
There have been other threads about this in past years. One suggestion I remember involved a large picnic cooler on a trailer. This would keep cold foods chilled for hours, and frozen foods would even do alright for quite a while. Of course you have to have the trailer....
One method I've used is to just pack together several cold items and wrap in newspaper (or another insulator if you prefer. For produce, I have wrapped it in wet newspaper and it will stay fresh on a hot day for several hours. This works in Michigan summers, but I know it gets a lot hotter in Texas.
Remember, this is not only a problem for carfree people. Even in a car, the trunk will get 40 degrees hotter than the outside air and your perishables will get warm in just a few minutes. At least I try to remember to get the cold stuff last at the store, just before checking out.
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06-26-17, 12:36 PM
#193
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Dang, I'm only 2.3 miles to the Aldi I use all the time. Haven't biked it...family of 5 with just a mountain bike with front bag. I could probably carry everything in an old kid carrier or something, maybe I'll troll freecycle for one...
06-26-17, 12:51 PM
#194
Prefers Cicero
Not in the Texas summer if you want anything refrigerated to make it home. Even with insulated bags, I'm not getting ice cream two miles home from WalMart without a lot of melt, so walking even to the HEB at one mile wouldn't be an option. As it is, biking hard from HEB, I can get things in the freezer just as the ice cream tub is starting to feel a little soft.
And we're still 18-25 degrees from what we should expect August's daytime highs to hit.
And we're still 18-25 degrees from what we should expect August's daytime highs to hit.
06-26-17, 02:10 PM
#195
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I've got a nice grocery store that is about 3-4 blocks away which I'll normally walk to rather than ride. Of course, I stop there on my bike on my way home very often. I'll be doing that tonight when I ride home from work to pick up dinner.
Most of the errands I run by bike tend to be like that as I like to incorporate multiple destinations/jobs into a ride.
Most of the errands I run by bike tend to be like that as I like to incorporate multiple destinations/jobs into a ride.
06-30-17, 07:38 AM
#196
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Lightly insulated bags and ride fast. ~8 minutes from HEB to home, depending on traffic. Not a chance I could do that walking, much less dragging a cart of groceries. The big hill on the way back from WalMart makes it closer to 15 minutes most of the time even though I can avoid a couple of traffic areas on that route.
07-01-17, 12:33 AM
#197
Sophomoric Member
My opinion is that in a family of five, more than one person should be helping to haul the groceries!
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07-30-19, 05:39 PM
#198
Vegan on a bicycle
I double-bag with insulated freezer bags, the kind with the inside that looks like foil. Might sound silly, but double-bagging makes a big difference. That's an insulated freezer bag inside an insulated freezer bag.
Also, the more frozen stuff in the bags, the better it works. This increases the "thermal mass".
Where I'm living now, I do some bulk shopping at a place about 15-20km (9-13mi) away, and load up my panniers. In Wellington summer it gets about 22°C (72°F) and a few kg of frozen berries stays frozen solid for the 50-60 minute trip from the store to my freezer at home.
Also, the more frozen stuff in the bags, the better it works. This increases the "thermal mass".
Where I'm living now, I do some bulk shopping at a place about 15-20km (9-13mi) away, and load up my panniers. In Wellington summer it gets about 22°C (72°F) and a few kg of frozen berries stays frozen solid for the 50-60 minute trip from the store to my freezer at home.
08-01-19, 07:12 PM
#199
Full Member
Good Bike needs to be able to go trail riding at a moments notice. In-climate weather/grocery bike can have folding baskets, which it now does.
Oh no, I don't believe in walking. Started biking because most of the roads were not smooth enough to Rollerblade. If I can't skate or bike, I'm driving my wife's Rav 4 or my truck (which gets 12 MPG)
If it's not fun, I'm not doing it!!!
Those are walking distances. You need a "bundle buggy". You can buy it and use it on the same trip!
If it's not fun, I'm not doing it!!!
08-02-19, 09:27 AM
#200
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1 mile to Trader Joe. 3 miles to Costco. 1.6 miles to the produce market/butcher. Natural Grocery is 3.5 miles, and the Berkeley Bowl is 5 miles. Lots of choices and easy to get to with my Burley Travoy and one of my folding bikes. Insulated bag liner inside the Travoy bag for frozen stuff.