I tried my default backup plan of "Velouria's panniers" but on my way back to the office, I had a plastic bag fail, which ended up with Zucchini in the spokes! The horror! And yes, I know that having plastic bags close to your spokes is in general a bad thing (although the front wheel is much more dangerous). Mostly I've been lucky because I've carried lighter things which are easily held out of the wheel by the fender stays.
However, the zucchini didn't seem to want to stay up out of the way, so after picking bits of squash off of my hub, I decided I needed another way to get stuff home.
Enter the temporary box-basket:
As you can see, you cut a pair of holes for the bungee to slip through, et voila:
I've done this a couple of times now, and it's simple if you have a) a properly sized box stashed under your desk or in your office mail room b) a bungee or rack strap c) a box cutter/ X-acto.
It was a nice day at the market:
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| The Metro-Pedal Power bike truck was making a pickup: |
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| I love wrinkly (aka Savoy) cabbage |
Smart idea on the box! I'm always impressed by a good MacGyver job. I'll have to remember that.
ReplyDeleteIf you had posted this a week ago I would have punched holes in the bottom of the pizza box and bungeed it on this day: http://ladyfleur.wordpress.com/2012/06/22/bike-date-friday-stays-home-pizza-delivery/
I suppose in a pinch, you could probably just punch a couple of holes in the box with any kind of relatively pointy object you might have handy. That's a great solution!
ReplyDeleteCan I ask what kind of bungee cords you use? I need hookless, multi-strap, flat cords and yours look perfect! Thanks a lot!
ReplyDeleteI have Bibia brand "quattro" rack straps that I purchased at Clever Cycles in Portland. I love them, and they've stood up to 4 years of heavy use- although I may need to replace them in the next year or so as they're getting a little stretched out.
ReplyDeleteA metal receiver is threaded onto the axle and held in place with the axle nut. You can detach the end of the strap from the receiver by twisting it 90 degrees to do stuff like loop it through a box :)
I bought a similar product locally (Pyramid brand I believe) but am not as happy with it.
Do veggies taste better when cycled home from the CSA? I don't belong to one, but love picking up produce at the local farmer's market by pedal. It's probably the perfect shopping experience -- satisfying on all fronts!
ReplyDeleteNice job on the impromptu panniers!
I did exactly the same thing when I wanted to take a picnic dinner for 2 and realized I didn't have an appropriate basket on hand. I used a Fat Tire beer box that I had in the corner and just strapped it to my rack (with the same bungee that you have. It worked great.
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