23 Reasons Why You Need a Milk Crate on Your Bicycle

If you've never had a milk crate on your bike rack, you are missing out on one of the most versatile ways to haul a diverse array of items.  I will present some of the most compelling reasons here. Invest in yourself to celebrate Bike Month and consider adding a milk crate to your commuting setup.  It's more affordable than a set of the cheapest panniers.

You can find a milk crate in the office supply store, hardware store, or superstore in the home organization section.  Or better yet, find one in the trash to upcycle.  I've had 3 different milk crates on bikes in my life (in the past 20 years).  Sometimes people attempt to steal or vandalize your milk crate, and sometimes the plastic just wears out.  Mount it securely to your rack with nuts & bolts. Carry an adjustable wrench and screwdriver to tighten the mounting hardware if it gets loose.

1. Hazardous Materials - Pictured here is a jug of bleach bungeed onto my rear rack.  It would have been safer in a milk crate.  I could see this would also be a safer way to transport paint.  Anything you wouldn't want to spill or explode in a pannier.  A milk crate can be easily detached and rinsed out in the event of a leak.  If the milk crate gets ruined, you can buy another for less than $10.  

May 5, 2017

2. Bags - Pictured here is my typical backpack (containing a computer) and a dog-hiking saddlebag turned into a bicycle toolbag.  The milk crate offers various positions for your bungee hooks, so it's easy to keep everything tight and secure.  You can put all shapes and sizes of bags into the milk crate, make an 'x' of bungees across the top and go!  

November 18, 2010

3. Water - If you don't have a water bottle cage, a milk crate is a great place to store your water.  This was a bikeshare bike that I rode from Geneva, Switzerland to Evian, France. 

September 14, 2007

4. Cakes - I transported numerous cakes from my house to school in an upside-down Tupperware container (so the lid supports the bottom of the cake).  You wouldn't put that in a pannier, since it could tip over, but a milk crate is perfectly level.

July 31, 2008

5. Costumes - This is a mole costume which requires a bicycle helmet under the 'hood' part of the head.  Celebrating 'mole day' is a thing chemists do periodically.  It's really fun to arrive at a party with your costume (and several cases of beer) in a milk crate.

October 23, 2008

6. Rocks - If you're into geology, a milk crate is a great way to bring back rock samples.  You wouldn't want them weighing you down in a backpack.  And you also wouldn't want them to get your bags dirty.

February 15, 2009

7. Plants - Maybe you're not into inorganic (rocks) but you're more of a biologist... it's really awesome to transport plants in a milk crate.  Here, I'm showing a flat of Arabidopsis on my rear rack but it would really have been better to have the plants in a milk crate in case the bike tilted left or right too far.

September 15, 2009

8. Ice Cream - The last thing you want is melted ice cream in your saddlebag.  It's much better to have an insulated bag in your milk crate, then pedal at top speed to get that frozen treat home before it melts.  In Germany, I did all my shopping by bicycle.  I would buy frozen fish fillets regularly.

December 29, 2009

9. Locks - it's no problem to bring your U-Locks if you can toss them into your milk crate.  That way you can secure your bikes while you enjoy your destination.

January 1, 2010

10. Maps - There's nothing less safe than looking like a tourist.  Some people go around on bicycle tours with a cue-sheet, remarking on ooh! and aah! and ooh-la-la!  When I'm in a foreign country, I try to blend in as much as possible.  Keeping the maps on the down-low and only discreetly peeking at them to plan your next segment on a trip to the restroom (in full privacy) ensures that you don't become a target of pickpockets.  In Italy, I stayed at several hostels and heard horror stories of travelers who had lost money, passports, phones, and other important travel documents.  If you keep your maps in a milk crate, you'll think twice before pulling them out in public.

June 26, 2010

11. Take-Out - Imagine hot liquids, such as Phở or Sweet-and-Sour Pork. You wouldn't want to risk that spilling in your saddlebags!  A milk crate is the perfect way to pick-up your to-go foods.

