Challenge: You can only bike/walk to get groceries!
Seajolly
Posts: 1,435 Member
Anyone want to join me for this challenge? I can only bike or walk to get groceries! No driving. This forces me to:
- get exercise anytime I want food
- shop more often and therefore exercise more often because I wont be able to carry as much or fit as much on my bike so I'll have to make more trips
- will also keep my choices essentials-only and not silly snacks because I only have so much room to fit things on my bike or carry
Who else is up for the challenge??
- get exercise anytime I want food
- shop more often and therefore exercise more often because I wont be able to carry as much or fit as much on my bike so I'll have to make more trips
- will also keep my choices essentials-only and not silly snacks because I only have so much room to fit things on my bike or carry
Who else is up for the challenge??
2
Replies
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Wish I could, but my grocery store is about 25 miles away and I have to take the interstate to get there. Go get it, though!3
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I already do that.
I live in a dense neighborhood in Seattle, within walking distance to downtown. Traffic is maddening, slow, erratic, and frankly dangerous at times. Driving in the city traffic is like flexing a muscle, you have to expect someone to brake for no reason or a child to run out from behind a parked car or any other thing. Parking can be difficult to find in a city. I don't like lots because I used to work where a guy would park so close to other peoples' cars they couldn't get in through the driver's side door. That happened once to me and I try to park in corners or out on the street to make sure I can get back in the car.
On top of all that, we have two grocers in walking distance, and I love cycling. There's another store a little further away that lets me keep the bike inside and actually has a security guard keep an eye on it for me. I've thanked the manager and let him know this is a big part of why I shop with them.4 -
I do that for the most part but I also order my bathroom supplies, non-perishables, and cat food and litter from Walmart.com and get it delivered. It's much cheaper. I lived in NYC for 9 years and still don't have a car where I live now so I walk to get my milk and eggs. I get scared biking on the road to the grocery store from my condo.1
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- will also keep my choices essentials-only and not silly snacks because I only have so much room to fit things on my bike or carry
Panniers and a rear rack are a lot more comfortable than a backpack because they won't pull on your shoulders! The first time I slapped a set of panniers on my bike and went out and got groceries, it made me happy. A lot of people just do one side, and some people make their own by reusing bags or boxes.
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NorthCascades wrote: »- will also keep my choices essentials-only and not silly snacks because I only have so much room to fit things on my bike or carry
Panniers and a rear rack are a lot more comfortable than a backpack because they won't pull on your shoulders! The first time I slapped a set of panniers on my bike and went out and got groceries, it made me happy. A lot of people just do one side, and some people make their own by reusing bags or boxes.
Nice
I have 2 baskets on my bike, but sometimes it's still not enough! Haha. 0 -
Well I don't have a bike....but it's also 10 miles or so to the store. It's close to work, but I can already barely carry all my stuff to work. I can't imagine having to take yet another change of clothes along with me. And the ride home after lifting would suck so bad.0
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I guess I should have prefaced that this challenge is mainly for people like me who CAN bike to stores, just have always felt too lazy to.
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Nice I have 2 baskets on my bike, but sometimes it's still not enough! Haha.
What's your plan for laundry detergent?
I'm just going to steal the neighbors. Kidding. For the purposes of this challenge, can I get laundry detergent on my lunch walk at work, and then drive it home with me? I used to commute to work by bike but they moved the office further away and I can't reasonably go 15 hilly miles to work and arrive at 7 am looking and smelling presentable.0 -
Anyone want to join me for this challenge? I can only bike or walk to get groceries! No driving. This forces me to:
- get exercise anytime I want food
- shop more often and therefore exercise more often because I wont be able to carry as much or fit as much on my bike so I'll have to make more trips
- will also keep my choices essentials-only and not silly snacks because I only have so much room to fit things on my bike or carry
Who else is up for the challenge??
I did this for many years when I lived in Winnipeg.
I got rid of the motor vehicle in early 1999 and didn't acquire another one until I moved to another city in 2005.
I cycled to and from work most days of the year (even in winter in Winnipeg) and took the bus or walked on the really bad days. That was a 13.6 km round trip commute.
