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August 9th, 2007

Transporting groceries by bicycle

transporting bread

In this day and age it is right that those who are able should travel to the supermarket by bicycle when they can. I find though that when I do so I often encounter problems transporting groceries, especially if they are delicate or malleable. My bread, as the jottings above indicate, often ends up rucksack shaped at the end of the trip which means that the bread burns in the toaster as it is misshapen into untoasterly forms.

I think that I need some better means to carry delicate groceries by bicycle. Perhaps some panniers, though most panniers that I have seen look a bit small and still liable to crush bread. I could attach a large plastic box onto the rear rack, but that would look a bit unstylish and clash with the sleek lines of my bicycle.

In the old days bicycles had baskets, but these are now frowned upon in areas such as South East Essex. I think some more innovative solutions are called for, hence the drawing of the bread-carrying hat above.

How do you get your bread home?

26 Comments »



This is a single Cartoon Blog entry, posted by Dave on Thursday, August 9th, 2007 at 6:01 pm.

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26 Responses to “Transporting groceries by bicycle”


  1. Dave says:

    By the way – I have not forgotten about the post I promised to do yesterday when yesterday was tomorrow.

  2. ash says:

    I carry my bread in my backpack, but on a bus. In the london Rush Hours, my bread sometimes takes on shapes that might well resemble creatures from the End Times (TM).

    I tend to buy unsliced loaves when i am to transport the loaf in Rush Hours. These don’t get too mishapen unless the bus is particularly crowded and I get squished.

  3. Karen in Laguna Niguel says:

    I bake my bread at home (no, no bread machine — this is actually hand-kneaded bread).

    Now I have to go home, make some bread, pack it in a daypack (or maybe a nifty hat like the one in your cartoon) and then ride to the grocery store with it.

    I’ll let you know what it looks like when I finish the trip.

  4. Andy says:

    I carry the bread back….in a nice big bag…

  5. Michelle says:

    Perhaps you could strap a wheelie bin to your back – then you could do the big shop and still get it all home on your bike? :D

  6. Aaron says:

    I’ve seen panniers that are framed in metal and thus rigid, the size of a standard (North American…no idea what size you use in GB) paper grocery bag. If you fill two bags you can slip them right in, or you can unsnap the bags and take those into the store. No crush, except on the person who invented them.

  7. Matt says:

    er … trailer.

  8. Kennedy says:

    How about rigid panniers thus

    Link

    Or a trailer such as

    http://tinyurl.com/3bkoa2

    Although I have always liked Adam Hart-Davies’ trailer

    http://www.citycycling.co.uk/issue26/issue26ahdtrailer.gif

    But this caught my eye:

    http://tinyurl.com/35utpa

  9. ferijen says:

    I have a basket. It makes me feel about 40 years older than I actually am, but it is so useful, for handbags, bread, and the random bits that would get lost if I put them in my panniers. I would recommend it. In Italy, everyone has baskets, and everyone knows that Italians are the cutting edge of fashion.

  10. Dave says:

    Thanks for the various replies thus far. I’ll have to see what is available locally pannierwise – I’d want to see them before buying I think. I like the idea of a trailer, but I’m not sure of the practicality (storage, effect on the handling of the bike). Matt – do you use one?

  11. Gregory Porilo says:

    Thanks for teaching me a new word. I had never heard of “pannier” before, so I now know what one is. I normally walk or use the bus when I’m doing my shopping, depending on how much I have to buy, for the simple reason that I can’t ride a bicycle.

  12. Rachel says:

    Buy bread rolls rather than a loaf – much less likely to squish!

  13. Jewish future vicar's wife says:

    I suggest that you move to Cambridge where large wicker baskets on the front of bicycles are not only acceptable but positively encouraged (decoration with colourful fake flowers optional).

    I think house prices might be a little higher here than in South East Essex but you could also marvel at the wide variety of bicycle accessories here for the transportation of goods and children. I have calculated that by utilising several of these accessories it should be possible to transport up to 5 children with one bicycle (although the authorities might question one’s suitability to be left alone with children if one tried to test this theory in practice).

