Go Back  Bike Forums > Bike Forums > Utility Cycling
Reload this Page >

What Utility Rides/Trips/hauls/errands did you do today???

Notices
Utility Cycling Want to haul groceries, beer, maybe even your kids? You don't have to live car free to put your bike to use as a workhorse. Here's the place to share and learn about the bicycle as a utility vehicle.

What Utility Rides/Trips/hauls/errands did you do today???

Old 10-15-09, 07:28 PM
  #151  
qmsdc15
Banned
 
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: Maryland
Posts: 5,155

Bikes: rockhopper, delta V, cannondale H300, Marin Mill Valley

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 5 Times in 5 Posts
You're welcome, but I'm sure pictures of your ride into town would be much nicer to look at. Congratulations for getting away from here. Do the locals lock there bikes? Maybe it's not necessary. I would never leave a bike unlocked, but locking the rear wheel to the frame might be enough where you are.
qmsdc15 is offline  
Old 10-15-09, 09:02 PM
  #152  
nwmtnbkr
Senior Member
 
nwmtnbkr's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2009
Posts: 1,054
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 1 Time in 1 Post
gmsdc15,

I've certainly explored the forest more this year since adding electric assist to my bike. (Most of the roads here are hilly, but then it's mountainous and to be expected.) Quite a few people ride bikes here. Some lock their bikes some don't. I'm just not trusting enough to leave mine unlocked (lived in a city all my life until I moved here).

Here are a few pictures of the forest and one of the very small town that I live near, all taken while out biking (I carry my camera with me on the bike, along with my GPS unit since it's easy to get disoriented and lost deep in the forest).











Truthfully, the forest starts looking the same after a while. The frustrating thing about climbing the hills here is that it's hard to get a good photo--the forest canopy is so thick. The forest takes up 90 percent of this county--it's 2.2 million acres.
nwmtnbkr is offline  
Old 10-16-09, 04:40 PM
  #153  
qmsdc15
Banned
 
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: Maryland
Posts: 5,155

Bikes: rockhopper, delta V, cannondale H300, Marin Mill Valley

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 5 Times in 5 Posts
Beautiful country out there. I've been to Whitefish for the skiing many years ago. 1994 to be exact, I was there when local boy Tommy Moe won Olympic gold in the Downhill at Lillehammer, Norway.
qmsdc15 is offline  
Old 10-16-09, 10:08 PM
  #154  
nwmtnbkr
Senior Member
 
nwmtnbkr's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2009
Posts: 1,054
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 1 Time in 1 Post
You probably wouldn't recognize Whitefish--the towns near Glacier, including Kalispell, have all started growing and now sport the ubiquitous signs of gentrification, like big box stores. Whitefish has a high-end development that's now in the hands of Aspen developers, I believe. They're basically expensive vacation homes for out-of-state wealthy who like to ski. (You hear complaints that skiing at Big Mountain is becoming unaffordable for the locals.)
nwmtnbkr is offline  
Old 10-17-09, 07:49 AM
  #155  
qmsdc15
Banned
 
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: Maryland
Posts: 5,155

Bikes: rockhopper, delta V, cannondale H300, Marin Mill Valley

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 5 Times in 5 Posts
I stayed on the mountain, didn't see much of the town. $535 season pass (pre-season rate) is pretty reasonable. The frequent skier card looks like a good deal, too.
qmsdc15 is offline  
Old 10-17-09, 02:10 PM
  #156  
nwmtnbkr
Senior Member
 
nwmtnbkr's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2009
Posts: 1,054
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 1 Time in 1 Post
I think the locals near Whitefish remember when it was dirt cheap to ski Big Mountain and the mountain was not as crowded. Some of the good in-state skiing that hasn't been widely discovered is still run as volunteer ops and is a little less expensive--yearly passes at $390 (or sub-$300 for kids and "senior citizens") and day passes at $25 or $30. You have to travel by car to get to these areas and they aren't near "pretty" resort towns. There's one such mountain near me, the drop in vertical feet isn't the steepest at just over 2100 ft, but it attracts a fair number of skiers, some from abroad, which always surprises me.
nwmtnbkr is offline  
Old 10-17-09, 02:15 PM
  #157  
bicyclridr4life
Bicyclerider4life
 
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Florida and Idaho
Posts: 1,077

Bikes: Huffy Beach Cruisers, Miami Sun Trike, Vertical PK7, KHS Montana Summit, Giant Cypress DX, Schwinn OCC Stingray