I walked to get groceries a couple times a week ... 1 km each way. I could only buy as much as I could carry and with 3 cats, they got the priority which didn't leave much for me.
I walked, cycled, or took the bus if it was available, to run all my errands.
Currently, I take the bus into the city to work, and then run errands on my lunch hour on foot. I do shopping, visit the library, go to medical appointments, go to my university for classes, etc. etc. etc. all on foot.
We can, and do, get groceries at our local grocery store (600 metres round trip) on foot after work now and then, but unfortunately the shop doesn't have a whole lot of selection and tends to be a bit pricey so we prefer to use a place a little further away. We did, however, walk to the place a little further away once to see how that would go. That's about 7 km round trip.
My life circumstances change quite frequently, so when I can cycle and walk for errands, I do. 1 -
NorthCascades wrote: »
What's your plan for laundry detergent?
I'm just going to steal the neighbors. Kidding. For the purposes of this challenge, can I get laundry detergent on my lunch walk at work, and then drive it home with me? I used to commute to work by bike but they moved the office further away and I can't reasonably go 15 hilly miles to work and arrive at 7 am looking and smelling presentable.
Haha yes I'm only sticking to groceries for this challenge. Not gonna do my giant paper towel and toilet paper buyout on my bike or laundry detergent. I'd probably get into an accident trying to bike those home (I buy them in bulk for savings).
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NorthCascades wrote: »
What's your plan for laundry detergent?
I'm just going to steal the neighbors. Kidding. For the purposes of this challenge, can I get laundry detergent on my lunch walk at work, and then drive it home with me? I used to commute to work by bike but they moved the office further away and I can't reasonably go 15 hilly miles to work and arrive at 7 am looking and smelling presentable.
Haha yes I'm only sticking to groceries for this challenge. Not gonna do my giant paper towel and toilet paper buyout on my bike or laundry detergent. I'd probably get into an accident trying to bike those home (I buy them in bulk for savings).
For the large items like that, I'd walk to the grocery store (or take the bus if I went to one further away) and then take a taxi home.
I only had to do that every 3 or 4 months.
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NorthCascades wrote: »
What's your plan for laundry detergent?
I'm just going to steal the neighbors. Kidding. For the purposes of this challenge, can I get laundry detergent on my lunch walk at work, and then drive it home with me? I used to commute to work by bike but they moved the office further away and I can't reasonably go 15 hilly miles to work and arrive at 7 am looking and smelling presentable.
Haha yes I'm only sticking to groceries for this challenge. Not gonna do my giant paper towel and toilet paper buyout on my bike or laundry detergent. I'd probably get into an accident trying to bike those home (I buy them in bulk for savings).
For the large items like that, I'd walk to the grocery store (or take the bus if I went to one further away) and then take a taxi home.
I only had to do that every 3 or 4 months.
Same. I buy laundry detergent like every 5 months and toilet and paper towels every 3-4 months.0 -
Part of me is totally into this. It's about an 18 minute walk round trip to my nearest grocery store. There's also a gas station right across the street, so whenever I have a "snack attack" (I don't keep snacks in my apartment on purpose) I make myself walk. So I know it's totally doable, buuuut another part of me isn't totally into this. I despise the grocery store I live by. Granted, it's a Safeway, but its in the middle of a heavily populated college area, is small, smells weird, and it really carries mostly convenience food and liquor. The quality of produce is not all that great, and it doesn't have a full meat department.
I might suck it up and go there when I have to do light shopping. It's an easy way to get my steps/some exercise time in.1 -
It's not cheating to have Amazon or whoever else bring you paper towels, either.
For me, the benefits of doing this are (1) spend more time outdoors which makes me happy, (2) fresher produce more often, (3) an escape from cabin fever, and (4) I burns me some calories.1 -
NorthCascades wrote: »It's not cheating to have Amazon or whoever else bring you paper towels, either.
For me, the benefits of doing this are (1) spend more time outdoors which makes me happy, (2) fresher produce more often, (3) an escape from cabin fever, and (4) I burns me some calories.
