Weekly food shop... on your bike?

[ColinJ]

Just wondering how people buy items like sacks of potatoes without a car, the mind boggles!

Buy smaller bags?

I am only buying for one so I don't need to buy huge amounts of shopping, but even so I am sometimes carrying about 25 kgs. At least most of that is on my back so it isn't too difficult. I wouldn't volunteer to walk far with a huge bag of spuds!

 

[swee'pea99]

The Dog's food gets delivered once a month by Amazon (for a saving of about £180 a year over Pets at Home/Supermarket prices). But as I stated, the idea is to minimise emissions and the use of cars.

Have you tried this lot? For the stuff our hound eats they're a lot cheaper than Amazon.

 

[Ganymede]

I'll pick up those panniers from Halfords tonight or tomorrow and just give it a go this weekend! Just wondering how people buy items like sacks of potatoes without a car, the mind boggles!

I just had an epiphany, there are two farm shops within 2 and 5 minutes ride from my house... Clearly, I need to build the use of those into my shopping routine.

Luckily my household is small, only my partner, my (rather large) German Shepherd and I. The Dog's food gets delivered once a month by Amazon (for a saving of about £180 a year over Pets at Home/Supermarket prices). But as I stated, the idea is to minimise emissions and the use of cars.

Note of caution re farm shops - some are wonderful but some seem to be squarely aimed at the wealthier foodie. I have a brilliant one near me which is run by the farm people and sells a combo of their own veg, top fruit, and pressed apple juice, and then veg/salad. eggs and soft fruit bought from local suppliers, then that's topped up with a few UK staples such as carrots and suspiciously clean broccoli, mostly UK but a couple of bits from elsewhere such as out-of-season tomatoes and celery. Then they have a freezer with local game, soft fruit and trout caught from the local reservoir. No cheese or milk.

I know I'm really lucky, it's a really straightforward, proper family business with no frills and truly excellent produce - an amazing range and always fresh as they have such a lots of customers. It's also very reasonably priced, but you can find farm shops that are all hessian-lined display baskets and imported biscuits at silly prices! I'd be interested to know what your two are like!

 

[Crankarm]

What about this as a solution:

Cycling in flip flops and no helmet ……………

He seems to have difficulty steering as he's all over the road. Trollies are notoriously difficult to steer and do not go over bumps. They can easily be stopped by a grape. And he's off his trolley.

 

[Gravity Aided]

Cheap front and rear panniers are better than a shopping cart, and alot easier to manage on a bicycle.

 

[Arch]

I'll pick up those panniers from Halfords tonight or tomorrow and just give it a go this weekend! Just wondering how people buy items like sacks of potatoes without a car, the mind boggles!

Ever seen any of those photos of people in the developing world transporting produce to market on a bike? It's amazing what folk can carry when they have no alternative...

If the worst comes to the worst, load the bike up and push it home. Let it take the weight, while you support it... I've done this with heavy unstable loads I didn't fancy cycling with.

 

[CopperBrompton]

Ocado lets you book slots where they will already have a van coming close to your home anyway - those slots are indicated by a green van.

 

[Pat "5mph"]

I don't have a car, do all my shopping on the bike or on foot - with a shopping trolley
Only me and the cat in the household.
I do have plenty of shops at walking or cycling distance. I do have a trailer, but mostly use panniers.
You should manage fine, go for it!

 

[Batgirl]

Pre-children I shopped on a motorbike - so had a backpack and a net cargo net - you could use panniers and a backpack.. front and rear panniers would increase your load capacity.
What I found worked was to buy the 'guts' of my shop.. so meat, veg and expesnive things from a large supermarket then smaller cheaper things from small local shops I could walk to.

Just an idea that might work if you have a local high street or such. You'd be supporting local small businesses too.

 

[MontyVeda]

i tend to shop little and often, either by bike with one pannier or on foot with a haversack.

 

[ufkacbln]

T'other day I bought 3 large bags of compost, a wooden planting tub and a few other odds and ends.

Assistant looked at cycle helmet and cycle gear, then asked how I was getting it home... My reply of "on the bike" returned a look of bemused amazement

I managed

 

[swee'pea99]

Incidentally, going back to the OP, not that I'd ever try to dissuade someone from taking a car off the road, if you did end up deciding to keep one, for whatever reason, you could do it a helluva lot cheaper than leasing at £4,000 a year. I run a totally reliable car for well shy of a quarter of that. Leasing only makes any kind of sense for businesses, almost never for individuals.

 

[IncoherentJeff]

This threads got me thinking even more that I could go car free.

Last few years it wasn't possible as I drove 18k a year, but now that's dropped right down this year.

I can now cycle to work & could do the weekly shop by bicycle. Lots of little trips rather than one big one & buy the heavy liquids at the corner shop instead.

Just crunched the numbers for my 1.4 Ford Fiesta with 3 years NCD is £578 a year (shot right up when I moved recently), plus annual tax of £180 and an MOT of £54.
I could rent a Chevy Spark/Corsa from Enterprise for 75 days before it started cost me more! That's before adding in depreciation, parking permits, tyres, servicing & parts too.

Having a car as & when's needed is sounding pretty good.
I can also cheat & use my motorbike for any spur of the moment long distances. Hmm very doable indeed, now to convince the misses.