Author Topic: What crazy thing did you transport via bicycle or "too small" car today?  (Read 7471 times)

distanceman89

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I want to see what other people get up to, to keep inspiring me! Attach pictures for fun! Mayabe we make this a challenge of some kind? Who can carry the most awkward/large/odd thing around?

Today was a good fun success, I biked the ~7miles to work with a car fender In my bicycle panniers that I need to crate up and ship out. I was very tempted to drive, but the adventure was far more fun, and the bike trailer seemed like overkill. Only stopped once to re-secure it when I heel-clipped my pannier by accident.

I don't drive often, but I do need to get firewood, which results in an afternoon of driving around in my VW golf With a buttload of wood in the back! If it hits the headliner I know I'm doing it right. I'm sure someone's got to be able to beat me on this with some crazy things on the roof or hanging out the back!

Share and show me up!

alexb2746

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Re: What crazy thing did you transport via bicycle or "too small" car today?
« Reply #1 on: February 08, 2017, 08:00:25 AM »
I wouldn't say crazy, but running my dog and her dog cage in my home built bike trailer that is like 4 ft long and 2ft wide. I couldn't find something that big to haul big things so I built it :P. I have rented a steam cleaner in it and go to Costco with it.

ketchup

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Re: What crazy thing did you transport via bicycle or "too small" car today?
« Reply #2 on: February 08, 2017, 08:26:08 AM »
I don't have any photo documentation of the wackiest stuff, but I have loaded at least 250lbs of meat into the back of my old Chevy Metro, 1000lbs+ of sod into my old Buick Roadmaster station wagon (when I went to pick up the sod they asked "Where'd you park your truck?"), and nine deer carcasses into my current Hyundai Accent.

The Buick also transported two couches, and several mattresses across several moves.



Optimiser

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Re: What crazy thing did you transport via bicycle or "too small" car today?
« Reply #3 on: February 08, 2017, 10:20:34 AM »
People try to tell me owning a Miata isn't practical
« Last Edit: February 08, 2017, 10:26:56 AM by AntiochOG »

Nate R

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Re: What crazy thing did you transport via bicycle or "too small" car today?
« Reply #4 on: February 08, 2017, 11:10:28 AM »
350 lbs of stone (in bags) in a 2001 Honda Insight. (2 seater, 1600 lb hybrid car)
Tons of lumber hauled in that Insight. Could fit plenty of 8' boards! Had it packed full of stuff for hunting trips several times. Got it stuck in a sandy road once, but dug it out. Had that thing packed with other stuff that "shouldn't fit" several times. Air compressor in the passenger seat that barely fit, giant pumpkin, etc

Towed a 1300 lb camper with a Honda Civic. (Only did this a few times. Any more and I would've added trailer brakes. Manual transmission.)

Put a few storm windows in our Hyundai Accent Hatchback about a week ago. Guy at the store looked at me like I was crazy for trying to fit them. Slid in perfectly. :-) (I got lucky!) 72" long, 30" wide storm windows. (BIG!)


otter

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Re: What crazy thing did you transport via bicycle or "too small" car today?
« Reply #5 on: February 08, 2017, 01:58:39 PM »
Miata is always the answer! :)

People try to tell me owning a Miata isn't practical

Orvell

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Re: What crazy thing did you transport via bicycle or "too small" car today?
« Reply #6 on: February 08, 2017, 02:11:20 PM »
Lol!
All my art for a show one time...
Not particularly large, but the cost of a wipeout would have been heartbreaking.


Syonyk

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Re: What crazy thing did you transport via bicycle or "too small" car today?
« Reply #7 on: February 09, 2017, 09:55:22 AM »
I don't drive often, but I do need to get firewood, which results in an afternoon of driving around in my VW golf With a buttload of wood in the back! If it hits the headliner I know I'm doing it right.

Just for fun, have you done the math on how badly over gross vehicle weight you probably were there?

Home Depot runs in motorcycle gear get some odd looks - I've got a Ural (Russian motorcycle with a rather large sidecar) and you can fit a lot of stuff in there or along the top of it.

