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Jirsa got the bike as a 59th-birthday present last November. Then, that month, he rode it to the grocery store to pick up Thanksgiving dinner.
"I carried a turkey, sweet potatoes, potatoes, milk, pop, some bread for stuffing," he said, "plus some food for the next few days."
The groceries fit into pouches strapped across the back of the bicycle. Jirsa said he has to be smart about how he packs the food before riding home.
"It’s really amazing how much he can carry," Claudia said. "Sometimes he comes home and you forget that he didn’t take a car."
Hy-Vee South is Jirsa’s main stop for food, about a mile from his house.
"I always wanted to be able to go to the grocery store (on bike). I saw this and I thought it was a good idea," he said. "There’s me and my wife and a son living at home. I can pretty much get enough (food) for my family for a week."
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"When we first moved here, we had two cars," Jirsa said. "My wife and I each had a car. When we moved here, I started riding my bike to work during the summers. And then I thought, ‘Gee, if I could take the bus during the wintertime, I could get rid of the other car.’ I tried it and it worked and we did."
Getting rid of one of their two cars not only saves Jirsa money on gas, maintenance and insurance, it also saves on depreciation, he laughed.
"We’re saving money by riding bicycles," he said, "which is a really good thing, I think."
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Biking in Baltimore