Comments on: Bag Buddy: The Right Wrong Way to Carry Grocery Bags

By: BluesCat

BluesCat — Mon, 07 Jan 2013 01:08:42 +0000

I have some reusable Fry's Foods grocery bags with zippered tops. They are also insulated. I can hang them on the loops of my Trekking bars and they are great for bringing home bulky items from the store like paper towels, toilet paper, and even a six-pack of beer in each one: BluesCat's Poor Man's Front Panniers.

By: norm

norm — Sun, 06 Jan 2013 15:20:54 +0000

Yeah, I agree, no to the plastic bags, and riding with bags on the bars is asking for trouble. But couldn’t they work with a reusable bag with handles? Hmm. There’s nothing like getting to the end of the line in the grocery and finding I’ve bought too much to go in my panniers, might be nice to have a secure (if dumb) option.

By: Dan

Dan — Fri, 04 Jan 2013 19:10:29 +0000

I like the measure of relative shame, and make most of my decisions this way.

By: Matt H

Matt H — Fri, 04 Jan 2013 18:45:42 +0000

mwmike… you bring up the “beer and cigarettes” but unfortunately in our small suburban Philadelphia town it’s the people who lost their license to DUI/DWI offenses who you are most likely to use the bike as practical transportation… and the tell-tale sign? Full plastic bags hanging from the handle bars! (Often on old racing style bikes with the handlebars turned upside down.)

That leads to a bigger observation… a few years ago I was reading a book about someone who moved to rural Wales and only used his bike for transportation. He related with some humor that the guys in the local pub were convinced that he didn’t drive because he lost his license or that he killed someone with a car. They never considered that he would chose to live that way, and didn’t believe him when he said he did.

That’s not just a UK phenomenon, unfortunately.

By: mwmike

mwmike — Fri, 04 Jan 2013 11:48:47 +0000

Perfect for carrying my beer and cigarettes.

By: listenermark

listenermark — Fri, 04 Jan 2013 04:04:34 +0000

Completely agree with James….kick that plastic bag habit, it’s not hard. Reusable grocery bags fold flat, are easy to store, and weigh next to nothing. While it’s almost impossible to eliminate all petroleum products, this one is monkey simple.

By: John

John — Fri, 04 Jan 2013 00:49:19 +0000

Pink streamers stuck out of the bar ends would add a nice touch to the bag buddies.

By: Wern

Wern — Thu, 03 Jan 2013 23:26:38 +0000

Almost as humiliating as bar ends, which accomplish the same purpose.

By: Paul in N.W. Gorgia

Paul in N.W. Gorgia — Thu, 03 Jan 2013 23:10:20 +0000

As I am touring across the US I find carrying enough food to last till the next town big enough to have a grocery store means having extra food in plastic shopping bags hanging from one end of my bike to the other. People often commit on it.
Once I am out of the southwest desert then I may be able to carry less.
But on the other hand, it sure is nice not stopping at every small high price store or really big crowed stores. So, I guess having bags hanging all over my fully loaded bike will continue.

I am starting to realize how nice plastic bags have become.

By: Ted Johnson

Ted Johnson — Thu, 03 Jan 2013 22:09:55 +0000

I reuse plastic shopping bags to pick up dog poop. Have not yet switched to hemp bags for poop scooping.