Beginning
The weather’s better, you’re burned out on traffic, and you hate the gym. You hear it’s “Bike Month” and an idea forms in your head. Could you bike to work? Maybe it’s not that crazy. It might solve some problems. But not before presenting some challenges. So you decide to get some information.
You seek out people who can give you advice.
But they may not have all the answers.
While there’s plenty of knowledge and resources available, no one will be able to give you the exact advice that’s right for you. In the beginning I looked for someone to teach me. I imagined someone who would tell me exactly what I wanted to know, someone like this:
Which was pretty specific to me.
Ultimately everybody’s biking needs are unique. So do research and get advice, but eventually you will learn more by doing. It’s actually not that scary but it takes time.
Hey, Bikeyface!
Remember me???
The hairy-legged dude who inspired for your llittle blogpost?
Nice job of capturing my bum’s perfect curve. (I’m still waiting for my check.)
BTW, if you’re ever doing a post that involves hairy shoulders, I’m your guy.
So I have read your entire blog from the beginning and I love it, deffinitelly will keep coming. Your drawings are really great, keep ut the good work!
Answers: kids – longtail or box.
suit – seersucker or lightweight wool.
lady bits – see LB blog.
paintings – longtail
cupcakes – keep them in the tin, loosely cover the top. secure. do not put on front rack – they will jump all over.
I only pretend to know everything on the net.
GRJim:
Answers: kids – longtail or box.
Meh. Your way they don’t do any work. Here’s how you transport kids while making them work:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/7516215@N03/7190884856/in/photostream
As the mom of a kid with special needs who can’t do that yet, I’m glad the bakfiets lets us be a biking family instead of a driving family. It takes all kinds of bikes to get all kinds of kids out on bikes. Not that I don’t tell everyone who comments that I’d prefer that they were pedaling and that our rig is Heavy. Still, it’s lighter than a car!
You make a good point, and sometimes a box-based bike is the best solution. But all too often I see people spending thousands on bakfiets to cart their pre-pedaling toddlers around, then have to sell those bikes at a great loss once the kids outgrow them (honestly, who wants to do all the work carting around 120lb worth of kids?). I almost never see tandems or trailercycles mentioned for toting kids around, and I’m a little puzzled by that. My kids developed some serious leg muscles by pedaling on the bike train, and that no doubt helped accelerate their transition to their own bikes. Heck, they can pedal their single-speed bikes up any hill that I can manage to climb on my own bike.
Agreed. I’m constantly on the lookout for ways to change things up so that they are active participants instead of sitting. I’ve got my eye on a trail-a-bike for the girl and after that a Wee-hoo for the boy, but for now that’s not possible. Besides, I am the beneficiary of a daughter that was tired of sitting and wanted to ride her own bike; we got our bakfiets from Craigslist for almost half the price of new. I guess from your handle that you aren’t in Portland (Oregon) like we are? Yesterday was the first Sunday Parkways of the year and there were more kids pedaling or at least helping in one way or another than there were sitting like mine. Progress is happening. I don’t think that it’s an epidemic of kids sitting in bikes instead of in front of tvs. 🙂
We’re in Somerville, MA.
Warren, the trail-gator looks awesome.
Our friends are a bike-based family, and are wondering how to get their near-biking family around.
We swear by our Trail-gator (http://www.trail-gator.com/)
– we can tow our girl (and she can pedal-assist as she likes, useful on the big hill)
– then we un-dock at our destination and she zooms around on her trainers.
With two adult hitches, my wife and I can alternate pickup and drop-off at school when she moves to her new school in September – which is on our bike routes to work for both of us!