Mentioned: 1 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 147 Post(s)
Liked 11 Times in 8 Posts
so far today just took the Huffy beach cruiser (has baskets) to the office, then on an errand for the boss, a yard sale (it was on the way), bank, grocery store, and back to the office.
__________________
"Whenever I see an adult riding a bicycle, I know there is hope for mankind." (H. G. Wells)
bicyclridr4life is offline  
Old 10-17-09, 06:28 PM
  #158  
qmsdc15
Banned
 
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: Maryland
Posts: 5,155

Bikes: rockhopper, delta V, cannondale H300, Marin Mill Valley

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 5 Times in 5 Posts
Season pass for $390, open three days/week. More expensive than Whitefish on a strict dollar/day analysis.
qmsdc15 is offline  
Old 10-21-09, 05:03 PM
  #159  
qmsdc15
Banned
 
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: Maryland
Posts: 5,155

Bikes: rockhopper, delta V, cannondale H300, Marin Mill Valley

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 5 Times in 5 Posts
54x40 flat. St. Thomas ruin.

I'm very sorry to say this site was a lot less ruined before bike messengers hung out here for a brief period during the last century. I was not among those that damaged this holy place but I did witness some one climbing on it and and breaking off some it off. Since then, the fence was added and the messengers have moved on.

Last edited by qmsdc15; 12-31-09 at 06:14 PM.
qmsdc15 is offline  
Old 10-21-09, 06:29 PM
  #160  
squirtdad
Senior Member
Thread Starter
 
squirtdad's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: San Jose (Willow Glen) Ca
Posts: 9,854

Bikes: Kirk Custom JK Special, '84 Team Miyata,(dura ace old school) 80?? SR Semi-Pro 600 Arabesque

Mentioned: 104 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2304 Post(s)
Liked 2,739 Times in 1,498 Posts
Originally Posted by nwmtnbkr
You probably wouldn't recognize Whitefish--the towns near Glacier, including Kalispell, have all started growing and now sport the ubiquitous signs of gentrification, like big box stores. Whitefish has a high-end development that's now in the hands of Aspen developers, I believe. They're basically expensive vacation homes for out-of-state wealthy who like to ski. (You hear complaints that skiing at Big Mountain is becoming unaffordable for the locals.)
As long as the bier stube (I think that was the name....some killed brain cells) is still there all is ok.... it's been 20+ years since I skied big mountain (it was an epic road trip....ski Alpine in Ca, drive and ski vail, go to denver and work for a week, drive to sun valley ski (road a lift with a very young us ski team member Hillary Lindh), home to Chinook Mt, drive to Big Mountain and ski 2 days,,,,then back to San Jose)
__________________
Life is too short not to ride the best bike you have, as much as you can
(looking for Torpado Super light frame/fork or for Raleigh International frame fork 58cm)



squirtdad is online now  
Old 10-22-09, 05:59 PM
  #161  
qmsdc15
Banned
 
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: Maryland
Posts: 5,155

Bikes: rockhopper, delta V, cannondale H300, Marin Mill Valley

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 5 Times in 5 Posts
Chocolate, between two and three cubic feet of Hershey Milk Chocolate in 1.55 oz. bars. I'm eating the one that fell off the truck now.

I love the epic ski trip report, I'm in if the thread drifts to stories about Big Mountain. Did I ever tell you about the snowcat tour I took? $35 plus lift ticket, the best deal in skiing at the time.

Last edited by qmsdc15; 10-22-09 at 06:08 PM.
qmsdc15 is offline  
Old 10-22-09, 06:16 PM
  #162  
bigshew
Senior Member
 
Join Date: May 2009
Posts: 70
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Originally Posted by qmsdc15
Chocolate, between two and three cubic feet of Hershey Milk Chocolate in 1.55 oz. bars. I'm eating the one that fell off the truck now.
Somebody expecting a lot of trick-or-treaters?
bigshew is offline  
Old 10-22-09, 07:09 PM
  #163  
qmsdc15
Banned
 
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: Maryland
Posts: 5,155

Bikes: rockhopper, delta V, cannondale H300, Marin Mill Valley

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 5 Times in 5 Posts
They put out chocolate in a glass bowl in their lobby every friday, the best free chocolate you will find in DC, better than Hershey to be honest. I guess the candy I carried had something to do with Halloween, I don't know.
qmsdc15 is offline  
Old 10-23-09, 06:06 PM
  #164  
qmsdc15
Banned
 
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: Maryland
Posts: 5,155

Bikes: rockhopper, delta V, cannondale H300, Marin Mill Valley

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 5 Times in 5 Posts
Haha. I really only mentioned the chocolate because of an incident last summer, which I posted a lengthy rant about in this thread, when I was denied the opportunity to transport some really fancy chocolate on a hot day because I probably would have ruined it.