Allison

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Re: What crazy thing did you transport via bicycle or "too small" car today?
« Reply #8 on: February 09, 2017, 10:14:26 AM »
I needed a very large piece of cardboard for a craft project...this one barely made it in the car.  :)

sailorlee15

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Re: What crazy thing did you transport via bicycle or "too small" car today?
« Reply #9 on: February 09, 2017, 11:42:06 AM »
The gig was at The Horseshoe Casino in Baltimore. Amp provided so I used the trailer!

SisterX

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Re: What crazy thing did you transport via bicycle or "too small" car today?
« Reply #10 on: February 09, 2017, 11:52:26 AM »
Not me, but in the fall I saw some guy transporting a deer carcass in his homemade bike trailer. I had so many questions that have never been answered.

For me, last week I made a Costco run after work on my bike (in the pouring rain--I got some odd looks) in which I filled up the one pannier I had and strapped a bunch of large things to my rack using bungee cords. It was unwieldy to get started but otherwise fine. Usually I bring the kiddo and the bike trailer for more cargo/storage space, but had no desire to bike home in the rain then back out again with the kid.

No pics, though.

Am trying to figure out if there's a reasonable way to haul some pallets home by bike, for a potato growing project.

alexb2746 - LOVE the look of that trailer! We just have the kiddo trailer but at some point I'll need one purely for hauling things. Or maybe a cargo bike? But that just might be an excuse for another bike. You always 'need' n+1 bikes, n being the number of bikes your spouse/partner thinks is appropriate. :)

alexb2746

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Re: What crazy thing did you transport via bicycle or "too small" car today?
« Reply #11 on: February 09, 2017, 12:35:30 PM »
Not me, but in the fall I saw some guy transporting a deer carcass in his homemade bike trailer. I had so many questions that have never been answered.

For me, last week I made a Costco run after work on my bike (in the pouring rain--I got some odd looks) in which I filled up the one pannier I had and strapped a bunch of large things to my rack using bungee cords. It was unwieldy to get started but otherwise fine. Usually I bring the kiddo and the bike trailer for more cargo/storage space, but had no desire to bike home in the rain then back out again with the kid.

No pics, though.

Am trying to figure out if there's a reasonable way to haul some pallets home by bike, for a potato growing project.

alexb2746 - LOVE the look of that trailer! We just have the kiddo trailer but at some point I'll need one purely for hauling things. Or maybe a cargo bike? But that just might be an excuse for another bike. You always 'need' n+1 bikes, n being the number of bikes your spouse/partner thinks is appropriate. :)

Thanks! Yeah I had bought that at Walmart for like $75? It was a 2 child one, but I actually bought it to take our dog in and was awkward and barley sort of worked; bike trailers on the market or local places suck to me, so I tore it down to the frame and put together some lumber and made an awesome trailer (Maybe I should make a more detailed post of it?), I think I could easily haul 100lbs, with tie down straps I could probably almost fit anything. It is kind of a bear I first took it 10 miles one-way to Costco with a dog and a lot of stuff, a really big hill too, but now that I have the electric bike its easy!

ketchup

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Re: What crazy thing did you transport via bicycle or "too small" car today?
« Reply #12 on: February 10, 2017, 03:19:28 PM »
Last night I bought a 13ft roll of vinyl flooring.  It wasn't until I got it to the parking lot that I thought "Huh, this might take a little doing."

Made it home without anything stupid happening.

meghan88

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Re: What crazy thing did you transport via bicycle or "too small" car today?
« Reply #13 on: February 10, 2017, 05:19:08 PM »
I once strapped a 66-lb bag of cement mix to my over-the-rear-wheel bike rack and biked it from the hardware store to home, which was about a mile.  It was OK once I got going.  The next day when I biked back to the store to pick up other supplies, an employee followed me out to ask if I was the "lady who biked with the cement bag yesterday."  I guess that story made the rounds, though when I was loading the cement bag on the bike on the previous day, I said to the guys: "oh, c'mon, I'm sure this isn't the craziest thing you've ever seen."  (I didn't get an answer.)

