Shopping Cart Mode

Some people wonder how groceries can be done without a car! I did exactly that for 10 years in Montreal and there were only a handful of times where I actually needed a car to transport my haul. Sometimes I’d use the bus and in the summers I might bike but most times I would just walk. That’s the perk of living within 15 minutes of a neighbourhood grocer, big-box store and one of Montreal’s public markets: Atwater Market. Grocery hauls were smaller and more frequent ensuring that I had the freshest ingredients for my next few meals – No costco-sized quantities of anything.

Interestingly, I found grocery shopping to be a bit of a chore in Montreal. The metro station was too close to my house and not on my way home from work which meant dedicated trips or detours were a must. I also disliked buying groceries by bike in Montreal. While my ride to the market was on a separated bike path along the water and absolutely a calming ride, the rides the other stores were just OK and along a busy street (nothing compared to the South Bay stroads though!). Making dedicated bike trips also involved taking my chunky bike out of the storage room and then locking it to something secure at the market. I also carried things on my back or attached them to the rack using bungee cords which I was just uncomfortable.

In retrospect, these are all just silly arguments and perhaps having a better, more enjoyable bike with a dedicated bike basket could have improved the experience.

Living in Palo Alto, I have a Whole Foods on the walk home from the Caltrain station and a Trader Joe’s and Mollie Stones on my bike ride home. Groceries also tend to give me something to do here (more on that in a future post).

Since I have a folding bike, I don’t need to leave it outside. One way to make the Brompton more useful inside a grocery store is “Shopping Cart Mode”! This mode involves purchasing a Borough Basket Bag, mounting it in the front carrier block and partially folding the bicylcle. The grocery stores are spacious inside making it pretty easy to pass your bike as a shopping cart indoors. It also allows me to skip past all the traffic trying to get into and look for parking in the Town & Country Village parking lot where the Trader Joes is located.

Overall the Basket bag carries just enough for a week’s worth of groceries: A carton of milk, eggs, bread, fruits and vegetables and an impulse item. I take advantage of the weather and make dedicated bike trips to the grocery store on my work-from-home days. I fold the bike when I get to the entrance, take it inside as my shopping cart. After checkout, I bike home and take the bag straight into the kitchen so it can be unloaded! There is a sense of satisfaction to it when it all goes right! :)

However, there are a few things that are annoying. When in shopping cart mode, the bike becomes a bit unstable and needs extra attention when rolling it through the aisles. It also does not roll well on rough surfaces. I hear that the Eazy Roller Wheels improve stability and rollability of the bike when folded. I will report back when I get a chance to try it! The other issue I have is unfolding the bike when the basket is filled with groceries but with a bit of care it is not too bad.

Taking my Brompton to the the grocery store is a perfect balance of a fun and functional. With the sun on my smiling face and the wind in my hair, I pedal home with a basket brimming with the ingredients for a delicious week!