Why am I making this post? I just like to spam this thread with pictures of my work horse. Here's the blurriest picture I've dared to post so far, the last drop of the day, to a building on the waterfront in Georgetown. There's a half dozen laptops and a small printer and a lot of other stuff in this load.

Last edited by qmsdc15; 12-31-09 at 06:14 PM.
qmsdc15 is offline  
Old 10-23-09, 10:20 PM
  #165  
bigshew
Senior Member
 
Join Date: May 2009
Posts: 70
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Originally Posted by qmsdc15
Why am I making this post? I just like to spam this thread with pictures of my work horse. Here's the blurriest picture I've dared to post so far, the last drop of the day, to a building on the waterfront in Georgetown. There's a half dozen laptops and a small printer and a lot of other stuff in this load.
Since you can't bring all of that into the building in one trip, do you worry about some lowlife grabbing stuff off the trailer?
bigshew is offline  
Old 10-24-09, 05:43 AM
  #166  
qmsdc15
Banned
 
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: Maryland
Posts: 5,155

Bikes: rockhopper, delta V, cannondale H300, Marin Mill Valley

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 5 Times in 5 Posts
It's all in the building, I rode right up to the elevator!

There is a shopping cart that is kept just outside this glass lobby that I managed to pile everything into/onto for the elevator ride. Because it was after five, the door to the glass lobby was locked, a fact I discovered after I had the shopping cart loaded. I left it there and rode back up the ramp to find no way to buzz the guy who opened the garage door to let me in. I had to wait for a car with a remote to get out.

Then I entered the building through the front door to retrieve the boxes and take them up to the client's office.

You can't leave unattended packages on the streets of DC. The National Guard would be called out. Haha

Last edited by qmsdc15; 10-24-09 at 06:08 AM.
qmsdc15 is offline  
Old 10-27-09, 06:05 PM
  #167  
qmsdc15
Banned
 
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: Maryland
Posts: 5,155

Bikes: rockhopper, delta V, cannondale H300, Marin Mill Valley

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 5 Times in 5 Posts
A client requested me for a double rush roundtrip filing. Three boxes and four large envelopes to the Department of Commerce with stamped copies coming back. It's unusual that a client will ask for the guy with the trailer, usually I hear "I asked for a car..." delivered in an icy tone. Double rush roundtrip car jobs pay well. Rainy all day, so that job late in the day picked up my spirits.

Stopped for groceries on the way home. It was dark and raining harder when I left the store, it was nice to get home.
qmsdc15 is offline  
Old 11-09-09, 05:08 PM
  #168  
dzrthauler
I can - therefore, I do..
 
dzrthauler's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Littlerock, CA
Posts: 119

Bikes: '84 Motocruiser, '10 KHS TR 101

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 1 Time in 1 Post
We did our first "official car-free errands" this morning (apart from the usual 12 mi. rt to the P.O, that is). 22.7 miles, 3 stops in the east side of Palmdale - Eye doc's, PetSmart (cat food & treat for our passenger!) then to SuperTarget for a short list for dinner tonite. My wife loved it, she can't wait for us to make the additional 10 mile ride (rt) to the west side of town.
dzrthauler is offline  
Old 11-10-09, 06:37 PM
  #169  
qmsdc15
Banned
 
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: Maryland
Posts: 5,155

Bikes: rockhopper, delta V, cannondale H300, Marin Mill Valley

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 5 Times in 5 Posts
That's great. So who was the passenger?

Been a while since I posted here! 39x48 foam board poster. A double rush, shouldn't have stopped for pictures, but made the 5pm deadline no problem with seconds to spare. 4:58 in Chinatown.

Last edited by qmsdc15; 12-31-09 at 06:15 PM.
qmsdc15 is offline  
Old 11-10-09, 06:41 PM
  #170  
noglider 
aka Tom Reingold
 
noglider's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: New York, NY, and High Falls, NY, USA
Posts: 40,691

Bikes: 1962 Rudge Sports, 1971 Raleigh Super Course, 1971 Raleigh Pro Track, 1974 Raleigh International, 1975 Viscount Fixie, 1982 McLean, 1996 Lemond (Ti), 2002 Burley Zydeco tandem

Mentioned: 510 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 7287 Post(s)
Liked 2,362 Times in 1,381 Posts
The only time I used my bike today was to zoom over to my therapy appointment. I wanted to cycle to my client appointments, but I didn't schedule enough time, so I drove my car.

