Two-wheeled grocery challenge

This week and next, I'm taking a slightly different path on the grocery challenge. Not only will I still be trying to lowering the average weekly shopping bills (currently @ $153 for five people), I'll also be doing as much grocery shopping as possible by bike. I haven't picked out and installed a rack on the rear of the bike yet, so will be limited to what I can carry between front basket and backpack. It's not actually all that limiting, as you can see by this photo from last Thursday:



With Publix, Kroger, Whole Foods, Trader Joes, a bakery, and the pet food store all within 2.5 miles of the house, there's really not many reasons to get in the car, now that the weather is so nice. (Ooh! That reminds me - it's almost time for the two fruit & veggie stands to re-open for the summer. Yea!)

There will be a couple of exceptions. This Monday, I swung by the store on my way home from the middle school media center and picked up a gallon of milk while getting a container of fruit salad for lunch. Thunderstorms are out, too. I don't mind riding in a gentle rain, but darker skies, distracting flashes and heavy downpour just doesn't feel terribly safe. I'm not worried about being struck by lightning. It's the cars. Atlanta drivers go a bit... nutty when it rains.

The early shopping this week has gone pretty well. Both trips were TJs/Bakery combos. Felt a little odd carrying the bag from the bakery into TJs with me, but the only question I got was the clerk asking me which bakery I'd gone to, because the ciabatta looked wonderful.

Finally, for the last few days' Things People Yell Out The Window:

Where's your helmet?
This one didn't bug me, as I should be wearing my helmet. I smiled, took it out of the basket and put it back on. I'd just taken it off to adjust my ponytail at the red light.

.......OOR!
I didn't catch the first part, so am not certain they were berating me for being poor. It's possible they were asking if I was a member of the world's oldest profession. I could have asked the young men (late teens/early 20s) when I passed them at the next intersection, but was too busy trying to avoid the bare foot dangling out of the passenger window of the SUV. Yeah, they were classy. Gotta love the suburbs. If you're on a bike while wearing street clothes, you're a bum.