Mobile 155

Here we can no longer get free plastic bags. We can buy them, and they are heavier than the free ones used to be. Many if not most people simply buy a stack of their own reusable bags. But I don't use them for shopping by bike. If I go to the store I have a large capacity back pack. If it is too big for the back pack I do have a trailer that I fixed up to haul groceries. That is in theory anyway. I reality if it is too big for the back pack more than likely I will just drive and go once a week to get everything I need.

I remember a few years ago going to Africa and finding plastic bags stuck in trees many miles from any known village. They don't have any system for getting rid of torn bags so they toss them in a big hole and about once a week they burn them. Yes it destroys most of the bags but as any can guess there are little black pieces of burned plastic floating in the air. And as any could guess as well some of the bags escape destruction by rising with the heat and float away with the wind, to land miles away in the trees. I didn't use plastic bags for a long time after I got home.

tandempower

I usually ride on the sidewalk at 5-10mph when I am carrying grocery bags on my handlebars. Yes, the spokes are the problem that make it an art to carry them in a way to avoid that. Part of it is finding the right height to suspend the bags. Part of it is orienting the grocery contents in a way and direction that keeps the out of the spokes. Part of it is steering smoothing and not turning the handlebars abruptly, which causes the bags to swing and hit the spokes.

Roody

Like you, I've never had any problem using plastic bags to carry certain items on a bicycle--as long as I was going shortish distances, not trying to carry too much, nor travel too quickly. In spite of the ridicule here, I actually find a plastic bag tied to the bars to be one of the best ways to carry light, fragile items such as pastries, bananas, and the like. YMMV.

tmac100

Yes, and with care you can use that bag several times

Maelochs

And here, precisely, is my issue. if I Need to steer abruptly---say to avoid a pedestrian or animal who steps into my path---then I risk either tearing up the bag and spreading groceries---unpleasant but survivable---or crashing .... which is potential damaging or self and others.

A Lot of people do it (carry groceries that way.) I see it a lot, at least. I have tried it. I find that it prevents me from using hand signals, and seriously compromises my control.

All I said was that people should know the risks as well as the rewards. If it works for you or any other person ... Great! it obviously works for a lot of people. I find it bears certain unavoidable safety compromises, but I am not advocating against it, just pointing out why I choose different methods.

KD5NRH

Another uncommon use; when the penny bucket/jar/whatever is full, dump it into one corner of a grocery bag, spin until you have a decent length of twist, tie an overhand knot in that and cut off the excess. Instant plastic-wrapped blob of change that's surprisingly durable, yet easy to tear open when you get to the counting machine. Also good for small snack items that won't be damaged by the twisting pressure.

Walter S

+1. Especially for routine activities like shopping for groceries I prefer practices that are low risk that don't depend on being especially careful in your riding technique etc. to avoid getting stuff caught in your spokes. If I'm picking up a few things I take a single pannier on the front and may strap something to my rack if need be. For big trips I have a cargo trailer. It's all a much more pleasant experience - I started out carrying stuff on the handlebars like everybody else probably starts out. Then I learned.

Roody

Yes, I use it several times, then carry my lunch to work in it. Of course, one must dispose of them properly so they don't end up in the lake or ocean.

Roody

Try tying the handles to the bars, then you don't need to use your hands to hold them. And we (I, at least) are talking about the little shopping bags, not the big trash bags. They're not even long enough to hit the spokes.

tmac100

20+ y.a. my ex swerved to miss a cat that jumped into her path as she was riding home from the grocery store with some hot dog weiners and buns. She broke her collar bone.... I bought her a new bicycle helmet. Fortunately in Canada there was medical coverage (paid through taxation).

Maelochs

I second you motion to ban cats from sidewalks.


or ... were you planning to ban hot dog buns?

Here in America we like to make a lot of laws. Somehow nothing is improved by pointless words on paper .... we just haven't perfected it.

Oh ... and affordable health care is Un-American.

Seems to be fine for the rest of the world ......

I-Like-To-Bike

You are right, there is no need to pass laws to prevent someone from choosing clumsy, awkward methods to carry objects rather than use simple and inexpensive equipment that the rest of the world has discovered, like baskets, backpacks racks etc. There should not be criticism for those who provide helpful suggestions though, nor condemnation of those too stubborn to listen to it.

tandempower

Yes, you really have to look at it as a way of walking with groceries while still being able to take your bike with you as well. If you just think of the bike as a rolling structure to hang the bags, it can be better than carrying them. Then, if you want to go a little faster than walking the bike, you can ride it; but then you face all those issues you mention.