Today, idiot that I am, I walked/wrestled/slid two bikes home with me in -5 C temps after about 5 cm of snow.  Distance:  2.6 km.  I'd biked to work on my beater and got the call that my better beater was ready at the shop (needed some repairs that I couldn't do on my own).  Could've waited for a sunny day, but noooo, I wanted my nice beater bike for my next commute.

SimpleCycle

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Re: What crazy thing did you transport via bicycle or "too small" car today?
« Reply #14 on: February 10, 2017, 09:11:02 PM »
I once moved by bike, with a cargo trailer I bartered my time for volunteering at the local bike co-op.  I moved cross country and shipped almost everything that came with me (a very small studio apartment worth of stuff, minus furniture) via USPS.  So I would load up one 18x18x24 box at a time (weighing about 50-70 lbs each) and bike it the mile and a half to the post office.  Talk about an experience that makes you appreciate the true cost of owning material possessions.  On the other end I pulled a curling iron out of a box and was like "I PAID TO SHIP THIS?!?!?!!!"

PJ

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Re: What crazy thing did you transport via bicycle or "too small" car today?
« Reply #15 on: February 10, 2017, 09:29:04 PM »
Not very crazy.  But I'll share anyway.

I had an old filing cabinet (vertical 3 drawer) that I wanted to donate to work (a church) to help set up the office for a future employee.  I'm a woman, most of the leadership team are men.  They were going to get a guy from the church who has a van to help them move it in his car.  Turned out he'd sold his van, was driving something else.  I waited and waited, and reminded them more than once that I wanted it out of the house. 

Finally, I moved it myself (with my sister) in the back of my Kia Rio hatchback.  It was in no way hard to do.  When they asked again, and I pointed out that it was already in the office, their jaws dropped.  I'm not sure if it was the fact that I'm female and moved furniture, or because they think my car is so tiny. 

I just rolled my eyes and walked away.

Just Joe

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Re: What crazy thing did you transport via bicycle or "too small" car today?
« Reply #16 on: February 13, 2017, 08:49:05 AM »
Today, idiot that I am, I walked/wrestled/slid two bikes home with me in -5 C temps after about 5 cm of snow.  Distance:  2.6 km.  I'd biked to work on my beater and got the call that my better beater was ready at the shop (needed some repairs that I couldn't do on my own).  Could've waited for a sunny day, but noooo, I wanted my nice beater bike for my next commute.

You need a bike rack on your bike... ;)

Well this morn I stopped at a fabrication shop and bought steel for a project. Carried it to work in my little car. Don't need no stinkin' pickup truck! ;)

Carried home a door on my convertible years ago. Those VW Rabbits/Golf conv/Cabrios and the rollbars can be useful. It was properly strapped down.

Years before that I drove an old school Beetle. Drove several counties over to a junkyard. Bought an engine (aircooled). It would sit on the backseat area with the seat folded but we had to remove the front seats to lift it into the car. Good thing we didn't have a crash b/c that engine loose inside the car would have surely killed us but I was young and immortal back then.

Also around that time I moved another air cooled engine (and all the attached parts) across town on the roof rack of my Beetle. Really changed the center of gravity on my little car. Much safer though than inside the car.

These days I use a pickup truck or trailer (mostly my trailer) to do tasks like that. I don't mind towing with small vehicles but they have marginal brakes for towing.

MoMan

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Re: What crazy thing did you transport via bicycle or "too small" car today?
« Reply #17 on: February 13, 2017, 06:42:28 PM »
What? It had a flat tire so I had to take it to the gas station to fix it.

chinamotorist1_featured by MoMan1964, on Flickr
« Last Edit: February 13, 2017, 06:47:41 PM by MoMan »

beege

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Re: What crazy thing did you transport via bicycle or "too small" car today?
« Reply #18 on: February 16, 2017, 11:15:58 PM »
On my way to the recycling center. Riding the tandem alone but the long wheelbase really helps with a heavy rear load.