July 19, 2010

12. Farmer's Market - Because the seasons change, you never know what you'll find at the Farmer's Market.  It's so much safer to transport items such as plums and tomatoes in a milk crate because if they're ripe, the skin can break, releasing sticky sweet juices that could be hard to get out of your panniers.  I like how there are all ages of people in this photo.  It's not only for the young and fit to use a bicycle as a primary means of transportation.

August 28, 2010

13. Workout Gear - Imagine sweaty socks, ballet slippers, swimsuits, wetsuits, anything that would stink up your panniers or carry a good amount of sand and surf.  Those items lend themselves perfectly to a milk crate on the back of your bicycle.  You could also bungee your yoga mat directly to the milk crate.

May 27, 2011

13. Dog - Our dog didn't love riding behind me in a milk crate, but I've seen other dogs quite content to do so.  We would employ the harness that came with our 'dog hiking backpack' which resembled a kind of strait jacket to keep her from jumping out.  This was a 30 mile bike ride in Death Valley.

December 23, 2014

14. Books - The best way to get stronger legs is to put your heaviest books in your milk crate and bomb some hills.  I used to put Chemistry, Calculus, and Biology, top it with a bungee and then head out. This photo is from when a bookstore was closing and we took home a big haul of books!

September 14, 2014

15. Sound System - I've never done this, but I know lots of people who do for open street events like CicLAvia.  You don't have to abandon your tunes when you get out of your car.  There is plenty of space in a milk crate to set up speakers loud enough to share with a group of your friends.

October 24, 2014

17. Cosmetics - I buy cosmetics regularly from CT Organics.  You don't want to put those oily lotions, soaps, and creams into a bag that you also have your cell phone in.  Especially if you have a long, hot ride back to The Valley from Santa Clarita. Throw them in a milk crate and you can be sure that your electronics can be well-segregated from the essential oils.  Speaking of which, SHOUTOUT to the Mother's Day Boutique, which is TODAY.

18. Coffee - Instead of buying coffee at school, I'd take about 6 Cups of drip-coffee in a Hydroflask and bungee that to the inside of my milk crate.  Then I would put the half-and-half in a 700 mL water bottle with a coozy around it. I could refill my travel coffee mug (in the water bottle cage) at will during my commute on the Metrolink train.  It is a glamorous way to travel!

October 20, 2014

19. First-Aid Kit - If you're spending all day in the sun with the family, your adorable nephew may end up with a skinned knee.  This day, his pedal was threaded backwards and consequently fell off three times, each time our nephew fell to the ground and skinned his knee.  If we had been carrying more tools and a first aid kit (and a picnic lunch) in a milk crate this family day wouldn't have had to be cut short.

April 7, 2012

20. Pizza - Who doesn't love pizza?  An easy way to deliver your own pizza is to bungee the pizzas right on the top of your milk crate.  It's already a flat surface.  You can put the drinks, dipping sauces and breadsticks in the milk crate and the pizzas form an automatic lid.  That's what we did this day!

September 27, 2014

21. Campaign Signs - Although I had a good time doing some last-minute campaigning for the passage of Measure M, this sign would have been more effective on the sides and back of a milk crate.  Think of the milk crate as advertising real estate.

October 23, 2016

22. Firewood - Our bicycle camping trip was fantastic.  I had to ride several miles to the Albertson's to buy firewood and it would have been convenient to put the bundle of wood in my milk crate. Instead, I bungeed one bundle to the front rack and one bundle to the rear rack, which was OK, but that's another thing you wouldn't put in a pannier.

December 29, 2015

23. Teaching Supplies - In this photo, you can see I fitted my milk crate with a custom-trimmed paper box lid to make it somewhat padded and also have fewer holes.  I brought everything I needed to do my job in this milk crate for years.  Candy, cookies, molecular and solid state modeling kits... anything somewhat fragile that wouldn't do well banging around in a backpack is ideal to be transported in a milk crate.

In closing, I will offer a word of caution.  The high center of mass created when you fill your milk crate will change the dynamics of stopping, starting, turning, and overall handling of your bicycle.  Make sure your brakes are in working order (read: tight).  If you are riding with a group, remember that a fully loaded milk crate will alter your stopping distance (because you have more momentum). 

