Monday, August 23, 2010

We just completed an absolutely mammoth grocery run. We stopped by the health food store for a few odds and ends (about half a large grocery bag's worth), and then rode to the discount store about 2.5 - 3km from home. I have been eschewing it this summer in favour of the more expensive but very close neighbourhood store, but today decided we would go and do a large shop.

And oh boy we did! I am not sure what came over me. There was a lot we needed, and a lot of good sales. I did think I was stopping myself from overbuying in favour of remembering we were travelling by bike, not car. But I also thought that the full cart was caused more by my backpack and cloth shopping bags than actual groceries, and I was mistaken about that. We ended up with about $150 of groceries, plus two children and myself, on the Xtracycle. I wasn't sure we would get it on the bike, honestly. We came out with a loaded cart, I looked at the Xtracycle, and suddenly its size seemed dwarfed. It looked like a mini, puny Xtracycle with teeny tiny bags. But we started to load 'er up, and achieved success! M, my 6 year old, managed to leverage herself onto the bike above all the bags, and she carried the box of salad greens in her lap because there was just not any more room for it in the panniers.

For once I got pictures! I will upload pics in a bit, as the camera battery is extremely low. It tried to shut off when I was taking pics, but I willed it to live on a bit, and I think the camera actually sensed my desperation. LOL.

eta - Pics!!!

Z and shopping cart full of groceries when I was thinking, 'Uh oh.'




Who knew that would all fit on the bike?





It was an easy ride home. Definitely helps that it is mostly downhill, I did feel a difference on the uphills (which are all very gradual) but it was still nicely manageable. Balance was also different, as I am not used to carrying so much weight, and I felt M's shifting around to talk to Z a lot more than I usually do.

Here we are outside our apartment building, nicely pleased with ourselves. M had to carry the salad greens as there was just no way they were fitting in the panniers:



We felt truly victorious when we got home. While I was loading, fumbling around looking like a fool and dropping stuff from the panniers in my inexperience, I thought 'Someone must be watching me thinking too bad they don't have a car.' But we had fun the whole time. And M was so proud of her role, bringing back the quarter we'd borrowed from a cashier to get a cart (forgot to bring one) while I loaded the bike, getting on over all the stuff, being in charge of the salad, entertaining her sis to keep her awake, and opening doors once we got to our building. I told her I couldn't have done it without so much help from her, and that I was really proud of our teamwork. She was beaming when we got in.

All told we carried:

- 2 bags diapers (approx 100 diapers)
- 3 refills of wipes in a bulk bag
- 2 L almond milk
- large box salad greens
- baby romaine lettuce
- broccoli
- small bag potatoes
- cherry tomatoes
- 2 regular tomatoes and a cucumber
- 4 cans tomatoes
- 2 jars spaghetti sauce
- box macaroni
- 4 boxes Kraft Dinner (M's current favourite)
- bag frozen french fries
- large tin apple juice
- pancake mix
- maple syrup
- pickles
- loaf raisin bread
- rice crackers x2
- pita bread
- babybel cheeses
- coffee beans
- basil
- bag cornmeal
- shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste, deodorant
- bunch of bananas
- ketchup, mustard
- granola bars
- and a new sippy for Z.

Honestly!!!! All of that. I can't believe it.

Great day.

4 comments:

  1. Wow you go girl!! You certainly are an inspiration!

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  2. this is awesome. hope you can manage the same as school starts

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  3. Terrific haul! Have you thought about using cloth diapers and/or wipes? That would save you hauling those items. I know it can be tricky in an apartment, but I've done it before.

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  4. Yes I used to use cloth diapers, up until we moved into the highrise. But I washed two loads in the common washers and that was enough for me. I bought disposables and that is what we use now. But I used them for most of Z's babyhood and most of M's.

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