who needs a car?

Folks often say "I need a car to move large items", but that's because they haven't got a bike trailer! Most utility trailers can haul whatever you can fit in a car (note the word "in", not "on top of"), and of course my cargo trike can often carry what some cars can't.  ;)

I recently had to get both my old TV and my old CRT monitor off to the recyclers.  The City of Ottawa has a Take It Back program, which lists local businesses that will take your recyclable items that are not part of the weekly blue / black box pick-up.  The Staples store on Bank St. was listed as taking the stuff I had, and a quick call confirmed this and also that they do not charge a fee.

So, hook up the coroplast trailer and find that the two items fit perfectly!

The trip was all of five or six blocks, but the funny thing was when I arrived at the store. I walk in carrying the TV, wearing a bike helmet and obviously looking like a cyclist, and tell the young staffer that I have two items for recycling. She doesn't even blink at the fact that I'm carrying a TV via bike, and when I go and fetch the monitor she asks, upon my return, "anything else?". I had to admire her blithe professionalism...