Buying food on a solo bike tour...

[J-Lo]

Buying food on a solo bike tour...

Ive only ever really used small local shops as I feel constrained by the bike sometimes. When you've got it all loaded up with panniers, its not as if you can chain it up and go shopping in a supermarket - you need to be able to see it dont you..

Anyone else find this to be a small problem? Suppose its different with 2 people as 1 of you can stay with the bikes..

Any advice?

 

[BigonaBianchi]

when i was faced with this in france I just took th ebike into the supermarket and asked the girl on the customer service desk or till to watch over it for me...no problems in most cases. IN germany however you vill need zee permets ya.

 

[vernon]

Buying food on a solo bike tour...

Ive only ever really used small local shops as I feel constrained by the bike sometimes. When you've got it all loaded up with panniers, its not as if you can chain it up and go shopping in a supermarket

I've never felt any anxiety leaving my bike chained outside of supermarkets in France, Switzerland and Germany during the ten weeks' worth of touring that I've done there. The supermarkets have ranged from mini marts through to hyper markets. Not a bit of bother.

 

[psmiffy]

Never worry about it although I keep the length of time I am away from the bike to a sensible limit - the big out of town supermarkets will often have security guards - often happy to keep an eye on it if you say you are only going to be five minutes - in busy towns I tend to avoid small supermarkets or find a shop with large windows so that I can see out

 

[doog]

France was fine, you would really need some balls to approach a touring bike with panniers etc and mess with it. Rarely, if never, happens in the UK and we are the bike thieving capital of the world .

That wont stop you locking the thing in a figure of 8 knot and wrapping your helmet strap around the rear wheel a few times .

Spain I felt was dodgier than France, got warned a few times about the bike by shopkeepers.

 

[mcshroom]

I've locked mine up at UK supermarkets before without any problems. To be fair, most people aren't going to mess with a bike covered in bags (and many of them wouldn't keep it upright if they did)

Just make sure the top bags in the panniers are dirty clothing rather than your laptop/iPod/whatever.

 

[snorri]

Any advice?

It doesn't worry me greatly, but if I feel that I'm in bandit territory I take my bar bag containing camera, passport etc. into the shop with me. It's probably better to shop at smaller stores in towns and villages rather than in, or close to cities.
One way of reducing concerns re theft is to minimse the value of the pannier contents. I don't carry any electronic gear apart from my camera, wrist watch and the Cateye 'puter on the handle bars.
Less expensive gear=less worry about losing.

 

[theloafer]

+1 It doesn't worry me greatly, but if I feel that I'm in bandit territory I take my bar bag containing camera, passport etc. into the shop with me. It's probably better to shop at smaller stores in towns and villages rather than in, or close to cities.
One way of reducing concerns re theft is to minimse the value of the pannier contents. I don't carry any electronic gear apart from my camera, and the garmin 800 'puter on the handle bars.

 

[Ticktockmy]

Once you start worring about it, you would never get to enjoy your tour, for all my years of touring the only place someone tried to nick the bike was in Brecon, needles to say the little scroat found the loaded bike was too much for him to handle, mainly cos it was attached to a lampost by a cable, but his little brain, had not worked that problem out. I found in Asia and Africa the problem is more from little fingers playing with the controls, rather from the bike being nicked or thieved from.

 

[peelywally]

i usually select a shop with a window that i can lean the bike against or near , not always possible so get into granny gear then dislodge the chain as an added precaution ,
anyone making a getaway wont know which ring to re set the chain on .
shops in the highlands arent that bad actually , my nightmare is take aways were you must wait i usually wait with bike outside expecting a nod from shop keeper

 

[jjb]

I left the key in my bike lock at a French supermarket by mistake last year. Bike still there after, thankfully.

I used to take both panniers and tent into the supermarket. The I started just taking the tent (£300 in a wee bundle, and almost new) and stuffing my kindle, camera, phone in pockets.The panniers with clothes, well-used sleeping bag and a £50 mat I could afford to lose. I always take the passport with me though - I've read it's an expensive business (fees and hotel costs and train tickets etc) getting that replaced. Lately, I've left the tent onboard too. It's had some use, so it wouldn't be the same if I lost it now. There's something liberating about leaving all the gear outside the shop, it's great.

 

[tapan]

On my annual tours in europe I normally shop after I has set up my tent etc. That means I will just have one pannier on the rear rack and it is empty ( the trailer and gear is in the camp site}. All my important stuff, moneys, credit cards, garmin, passport etc lives in my bar bag and never leaves my person (even in the shower). My velo is always locked up regardless of how long or how far away I might be. On casual stops during my days travel -- for an espresso and sticky -- my rig simply isn't out of my sight and is locked.
To be honest I am far more concerned about bike theft within 5 miles of home. When I visit Doncaster market, usually a couple of times a week, then ( unless I have my trailer attached for a "big" shop) it goes everywhere i go and is still locked if I am just a few feet away at an indoor or outdoor stall.

 

[Fandango]

Never had a problem, although I have only toured in the UK so far. All my valuables are in my bar bag so they go with me. I do have an expensive tent but does the average yob know the makes of good tents? I always look for a big supermarket and lock my bike to an immovable object in view of the main door. That way, any thief will have to be hacksawing through my lock in plain view of hundreds of shoppers. Unlikely I reckon. I once left my bike with bags locked up in the middle of Brighton while I visited the Pavilion. Crapped myself the whole time but who is going to mess with a locked bike in a busy area? there must be easier targets.

 

[Banjo]

In the UK supermarket staff will have a place outside they go for a smoke.If you can lock your bike up close to them its pretty safe.

At my local Tesco Theres a camera aimed across the outside Cashpoint machines,I lock the bike up nerxt to there directly in the cameara view.Hopefully this would discourage thieves .

I am regullarilly amazed when I roll up at an Audax control.There will be dozens of bikes just leaning against a wall with not a soul in sight sometimes.Rarely see a locked bike at an Audax control, if you do its likely to be mine.

 

[Arfcollins]

No experience of shopping while on tour, but I park my commuter just inside the door of the local Aldi if I'm popping in and out quickly, so I don't need to bother with stripping off lights etc. Yesterday I took the bike around B&Q while I shopped for a few bits, and no-one said anything. Must try it in Sainsbury's and see what happens...