On How To Portage Eggs

As we settle in to being a one car house, one of the things we've had to modify is how we get groceries.  I could, like many often do, plan out our dinners a week in advance and have the Mr. pick everything up on his way home from work.  However, we used to do that whole organize the week's menu thing and frankly, it was too restricting.  We'd get to "Chicken in Tomato Olive Sauce Night" and realize that didn't sound good nor did it sound good the next night.  So, the chicken would get frozen and whatever produce we bought wouldn't get eaten.  Or, something, inevitably, would come up.  The Mr. had a work dinner, I had to work late, or whatever and we'd just grab something quick.  Once again, something would get wasted.  Typically, it would be leafy greens.  So, most often we'd either eat something easy and fast or we'd grab take out (most often we'd get take out). Call it spontaneity or ADD, we just couldn't schedule our meals.

Now that I no longer work, cooking is something I can once again do without nightly conflicts.  So, since we only have one car, this was an opportunity to revamp the shopping thing.  Obviously, we aren't very successful with the scheduled menus and I can't carry an entire week's worth of groceries on my bike yet (we pick up our trailer on Thursday).  Therefore, I decided to make daily trips to the store and buy less at a time.

You may think this is a hassle.  Granted, if the store was 10 miles away or something, it would be.  However, we're fortunate to have West Point Market only a few blocks away.  Actually, driving a car there would be ridiculous it's so close.  I can get there in about 5 minutes, grab what I need for that evening's meal and anything else we're out of in about 10 minutes, and be home in another five.  It would take double that time to drive to one of the supermarkets.  Of course, West Point is a "gourmet" food store and their produce is mostly seasonal, but its really not much more expensive than, say, Giant Eagle.  The meats are pricey, but they're much better quality than the suspicious looking stuff from the other place *cough ACME *cough.  In fact, by just getting what I need for dinner instead of doing a week's shopping I've drastically cut our grocery bill.  If I choose something for Monday's dinner that calls for like a rutabaga (which are enormous), I try to come up with other meals that I can sneak it into.  That one giant root ends up feeding us all week!  Plus, the local seasonal produce is always cheaper than the imported items.

This morning, I needed some fish, kale, a lemon, milk, and eggs.  That's right, eggs.  I decided to take the Trek 1). because I've been neglecting it and 2). I haven't picked up a spare tube for the Varsity and I'm not going tubeless again.  I hooked up the cargo basket, checked my tires, and headed out.  It was a glorious morning for a ride to the store, by the way.  We arrived to discover the Trek would have a friend at the rack, albeit with a very rusty chain.

I was in and out of the store in ten, despite creating a small following of 3 year olds who were mesmerized with my helmet.  Then, I loaded everything up, and headed home.  How does one transport eggs on a bike without scrambling or cracking any?  Really, it's pretty easy.  I brought along an extra paper bag and an old towel in which I wrapped the carton.  I secured it in the basket next to the other bag of groceries and snugly strapped it all down with some bungee cords.  On the ride home, I was extra careful to avoid potholes, but had to trust it would hold on the brick streets (why on earth are there still brick roads?  I mean, I get the aesthetics, but really!?!)

Anyway, I'm happy to report not a single egg was damaged in the commute.  Here is my proof:

Whether or not this methodology would work on a longer trip, I do not know.  But, I'm fairly certain with a little extra planning (or padding), it wouldn't be a problem at all.

This is an excellent example of how safe riding a bike is, actually.  I transported eggs for crying out loud and they're in perfect condition.  If that can be done, you shouldn't be worried about carrying along your child or pet or your grandmother's antique crystal.

Just sayin'...