If you find that a milk crate makes your bike too difficult to handle, panniers will be better since they have a lower center of mass.  I have more trouble with weight on the front of my bicycle than the back.  Front baskets are good so that you can see what's going on, but when you let go of the handlebars, the front wheel will turn rapidly so that the load has the lowest potential energy.

If your weight is in the rear, however, and you are stopped at a red light, simply use your legs to stabilize the bicycle frame.  Take care when not moving to stabilize the bicycle.  You may want to investigate in a heavy-duty two-legged kickstand if that's important to you, but I've always found a bike rack or tree nearby to prop the bike against.

Share your thoughts, suggestions, experiences and comments!  HAPPY BIKE MONTH!!!!!!

Bike Racks

We got our Smart Car in August 2011.  Since then, we've taken it on many trips.  We've had to do little things to maintain the car in the last year, such as brakes ($427.69) and new tires ($647.35). These we have had done at Boulevard Auto Repair in Van Nuys.  We get regular service (e.g. oil changes) here at Glendale Lube Center.

Photo credit: Anne Hamersky (January 2012)

In academic years 2011-2012 and 2012-2013, I was driving 80 miles per weekday!  I'm so glad I don't have to do that anymore.  We got rid of our 2nd car in February of 2015 and thank goodness for that.  I overheard two people discussing the Public Transit Subsidy Program at CSUN, specifically in regards to Metrolink.

CSUN employees who opt to use the bus, rail, or train to campus may be eligible for a discount of up to 60% off the cost of the monthly transit pass. The total monthly discount will not exceed $100.

One person was explaining to the other that the discount really starts to pay off when you become a single-car family.  Now we drive when we have to (or want to) but if we don't want to drive, we take the Metrolink train with our bicycles.

April 2015 we got the rack, June 2015 we got the bike (Fuji)

Free2Go Bike Rack (#FREE2GO) $109.00 + $15.00 via Flat Rate USA = $124.00

Becoming a single-car household wasn't without its challenges.  We had a bike rack for our old 4-door Honda Civic, but we needed a way to transport at least one bicycle in the case of an emergency. The first rack we purchased is the Free2Go.  As long as your bike weighs less than 45 pounds, this rack will work.  In fact, it's even my preferred rack for transporting our beach cruiser bike, due to the shape of its frame.  At around 2 pounds, the Free2Go bike rack can even be slipped into your messenger bag or backpack if you are driving a rented SmartCar.  The car-sharing company car2go operates in 9 US cities, including San Diego, but not yet in Los Angeles.

October 2015 we got the bike (Fix-D), October 2016 we got the rack

Thule Helium Aero 3 Bike $399.95 + $189.95 Hitch (U-Haul) + $60 Installation + Tax? = $697.10

Fix-D 700C Road Bike - Silver/Red (28") = $98.09

This year, we upgraded our carrying capacity with a 3-bike rack, which is kind of ironic since we have a 2-passenger car.  It was pretty expensive to get the hitch installed, but we finally got the car paid off so it seemed like the right time to start making modifications (spending the money we would have put into a car payment).  We're considering where to take this rack.  So far, we've used it to go out to Riverside and over to the LA River Bike Path with out-of-town guests.  At 20 pounds, the Thule rack can be installed by one female (me) solo.  It has a load-capacity of 110 pounds.

I'm not wild about the Los Angeles car culture, but there are still some remote areas that are not well-served by public transportation (e.g. Point Mugu) where we would like to camp and bring our bicycles.  I'm still not totally sure what we're doing over the winter break, but it will most likely involve our new bike rack.  Even though we have a really tiny house, we both fantasize about the next bicycles we want to buy.