  14. Karen in Laguna Niguel says:

    Reporting back (#3 above):

    I took three loaves of homemade bread on a ride to the grovery store. By ride’s end:

    The loaf in my hand looked like a barbell.

    The loaf in my daypack was squished because of the apples I put on top of it.

    The loaf in my pannier looked perfect.

    I vote for panniers.

  15. Canadian says:

    I go to the supermarket on foot and bring my groceries home in reusable bags.

    I do have a wicker basket for my bicycle though. I love how it looks, and I don’t care if it’s cool or not.

  16. Dave says:

    Gregory – glad to be of assistance.

    Rachel – rolls are all very well, but not so toastable in a toaster.

    JFVW – I’d love to move to Cambridge. I think really though the answer is for wicker-basket-cycling-types to disperse themselves everywhere rather than forming a wicker basket ghetto.

    Karen – Thank you for your research. Invaluable.

    Canadian – the ‘Wicker basket and no shame’ attitude is, I’m sure, the right one.

  17. Aaron says:

    The bread hat has its advantages, though…you could fill it with bird seed and provide meals on wheels for hungry sparrows.

  18. Michelle says:

    I am very offended that my excellent wheelie bin suggestion has been overlooked for comment, unlike all the other excellent suggestions from your readership! :D

  19. Chas says:

    Our local grocery store has a large catapult for the use of customers – it has a hi-tech guidance system so we just type in the co-ordinates of where we live, and launch our shopping – though the bread does get a bit squished on landing …

    [PS - only joking]

  20. Dave says:

    Michelle, The problem with your suggestion is that one could not go shopping on bin day for fear of having ones groceries accidentally collected by the bin men whilst in transit.

    I would continue my analysis, but I’d be late for church.

  21. Karin says:

    Dave have you thought that making your own bread would not only save it getting squished, but you would probably find great inspiration for cartoons while making it and kneading bread is also great for getting rid of frustrations.

  22. Russ says:

    Dave, I’ve transported bread back from the shops via bike before, and have found two reasonably satisfactory solutions:
    1 Loop ties from carrier bag (with bread in, of course) over handlebar and tie up to prevent bread banging your knee as you cycle. Not foolproof, but OK for shortish journeys
    2 I have a complicated commuting bag arrangement on my bag with one either side of the back wheel, and one on the frame on top. Putting the bread in there is usually OK on its own.
    Hope this helps
    Russ :)
    PS The cheat’s way: get Tesco to deliver via an online shop!

  23. Michelle says:

    That’s a very good point Dave (re the wheelie bins) – I’ll let you off then!

  24. travis says:

    What could be more uncool, or even cool, than the bread helmet!

    Fun aside, I think those plastic grocery bags (that we get by the ton forced on us here in the US) are fine for this kind of thing. I try and tie it on, and let it hang naturally. If you are super green then carefully untie it and stuff it into your regular bag. It can have holes, it can be ugly, but it tends to be easy on delicate items like fruit, just remember to put it on top and to not ride too roughly. If its super delicate, I dangle it from my handlebars, but this takes more skill to accomplish (can bang into your gears shifters or other sharp parts on the bike.) The key to handle bar stuff is to wind as much slack out of the bag as possible. Does not need to be tied if you do it right. A bag can be hung from a backpack, your rack, handlebars, lots of places.

    It doesn’t look cool I suppose. So get a fance plastic bag that says something cool, and leave that in the bottom of your panniers or other rucksack for these times.

  25. Anne says:

    When I was shopping only for me, I just used a grocery pannier like this. Very sturdy and holds a good amount of weight. Now that I’m shopping for two, I use one of these cargo trailers.

  26. Chris Watson says:

    How about this folding mesh pannier? It’s a basket that fits to the side of your rear carrier like a pannier and can be folded flat when you’re not using it. It’s distributed by Fisher Outdoor Leisure – most bike shops will order stuff from them. It’s made by Basil who make all sorts of bike baskets and bags.