mundane question about carrying trash

[AmyL]

I'm looking for creative solutions to where to carry trash and bulky food if I give up my rack.

I tour on dirt roads (GDMBR last year, http://home.pacbell.net/hillmann/NorCalLoop/index.html next week, seeking 4-8 week dirt ride for next spring, either Europe or Nevada/EasternCalifornia/Eastern Oregon).

I ride with my husband.  Currently we both have rear racks with a set of Ortlieb rear Panniers.  He also has an Ortlieb handlebar bag and I have a Carousel Frame bag.  I don't want to wear a day pack while riding.  I'm considering dropping the rack and panniers and moving to Carousel bar and seat bags.  Everything will fit and work out fine, EXCEPT -- where to carry the trash and bulky foods.   

I use a stretchy basket net on top of my rack to hold a plastic grocery bag for the trash.  On the GDMBR that was generally 1-3 days worth of trash for two people, and sometimes it got quite bulky.  I can also stuff all sorts of bulky food things under the basket net -- like potato chips, polystyrene containers with take-out grocery store roasted chicken, 6 muffins packed in a plastic tray.

There photo at the very bottom of this page shows what I'm talking about:
http://gdradvice.blogspot.com/2007/10/photos.html

I'm shopping at convenience stores and the selection is limited enough that I don't want to limit it further by restricting myself to non-bulky items.  I'm trying to imagine how to carry bulky food items and bulky trash bag with a Carousel solution.  I don't really need the panniers for my gear, but I've grown attached to the flexibility and expandability of the basket net on the rack.

There must be some easy solution that I'm just not imagining.  Ideas?

[ScottM]

That's a tough one, Amy.  I solve it by way of my backpack.  The Talon 22 has more capacity than I need, even with ~3 days food, so there's room to shove bulky items and eventually trash.

You'd think that if you can haul the food you can haul the trash, but it never seems to workout that way, does it?  Trash does pile up sometimes, and it's nice to have it out of the way.

Both the seatbags made by CDW and Epic Designs (newer designs) have bungee cords on the bottom that *might* work for a trash bag, but you may need that space for some items that were on your rack before.

The handlebars are the next place to look at some kind of system of hanging a trash bag.  If the bag was sufficiently sturdy (not regular grocery style) you could tie it onto the seat bag (looped through one of the straps possibly).

Maybe someone else has some better suggestions...

[sean salach]

regards the amount of trash you are bringing out, try to reduce it as much as possible into the trash can at the convenience store as you're leaving. if something is in a sealed bag, and then in a box, ditch the box. if it's cookies or something else dry that you get regularly, dedicate a ziplock bag to that food item, ditch the packaging, and just keep reusing the ziplock bag. you could also try buying items in flammable packaging(paper, waxed paper, cardboard) and just use the packaging in your campfire should you make one. if it's something like your chicken meal, either eat it outside the convenience store, or just dump it into a bag(shopping bag or ziplock) and ditch the packaging. you're camping, meal presentation isn't exactly paramount.

i like oatmeal in the mornings, so when i resupply, i'll buy a bunch of oatmeal, then empty it out into the same ziplock bag of oatmeal i started with and throw the packaging away while i can.

[Stefan_G]

I've gotten into the habit of packing 1 day's worth of food in a gallon-sized, heavy-duty, zip-lock freezer bag.  This makes rationing easy for multiday rides, and also provides a convenient trash container as the ride progresses.  Without a rack, durability is key - unless it's a heavy duty bag, you'll probably end up with the contents eventually getting all over the place.  I guess I've never really thought of this as an issue since you *always* end up with less bulk (trash only) than you started with (food + trash).  Unless you're packing out your sh!t to, I suppose...

[dave54]

I few weeks ago I was driving around some back roads in my pickup when I encountered a young couple on bikes laden with camping gear.  I stopped to chat with them briefly (I was jealous, they were out on their bikes while I was in my cage), when I noticed he had a small bag of trash on his BOB trailer.  I offered to to take his trash, and they both were ecstatic -- thanking me repeatedly and profusely.  Of course I also offered them an ice cold beer from my cooler, topped off their drinking water, and let them review my set of topo maps of the area.  Anything for bikers, right?

So...  I guess my suggestion would be to ask a passing motorist to take it off your hands.  Can't hurt to ask.

[ScottM]

I few weeks ago I was driving around some back roads in my pickup when I encountered a young couple on bikes laden with camping gear.  I stopped to chat with them briefly (I was jealous, they were out on their bikes while I was in my cage), when I noticed he had a small bag of trash on his BOB trailer.  I offered to to take his trash, and they both were ecstatic -- thanking me repeatedly and profusely.  Of course I also offered them an ice cold beer from my cooler, topped off their drinking water, and let them review my set of topo maps of the area.  Anything for bikers, right?

So...  I guess my suggestion would be to ask a passing motorist to take it off your hands.  Can't hurt to ask.

That's cool that you offered beer, water and trash service -- I would do the same thing in that situation.  Little gifts like that along the trail can be pretty magical every once in a while.

As a counterpoint, I'll share a story from when I toured the GDMBR in '04.  We caught up to another cyclist who was touring the route solo.  We rode with him the next day, and it quickly became apparent that he thought every car was out there to serve him.

He flagged down a motorist to pawn his trash off on them.  He did it in such a way that the motorist thought something was wrong.  The motorist then only begrudgingly took the trash and drove off without so much as a word.

Later in the day I went to go filter water and he said, "why?  There's a car coming, I'll just ask them."

That kind of attitude really irked me.  Especially later on in the route when we met a few locals who were tired of cyclists always running out of water and asking for help.  Makes it harder for people when they actually are in trouble.

So, I don't know, just something to think about.  I'm not saying you shouldn't ask for help, but I try to be self-reliant unless someone offers it.