Yep, I feel the same way! They are great benefits. 0 -
No way! I did it for 2 days last month while my car was in the mechanic. Doing a round trip of 11kms carrying heavy groceries ( i stupidly stocked up on watermelon and cantaloupes) just about killed me! Then i had to go back the next day to get the stuff I'd forgotten the previous day
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Thats what i do also, walk to store get the bus back. Since 1994. I wonder if i had kept driving, how much would i weigh cause it didnt keep me from gaining, but i,m pretty strong.2
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I'll start it off... Today I biked to Trader Joe's. My local TJ's is literally a 5 min bike ride (probably 20 min walk) from my front door so I actually ended up taking an extra long way to get there. I went for a 30 min bike ride first, then swung by TJ's, then biked home so I biked 35 mins when I could have only biked 10 mins total. But just getting on the bike is the biggest step, so doing the extra ride was easy breezy! I purposely didn't get coffee or creamer which I'll be running out of in a couple of days just for the incentive of going back soon!2
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Wish I could, but it's about 15 to 20 minutes by car.0
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We do this already but we're less than one mile from a supermarket and two natural/ethnic grocers...so it's almost cheating for the challenge
Still, cool idea! 1 -
It is my goal in a few more weeks. Right now I'm just getting back in shape. Eventually I will be taking my trike the 1.3 miles to the store and 1.3 back. Right now I'm just up to walking .6 without much issue. Need my legs stronger before my trike can handle hills lol1
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I don't do my grocery shopping by bike, but I do a lot of other stuff. If I take the safe route, downtown is 15 miles from my house, so I like to ride up there to eat sometimes. I rode to FedEx Office one time and ended up taking my bicycle inside because they don't have a place to lock it up outside. I've ridden to work. I ride my bike to church most Sundays. I've ridden it to go vote. I've even ridden it to go buy gas.1
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Christine_72 wrote: »No way! I did it for 2 days last month while my car was in the mechanic. Doing a round trip of 11kms carrying heavy groceries ( i stupidly stocked up on watermelon and cantaloupes) just about killed me! Then i had to go back the next day to get the stuff I'd forgotten the previous day
They say that cyclists spend less per visit but they visit stores more frequently and end up spending more than the average person. And yet they save about $5,000 a year if they eliminate a car.2 -
NorthCascades wrote: »It's not cheating to have Amazon or whoever else bring you paper towels, either.
For me, the benefits of doing this are (1) spend more time outdoors which makes me happy, (2) fresher produce more often, (3) an escape from cabin fever, and (4) I burns me some calories.
And you might possibly get in those 60,000 steps...oh wait, that was another post.
OP, if I didn't live out of town I would love to join your challenge. Does parking as far away as possible from the door count?
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Sounds like a great challenge. It isn't one I can do though. I live on a mountain highway and nothing is safe walking distance from my house.0
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TimothyFish wrote: »Christine_72 wrote: »No way! I did it for 2 days last month while my car was in the mechanic. Doing a round trip of 11kms carrying heavy groceries ( i stupidly stocked up on watermelon and cantaloupes) just about killed me! Then i had to go back the next day to get the stuff I'd forgotten the previous day
They say that cyclists spend less per visit but they visit stores more frequently and end up spending more than the average person. And yet they save about $5,000 a year if they eliminate a car.
Haha yep, i totally believe it. When i do smaller trips through the week to just pick up bits and pieces, my grocery bill is a lot higher at the end of the week than if I'd done just one big shop.
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This doesn't count, but I dropped off a jacket to have the zipper repaired. 9 hilly miles.1
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TimothyFish wrote: »
They say that cyclists spend less per visit but they visit stores more frequently and end up spending more than the average person. And yet they save about $5,000 a year if they eliminate a car.
I believe it!
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I've done this for years. It's wonderful! Even when you're buying groceries for a family of 5. I have a great little trailer I hook up to my bike. However, I have it kind of easy. I live in Florida, so I can do this all year long without too much concern for the weather. And, I live in Florida where the everything is flat. My biggest elevation change is about 200 feet over a couple of miles. Good luck to everyone trying this. You're stronger than you think!1
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