DV Packing List Revised 2015

Items to be added to this list include:

Fire tongs
Ax
Outdoor shower
Bar soap
Aluminum foil
Paper plates, paper bowls
Water reservoir(s)
Plastic containers (for night storage of food)
Camping chairs
Small ziploc bags
Laundry bag
Garbage bags & collapsable trash can
Skillet
Saucepan
Kettle
Cutlery (paring knife, spoon, fork)
Dish towel

Food to consider bringing next camping trip:

Oatmeal
Nuts / trailmix
Mac & cheese
Instant mashed potatoes
Stuffing
Mandarins
Bean & cheese burritos

Revisions to the packing list:

Sweatpants w/ pockets
LESS underwear

The best food item:

POWER NUGGETS!!!

Christmas in Death Valley

This year's winter vacations were EPIC to say the least.  We spent time with family in the great outdoors, which gave me perspective and filled me with gratitude.

I took the train to see my sister at Cal State Fullerton.  Her team (NDSU Bison Women's Basketball) played against the Tritons of CSUF.  I got a bit lost coming off the platform at Fullerton and ended up on a big horseshoe to get to the hotel.  A 3 mile bike ride quickly turned into an 8 mile tour with 400 ft of climbing, but it was a great way to become familiar with the area.  Bastanchury Rd was not the best choice but it was pretty to pass by Vista Park and fly down State College Blvd.

My sister and I also went for a run, which was fantastic!  We ran along the south edge of campus, through some really cute neighborhood and straight up into the foothills.  It felt really good to strap on my running belt again and climb a steep hill to get a great view.  It's always awesome to run with a buddy, to have a conversation, and to go somewhere together.  On the way back to the hotel, we snagged an orange straight from the tree.  We did a bit of a walk through campus and some yoga on the hotel lawn, which was a great way to get grounded and lengthen our muscles after our little jaunt.

After seeing my sister, I got picked up in Fullerton by my husband and we drove down to the beach to see his family.  We parked the car (and bike) and walked around Balboa Island.  I found a great hat for hiking that has 360 degree coverage, a wide brim, and it is 100% cotton (washable) in a soft yellow color.  Hey, there's nothing wrong with looking fabulous while preventing skin cancer.

We headed back to our house in Glendale and loaded up the car for our camping trip.  We used the same packing list as the previous trip.  We have a long list of items that we would add to the list for next time, but we had a phenomenal experience.  We left the house in good condition since our friends were coming there to stay while we were gone.  Sadly, we took our dog Melle in to the vet and found out she was suffering from kidney failure and possibly a cancerous growth on her eye.  Bless her heart, she spent 12.5 good years protecting me and although it was difficult, we had her put to sleep.

Heading out to the desert, with our bikes and our dog Edna in our old car was the only way to distract ourselves from the pain of being separated from old Mel.  We arrived too late to check in to our campsite, the guard shack closes at 4:30pm.  But our names were listed on the board of late arrivals, so we set up our tent and went to buy firewood.  Our first night in DV was horrible because our air mattress had a slow leak.  At some point in the middle of the night, I felt like I was sleeping in a giant egg crate.  I had Edna stashed in my sleeping bag and it was very uncomfortable to move around.  Lesson learned!

Day 1 of DV was a sweet bike ride.  We climbed for about 5 miles to Zabriski Point, which had just closed for repairs on December 1st.  It was a bummer not to be able to climb out on the overlook, but we decided it was enough adventure for our first day and turned back to camp.  We went for a short walk along Airport Road and near the visitor's center before returning to the store for more firewood. My aunt and cousin arrived and set up their tent, which doubled the fun!  Our second night was better because we slept on top of the deflated air mattress, a thick Mexican woven blanket, and used an extra-thick yoga mat to pad below our shoulders & hips.  Basically we slept on the ground.