PJ

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Re: What crazy thing did you transport via bicycle or "too small" car today?
« Reply #19 on: February 16, 2017, 11:17:20 PM »
On my way to the recycling center. Riding the tandem alone but the long wheelbase really helps with a heavy rear load.

Ok.  You win.  I'm not worthy to even be in the same thread as you. 

Metric Mouse

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Re: What crazy thing did you transport via bicycle or "too small" car today?
« Reply #20 on: February 17, 2017, 12:19:26 AM »
Last night I bought a 13ft roll of vinyl flooring.  It wasn't until I got it to the parking lot that I thought "Huh, this might take a little doing."

Made it home without anything stupid happening.
That is impressive... Hard to get through parking lots or down side-streets with that?

ketchup

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Re: What crazy thing did you transport via bicycle or "too small" car today?
« Reply #21 on: February 17, 2017, 07:46:45 AM »
Last night I bought a 13ft roll of vinyl flooring.  It wasn't until I got it to the parking lot that I thought "Huh, this might take a little doing."

Made it home without anything stupid happening.
That is impressive... Hard to get through parking lots or down side-streets with that?
It didn't stick out all that far on either end; the main issue was visibility.  I had to fold the passenger side mirror out of the way, and couldn't see out the back at all.  Left turns were easy and right turns were tricky.  Also had to accelerate and decelerate slowly or else it would shift forward or back more than I was comfortable with.  A bit hair-raising.

onemorebike

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I'd like to play. The things I've carried by bike over the years: a little girl's birthday party (7 people), a keg, 50 some traffic cones, camping gear, a couple of friends, a grill. (There are more but this is a good start)



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TacheTastic

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Re: What crazy thing did you transport via bicycle or "too small" car today?
« Reply #23 on: February 19, 2017, 01:55:22 AM »
I fit a wardrobe in my Rover Metro 3 door hatchback.

distanceman89

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Onemorebike- is that a homemade long tail cargo bike?? If so do you have any construction details? It's badass and I want one!!

onemorebike

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Onemorebike- is that a homemade long tail cargo bike?? If so do you have any construction details? It's badass and I want one!!
Not homemade, necessarily, but that was the original xtracycle attachment that could convert a normal bicycle into a longtail. It was much less expensive than current options.

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FamVestor

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This was from a week ago. I think the scale weighed it as 600lbs of junkwood. Love my Yaris!

Metric Mouse

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This was from a week ago. I think the scale weighed it as 600lbs of junkwood. Love my Yaris!

That's awesome!

hollis

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This was almost 2 years ago.   We fit an 8ft long couch in my scion XB.    Glad we only had to drive 2 miles.

Dexterous

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I just carried 2 mattresses inside a Fiat Panda... at the same time.  :D The Italians were urging me to buy 1 more for the roof because they thought it was hilarious :D

steviesterno

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my wife and I got a 500 pound, queen size murphy bed onto a 2'-4' trailer hitch basket. It was way harder getting it down without smashing it to pieces.

We had to hire a moving company to get it installed, which was $200. I felt bad about it but the bed was only $100 (new they are $2-3k!) and even building the kit would be $600 with the special springs. But the good news is we've turned her tiny work from home office into a big and beautiful one she will actually enjoy being in. so I think it works out.

ToTheMoon

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Am trying to figure out if there's a reasonable way to haul some pallets home by bike, for a potato growing project.

alexb2746 - LOVE the look of that trailer! We just have the kiddo trailer but at some point I'll need one purely for hauling things. Or maybe a cargo bike? But that just might be an excuse for another bike. You always 'need' n+1 bikes, n being the number of bikes your spouse/partner thinks is appropriate. :)

We sold our kiddo trailer last year, and used some of the proceeds and bought one of these http://www.wicycle.com/index.php/products/cargo-trailers/wike-heavy-duty-flatbed-bike-trailer.

Its been great, weighs very little, has 125lb capacity, and takes up virtually no storage space compared to the kiddo trailer (4" when you pop the wheels off.)

I believe they sell kits if you want to DIY your trailer size as well. (Yes, we took the lazy route.)

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!