Schedule

One of the biggest changes I've had to make as we use the bike more and more and the car less and less is to be more aware of schedules.  It's not so much that it takes significantly longer to get places (in fact it is quicker under a certain distance going to some locations) but more about organizing.  Being in the car it's easy to think that zig-zagging all over town works.  OK, so it works but not in a functional sort of way.  On the bike, with the kids or without, short single errand trips make a ton of sense.  First, bulk and volume are not a big deal since it's one trip and then back home or to the office.  Second, weight is less of an issue.  I can shoulder a 20lb bag of cat food if I'm just riding the couple of miles home.  What I won't do is pick up that 20lb bag, stop by another store for something small and then swing by one last stop before going home.  5 minutes with too much weight on your back is OK, 20 isn't.  Third, if the kids are with me, destinations and routes become a bigger deal.  I'm fine zooming around town through any street or intersection by myself but if the trailer or tag-a-long (or both as the situation happens more and more now) is behind me I start looking for side streets or bike paths.  I've zero trust in folks driving internal combustion vehicles and about the same for electric vehicles.  We can talk about my trust of other cyclists another time.  Experience is that most people aren't really paying attention and while I can dodge around, the trailer can't.  It's surprisingly easy to tip a trailer.  It's just as easy to dump a kid off a tag-a-long (hey, they aren't really paying that much attention either :).  The fourth and last big reason schedule becomes important is figuring out what to do with all the stuff you've just picked up (besides consume less!).  This is where a cargo bike becomes both a blessing and a curse.  The first time I took the xtracycle on errands I was amazed at how easy it was.  I just stopped here, plunked the bag in the back, ran there, plunked the bag in the back, etc...  Problem was, at each stop I also took everything out of the back, carried it around with me and then put it back.  Call me paranoid but leaving a $100 pair of shoes in the cargo space on the xtra while I spend an hour in the grocery store doesn't seem the best solution to me having new footwear.  So, what's to do?  Schedule your errands.  I loosely plan my route and my type of stops first.  If something doesn't fit in and I don't really need to get it done then I save it for later (one of those short distance, single errand trips).  I've had no problems going and getting two bags of wood pellets and leaving them in the xtra while I run other errands.  I figure if someone wants $10 worth of stuff and is willing to run away with 40lbs under each arm then I'm happy to watch the theatrics and run back to the hardware store!  The reality is that most errands can happen all at once.  I find that the backpack or pannier holds everything anyway and I just carry it around.  When I have big trips or large items to get I plan accordingly and take the right bike......ah, the right bike....there's an entire post in there somewhere (depending on how much of a bike geek you are)!