Day 2 of DV was a SUPER SWEET bike ride.  We rode across the valley toward the Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes.  The majority of the ride was below sea level with one long gradual climb to just above sea level around the base of Tucki Mountain.  It was absolutely peaceful riding single-file (because the ranger told us we had to) on the shoulder of a recently resurface highway.  There were so many miles to cover and so little daylight.  We did a little yoga at the turnaround and ate some POWER NUGGETS!  This batch was made using a roasted, mashed Carnival Squash and a cup of Chia Seeds.

http://www.everytrail.com/guide/golden-canyon-and-gower-gulch-loop

Day 3 of DV (Christmas Day) we opened gifts around the morning fire.  We packed up and hiked from Golden Canyon, around Manly Beacon, and through the Badlands towards Zabriski Point.  We didn't hike up to the point this year and we avoided hiking along Gower Gulch, going back to Golden Canyon the way we came.  It was stunning and there was no need to go a different way back because the changing angle of the light changed the way the canyon looked anyway.  I believe we turned back at the far end of the Badlands Loop.  It was so fun hiking with family, and although it was windy, the canyons provided both shade and a wind-block.  We also learned (I think) that no dogs are allowed on this trail.

Day 4 of DV the winds were so bad and the blowing sand and dust reduced the visibility to the point where we decided to leave one day early.  It wasn't so difficult to make that decision since everything was covered with dust, we couldn't keep Edna's food and water clean, we couldn't sit down to a nice meal, and our tent was shaking all night long (and not because of us).  We pulled out of Furnace Creek around 10am and drove through Trona. I've always wanted to go through Trona, named after the mineral Na5(CO3)2(HCO3)×2H2O, which is a source of sodium carbonate. Lucky thing we were able to get there, we almost ran out of gas! Note for next trip: When you are sitting at a gas station (Panamint Springs) for 20 minutes doing nothing, just pump some gas into your car even if you still have half a tank. Cities in the desert are very spread out!

Instead of going home to Glendale, we took the 118 to the 23 (Moorpark Fwy), cut across the 101 in Thousand Oaks for just one exit, and cut through the mountains on the 23 (Decker Rd) to get to the 1 (Pacific Coast Highway). We were using our Rand McNally Road Atlas (very anachronistic I know) to navigate, which I found to outsmart the digital Garmin GPS when it came to locating campsites. We arrived at the first campground on the right side, Leo Carrillo State Beach. Campsites were $45 per night. Firewood was $8 per bundle. Each campsite had a wooden picnic table and a tall fire-pit.

We realized quickly that our equipment was lacking. We had propane and a camp stove, but no pots and pans. We had food and instant coffee, but no silverware or dishes. We had a tent and sleeping bags, but no camping chairs to set around the fire. I want to use the word pathetic, but I don't want to be too hard on myself. We were so happy to be out of the wind in DV, we staked our tent and headed to the nearest grocery store (Vintage Grocers) to see if we could buy any cookware. Unfortunately they didn't carry any so we decided weakly that we would return in the morning to the nearby Starbucks for our morning meal. That sounded better than using the dog's water dish to boil some water.

Not to be forgotten, the winds picked up overnight in Malibu. Looking back at the weather reports, we survived 34 mph gusts. In the morning, we woke up and went for a walk after breakfast. The campground has beach access through an underpass and one of the beaches is completely dog-friendly. This was great news and Edna Jo was in good company. We scouted out campsites that we might like to visit again. We even proposed the idea of taking the train to Ventura on a Friday night and biking in to Leo Carrillo for a night. We could ride home all day Saturday or Sunday. Definitely keeping this in mind for 2015.

Another great thing about Leo Carrillo, even though they are not cheap, is that they have showers (for a small cost) and you can have 3 cars (8 people) per site. Due to the winds, we decided to take one night in a hotel. We returned to a Residence Inn we had been before in Camarillo, so we knew it would allow dogs. They have bathtubs, a pool and jacuzzi, it is near a large park (Pleasant Valley Fields) for recreation. We took a family shower to rinse off all the desert dust that wasn't blown away by the winds in Malibu. We slept well and ate the continental breakfast at the Inn. Again, this stay wasn't cheap. The room rate is $150 and there is a one-time pet fee of $100. That would make sense if you were staying for a week but for one night it was kind of a bummer.

Now it's back to business as usual. I will try to make a separate post with our revised packing list. For now, it's time to focus on the new year ahead. We'll ring in 2015 by riding our bikes to the rose bowl parade. Happy New Year!

