Convenience plays a big part in my choice of places to shop -- but
there are a lot of convenient places on the Southwest path from TJ's
to Home Depot. (Home Depot, surprisingly, has some very nice parking,
a good rack at each end of the store with room for almost any bike.)
It's reasonably easy to get to Woodman's West (path a long the
beltline to Grand Canyon, then under the beltline and you're a couple
of blocks away) and has pretty good bike parking. Of course, getting
_to_ that path along the beltline from the "Y" to Grand Canyon is
another story. Hilldale is probably my favorite. It's reasonably
close to me, it has adequate bike parking and a human scale "main
street".
I run errands on my commuter bike (an updated 20+ year old Univega
touring bike). For most errands I can get by with my Ostrich
handlebar bag, but I have a set of small rear panniers that I often
use. I'm also thinking of changing my rack back to the Topeak with its
integrated rack trunk.
The Xtracycle is the vehicle of choice for larger shopping trips.
It's not just that it has more room, but the built in bags are so
flexible and so easy to pack that I can just get what I want without
(usually) wondering whether it will fit. Rug shampoo machine (rental)
from the hardware store? Not a problem. A bunch of plants in pots
ranging from 2 to 10 inches from the Farmer's Market? Easy -- almost
no dirt in the bags afterwards, and the eggs got home safely in the
same trip.
-Bill
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