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Excellent. Thanks.

Here are the Amazon links for those books for anyone interested.

• The High Cost of Free Parking (Paper book only)
  
• Straphanger: Saving Our Cities and Ourselves from the Automobile (Kindle and paper book)
  
• The Death and Life of Great American Cities (Paper book only)
  
• Walkable City: How Downtown Can Save America, One Step at a Time (Kindle and paper book)
  
• Suburban Nation: The Rise of Sprawl and the Decline of the American Dream (Kindle and paper book)
  
• The Ecotechnic Future: Envisioning a Post-Peak World (Kindle and paper book)
  
• $20 Per Gallon: How the Inevitable Rise in the Price of Gasoline Will Change Our Lives for the Better (Kindle and paper book)

Welcome to the Food Desert. I hope you like your stay.

Know that you know what you're up against let me suggest something that I'm not seeing on here. Hour Car/Zip Car or other car rentals. Chris Balish suggests that you rent a car of some kind and do a major shop at Costco once a month and that you supplement that with smaller everyday trips for perishables while you're already out and about.

Another thought would be to ride share out there. You could search craigslist, ask the neighbors or form a grocery shopping club.

Good Luck!

I thought you were going to talk about something else, which is how public planning currently values free parking above pretty much everything else. It's really shaped how cities sprawl. There's a whole book about it.

Hands: These ATV mitts were $13 when I ordered them, they are out of stock but I'm sure you can find comparable for a similar price. I would usually wear a light pair of gloves under these mitts.

Legs: I found just using a cheap pair of rain pants over my other layers added a lot of extra protection, that is easy to remove if you get hot or when you arrive, without removing boots.

Face: On very cold days I would use a scarf around my face with a balaclava under. I bought ski goggles used.

I still own a car, but I live in the downtown area of Seattle and I've recently started biking a lot of places after my bike sat in my apartment for 2 years. It's been great, I no longer feel guilty about not going to the gym, and I don't have to buy almost any gas for my car. Also, I can get places a lot quicker than driving (and looking for parking in the city) or oftentimes even taking the bus. I bought a bike rack and some baskets and now I can go to the grocery store and carry everything home on my bike, even gallons of milk. It's great.

That is actually something my panniers are good at, they are not plain rectangular, but they are shaped so that my heels wouldnt kick into them. That is good for my requirements list for my market research in pannier bags.

Something else that I have considered is this, combined with a mesh net equipped with hooks that I can use to cover the basket and hold things from bouncing out.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Basil-Cento-Basket-Steel-Mounting/dp/B001FGFL02

These people complaining about removing of the minimum parking requirement have provided no evidence to support their case. Whereas a plethora of literature exists to support the removal of parking requirements. Most notably Donald Shoup's book. Parking is expensive and often wasteful. Let the free market decide how much parking should exist and what the price should be. It's bogus that non car drivers have to subsidize parking lots.

I'm reading this one right now, and it's fantastic. http://www.amazon.com/Bikenomics-Bicycling-Save-Economy-Bicycle/dp/1621060039

There are definitely some statistics and figures in this book. It's available in paperback or Kindle, since it seems you have only a few days to prepare.

My buddy had a similar problem, he also had a large dog to take around. His solution was to get a bike trailer like this. He said it worked good for hauling the dog/groceries/music gear around.

I haven't owned a car in 7 years, so I get everything he's talking about... except why he avoids gaining the skill.

The panic he cites is purely a function of unfamiliarity. If he spent some free time playing Grand Theft Auto with a steering wheel and pedals, he would quickly gain the comfort and instincts necessary to drive.

If he wants to remain car-free (or even license-free), that's one thing, but it's kind of silly for an adult to avoid such a useful skill out of fear when there are effective simulators in practically every living room. You'd think he'd want to at least know how to do it in case of an emergency.

Perhaps this is at a frequency Americans can hear?

how large is large? this is what i use: http://www.amazon.com/Basil-Blossom-Double-Bike-Purple/dp/B00113JAI8/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1368094705&sr=8-5&keywords=basil+bike+panniers

i can carry two full bags of groceries in them, plus a little extra.

Bike Snob Abroad, informative and funny.

If I were you I would get the cheapest Polar watch and mount it on your handlebar, as all you need to know is your current heart-rate. A ft1 costs $40:
https://www.amazon.com/Polar-Heart-Rate-Monitor-Black/dp/B003HT88JQ/

I have a Polar Ft4 and an expensive Garmin 520 bike computer and heart-rate strap for the Garmin. The downside is the Polar is not as convenient on the handlebars, it doesn't do distance, speed, it is only backlight during night after I press the button for a few seconds.

The gist of Maffetone's system:
Take 180, take your age and/or add an extra 10 for major health issues or an extra five for allergies/asthma. The result is your maximum aerobic heart-rate you should not try to exceed or else you becoming anaerobic and overtraining by taxing your muscles.

Example I am 34 and have seasonal allergies and sniffle constantly during the cold so I add an extra 5.
180 - (34+5)= 141

If my heart-rate goes over 141 I either let it go if it is not too high over, or dismount and walk the bike, or just lower my gears and cadence till it lowers down. But honestly when I am mountain biking I often let it go over 141 as you need bursts or power or you cannot really do much on trails, but I don't mtb often.

If there's a plug nearby, you might want to pick up a battery tender. This should monitor and keep a "float" charge on the battery.

Example: http://www.amazon.com/Deltran-Battery-Tender-021-0128-Charger/dp/B00068XCQU

There's a cheaper Jr version that might be more appropriate for you.

Also, your battery may need replacement anyway since deep discharges damage the battery chemistry.

We used a Bell child's trailer for a while. It has a clamp that screwed onto the chainstay. Didn't require any hardware mounted on the bike itself.