DV Digest

To summarize the AWESOMENESS that was Death Valley, I will briefly outline the activities:

(1/7) Artist Drive Bike Ride = 26 miles of smiles.  Brought two water bottles, two POWER NUGGETS, and a Clif bar.  And my camera, of course.  The rolling hills and one long climb were amazing, surprising, and challenging.  The twists and turns were technical, I learned that one should look into the turn, actually at the mountain you are going around, when descending.  Thanks, Swiftie!

(1/8) Marble Canyon Hike = 10k of solid rock.  Brought 2 L in Camelback (Cloud Walker Day Pack) plus two water bottles.  Ate apple and two Clif bars.  Not sure exactly how long this hike was or how long we took.  This was my experiment at a low-tech hike.  Even though I was wearing my Columbia Daypack Hiking Boots, I kind of turned an ankle while running to catch up with my fellows after snapping more photos.  I guessed it was God's way of saying "Just slow down and enjoy the views, why are you hurrying?"

(1/9) Zabriskie Point Hike = 10k of Gorge-ous.  Brought 2 L in Camelback (Cloudwalker Day Pack) plus two water bottles.  Ate hummus and pita, cucumber, sprouts, bell pepper, oranges, sports beans, Clif bars.  This hike took 4 hours 17 minutes, we stopped for a meditation at 5.5 miles.  I remember facing directly into the sun and a hot wind and came to the realization that "we all had fucked-up complicated parents, we are all fucked-up complicated parents, we will all be fucked-up complicated parents, because no human being is perfect."

(1/10) Furnace Creek Run = 5k in the desert.  I took two 500 mL water bottles, an apple, and my ID / credit card / health insurance card.  I watched a 20 minute video at the Visitor's Center about DV NP and the Timbisha Shoshone Tribe.  They mentioned something about DV knowing you and welcoming you, that it isn't a forbidding land but a heart-opening and enveloping wilderness that embraces you.  This run was mostly flat with total elevation change of 81 ft.  This run burned about 300 kcal.

I could have stayed longer, we had the campsite reserved another night, but it wasn't the same being there alone.  I did get to attend a couple of guided activities.  The tour of Badwater Basin by Ranger Jess was about Salt, Salt and More Salt.  She explained that the colors on display in the basin and the hexagonal structures in the salt deposits are a result of the differences in solubility of the minerals found there.  The last time the basin contained water was 2004.

I also attended a night lecture about the Night Sky.  Death Valley is quite dark at night, compared with urban environments such as Los Angeles.  Projections estimate that by 2075, LA residents will not even be able to see the big dipper.  As it is now, we can see only about 100 stars.  Ranger Jess told us a story about the galaxy we are a part of, and how our galaxy is only one of MANY, and if we can't see all the other stars in the sky, then it makes sense that we would develop a feeling of self-importance and lose sight of our sense of wonder and scientific curiosity.  Walking back to my campsite after the talk, I gazed at my own moonshadow and tried to remember to appreciate the stars whenever possible.

(1/11) Fireside Yoga = 20 minutes of unifiying the body, breath, and mind.  I packed up my tent and all my clothes/gear and set everything on the picnic table.  I set up a nice warm fire and before eating breakfast went through Practice 1 from https://sites.google.com/site/kaiserwellnesscenter/home/fitness-awareness/finding-balance/the-heart-of-yoga which set me in balance with my goal of getting back to Los Angeles sometime around 2pm.

~Google+ Auto Awesome Created This Panorama For Me~

What I would bring next time: Duct Tape (there is a hole in my tent), Air Mattress, Ace Bandage, More Silverware, Dish Drying Rack, MORE Instant Coffee, LESS food, FEWER clothes, my running belt, MORE Butter.  I would have worried less about the ice melting in my cooler.  I still had 1.5 bags of ice left when I arrived at home.  But at a different time of year that could be more of a problem.   AND I would have brought a sun hat with a 360 degree brim rather than a small visor, even though it was fun reppin' CSUN.

Videos Here and Here.  Photos Here.