A couple of weeks ago, with my new toddler trailer, I hauled 50 pounds of dog and cat food home from the pet shop. I live up a fairly steep hill, and I was riding a crappy bike, so it was a challenge. No regrets, though. I hope to haul a lot more cargo with this trailer.
__________________
Tom Reingold, tom@noglider.com
New York City and High Falls, NY
Blogs: The Experienced Cyclist; noglider's ride blog

“When man invented the bicycle he reached the peak of his attainments.” — Elizabeth West, US author

Please email me rather than PM'ing me. Thanks.
noglider is offline  
Old 11-11-09, 11:40 PM
  #171  
Singlespeed92
No longer here
 
Singlespeed92's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2008
Posts: 621
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Forgetting it was Vet's Day (and I'm a friggin Vet,LOL),I rode to the Post Office to mail out some stuff...at least I could access my PO Box,LOL!
Singlespeed92 is offline  
Old 11-11-09, 11:47 PM
  #172  
Sixty Fiver
Bicycle Repair Man !!!
 
Sixty Fiver's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: YEG
Posts: 27,272

Bikes: See my sig...

Mentioned: 12 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 67 Post(s)
Liked 128 Times in 95 Posts
The lady at the grocer asked how I was gonna carry all those groceries on my bike... I guess my helmet was a giveaway.



The bags were filled and a few boxes were strapped to the deck.

Sixty Fiver is offline  
Old 11-12-09, 12:35 AM
  #173  
noglider 
aka Tom Reingold
 
noglider's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: New York, NY, and High Falls, NY, USA
Posts: 40,691

Bikes: 1962 Rudge Sports, 1971 Raleigh Super Course, 1971 Raleigh Pro Track, 1974 Raleigh International, 1975 Viscount Fixie, 1982 McLean, 1996 Lemond (Ti), 2002 Burley Zydeco tandem

Mentioned: 510 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 7287 Post(s)
Liked 2,362 Times in 1,381 Posts
I rode to visit a client today. She lives on the top of a huge hill. This is the route I took. I don't know how many feet I climbed, but there were some very steep climbs. No one ever rides on that hill. I had fun.

Coming home, I hit some insane speeds. The wind made my eyes tear, so I was nearly blind, which was doubly foolhardy. I'm going to start wearing goggles to prevent that.
__________________
Tom Reingold, tom@noglider.com
New York City and High Falls, NY
Blogs: The Experienced Cyclist; noglider's ride blog

“When man invented the bicycle he reached the peak of his attainments.” — Elizabeth West, US author

Please email me rather than PM'ing me. Thanks.
noglider is offline  
Old 11-14-09, 12:50 PM
  #174  
coffeecake
Blocking your fire exits
 
coffeecake's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2009
Posts: 641
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Originally Posted by nwmtnbkr
You probably wouldn't recognize Whitefish--the towns near Glacier, including Kalispell, have all started growing and now sport the ubiquitous signs of gentrification, like big box stores. Whitefish has a high-end development that's now in the hands of Aspen developers, I believe. They're basically expensive vacation homes for out-of-state wealthy who like to ski. (You hear complaints that skiing at Big Mountain is becoming unaffordable for the locals.)
I went skiing at Big Mountain for a week in 2002, so I contributed a little bit to the gentrification - I apologize. But I had a terrific time, much closer and more affordable than some of the slopes in BC. (I'm from Sask.) Unfortunately that happens to ski towns - everybody wants to live close to the hill once they get their hands on some money. BC is even worse, flooded by Albertans buying land and plonking down RVs and houses everywhere. I'd like to go back to Whitefish some day, but Mr Coffeecake needs to get a passport now. Please don't hurt me - I promise not to frequent the big box stores.

Oh, uh, I'm planning to go out on the xtracycle later today and do errands. I've joined your ranks recently; picked up the completed conversion on Thursday! My friend really wants to ride on the back so I'd better go humour her. Will post pictures later. I think there are only three xtracycles, including ours, in my city so I get some funny looks when I'm out on it.

Last edited by coffeecake; 11-14-09 at 12:54 PM. Reason: staying on-topic!
coffeecake is offline  
Old 11-14-09, 01:31 PM
  #175  
Sixty Fiver
Bicycle Repair Man !!!
 
Sixty Fiver's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: YEG
Posts: 27,272

Bikes: See my sig...

Mentioned: 12 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 67 Post(s)
Liked 128 Times in 95 Posts
I am seeing more and more extra cycles here... my friend is in the process of building one up as well.

He gave me an electric assist unit and I might get this installed on Monday night...
Sixty Fiver is offline  

Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Contact Us - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.