Maelochs

I am always afraid I will crash into a tree and kill it.

tandempower

That discussion ended in a different thread so why are you picking its scab here now?

badger1

The comment was actually pretty damned funny, given the context.

Can't speak for @Maelochs, but ... hmmm ... let me think ... he might be 'making a joke'? As far as I can tell, no seedlings were harmed during the making of that joke.

Mobile 155

True cynicism is a art form .

I have used plastic bags to bring home Pan Dulce from the little shop abut a mile from me. One bag isn't bad but it does swing when you make the dash for the turn lane just before the traffic light. I have a collection of those little gift bags made of nylon or rip stop that you can use as a back pack or bag. The strings at the top can be puled to keep the bag closed and the loop to the bottom of the back so you can toss it onto your back. When empty they fold up and can be stashed in a back pocket or in a jersey if that is what you are wearing. Still as I said we no longer have the plastic bag given out freely to contend with.

Maelochs

tandempower ... whenever I say something truly offensive figure either i was not smart enough to understand that I was offending or not smart enough to understand what I was saying wasn't funny .... of course, some people claim humor is subjective, but I don't think that deeply.

I tend to joke pretty much all the time, and while I hold a lot of things sacred i also understand that a lot of people hold completely different things to be sacred. In some parts of the world you can get your butt kicked for talking to another man's wife, in other places you can get your butt kicked for not talking to her. In some places you can get your butt kicked by another man's husband for not knowing he was a wife. it is confusing to me ......

This is just the internet. If I say something you don't like .... forget it. It is just dots on a screen. And well ... You know you and I both value a lot of the same things, but in different ways. I cannot expect you to agree with my way, nor can you expect me to agree with yours.

If I wanted to offend you I would make a Serious effort, and probably get banned, but I wouldn't leave it to chance. So if there is a chance that I was not trying to offend you ... .......

There is nothing wrong with either of us ... even if we disagree.

i think i can be witty now and then but that ... that is pure comedy gold.

tandempower

The joke is taking a shot at me, and I am prevented from taking shots back by forum mods who don't want bickering. So while I would like to make jokes about lacking intelligence or heart or sanity, I can't so others shouldn't make jokes about my feelings about trees.

Hopefully you understand that bullying comes down to looking for sensitivities in others and making fun or making light of them. If you want to bully and pick fights, do it in P&R where fighting is allowed more than here. Really, you should just respect others but I understand that is too high above animal existence for some people to muster.

Maelochs

Right-ho, snowflake. I can see that what we have here is ... failure to communicate.

Do you like movies? You don't seem to talk much about bikes and pretty plainly we should steer clear of anything to do with vegetation .... Any sports interest you?

tandempower

Your tone is generally condescending. I guess you could call that a failure to communicate.

Maelochs

Well, seeing as you already told me I was below animal existence you can't much blame me for however I behave right? Just trying to prove you right?

I know you take all this seriously, and if Ii tell you I don't you will be even more upset, but that's the fact.

See, I talk a lot, but I have also walked a lot. I am not trying to change the world here on Bike Forums ... I have spent much of my life trying to make the world a better place for all life In My real Life. I don't have to come here and be all preachy .... I live it, I don't have to act it out on an internet forum.

I come here to joke and share and sometimes it gets real and sometimes it couldn't be further from serious ... but I have nothing to prove here, so I am cool with that.

You like to play all injured and unappreciated ... but you are only hurting your self and nobody much appreciates your passive aggressive fakeness. I don't have to be better than anyone but myself. And the only people whose judgment matters are mine and whatever force it is that lives at the top of the mountain ....and that ain't you, friend.

If the life you are making for yourself suits you, quit whining. If it doesn't, change.

You do realize "It's not me, it's the world" is mean to be ironic, right?

I do not mean to be rude but I don't think we have much to gain by continuing to engage. If you can come back with something positive ... . great. If you can accept that not everyone who doesn't agree with 100 percent is evil, great. If you can stop looking for reasons to claim offense ... better still.

We all have chances to improve all the time. But ... I don't seem to be helping you, and I think I have gained about all I can from you. I thank you sincerely for the gifts and opportunities you have presented me so far.

Let's take it to a better place or leave it alone.

tmac100

Happens all the time when cars, avalanches, and .. hit trees

Maelochs

Well, it's okay so long as it is a eucalyptus tree.

On a more actual note ... great little ride to the hardware store for some heating duct filters. It sprinkled rain for the ten minutes I was in the store and stopped as I checked out.

I didn't hit any trees.

badger1

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