Riding a Bakfiets (Cargo Bike)
Today I did another ride with my sister. But it was a really busy day, so my schedule was particularly tight, and with my wife neck deep in preparation for the annual school fund raiser I had to play Mr. Mom, while making time for two business meetings, and helping my sister out with a training ride.
The biggest challenge was picking up the kids from school, and finding a way to do a training ride with my sister and two kids. Plan a: call Recycled Cycles and see if they have a two kid trail-a-bike. Nope, someone bought it. Plan b: call Montlake Bike Shop and see if they have a Medium/Small tandum, that I could hook a trail a bike up to…. Nope, someone bought it. Plan C: Google “Seattle Bike Rental”… Hmmm, this shop is near our house… Dutch Bike Co., sounds interesting, what bikes do they have available.
WOW! Check this out….
Oh my god… I have to ride that thing! That will be perfect. The girls probably won’t want to ride with us… but this bike is sooooo crazy they’ll love it just because it’s different.
Ok. So, jump on my fixie funny bike to meet Lisa and a potential client for a sales pitch. Meeting goes great. Cool. Jump on the bike and head home. Lisa calls me from the road while I’m still pedaling home. Bad cyclist takes call while riding… who needs hand brakes when you can just stop pedaling. 
Get home, quickly write note to sister so she knows to meet at the bike shop, so we can start and finish our ride from there…. Jump in the car, drive to school to get kids, tell them the plan… grumble grumble… “Oh, wait till you see this bike” I promise, it is soooo coool.
Driving to the bike shop, worried we won’t get there in enough time to enjoy a ride before they close, worried that sis won’t get the note… ok, cool, we find the place. Jump out, show the girls the bike. Looks like fun! Get a quick lesson on how to handle the bike, Strap the girls in the front (yeah, there are two seatbelts and a little bench seat in the front of that thing). Sis arrives, jaw drops, no time for that, let’s hit the road!
Ride down the Burke Gilman trail… everyone is checking us out. Oh yeah… we have the coolest bike on the road! Oh yeah.
Stop by Speedy Reedy to ask if the parts are in for Sister’s bike… They can’t believe this bike… I tell them… yes, this bike could actually justify owning a 6th bike… I mean, c’mon… look at it! It’s soooo purdy! They agree.
Turn around, head back to the Dutch Bike Co. I ask the girls if we should do STP (double century from Seattle to Portland) in this bike. Oldest daughter thinks it’s a grand idea, says she could read her book the whole way. Youngest daughter realized 15 hours in this bike would not be nearly as fun as 30 minutes.
Ok… I didn’t wear my HRM, but I’m sure this was another sub-Zone 1 workout… but… still… it was lots of fun!
Workout:
- Type: Cycle
- Date: 05/09/2008
- Time: 22:22:26
- Total Time: 00:55:00.00
- Distance: 11 miles
- Average Speed: 12 mph
Filed under: Bakfiets, Cargo Bike, Cool Bikes, Cycle, Dutch Bike Co., Montlake Bike shop, Recycled Cycles, STP, Seattle Bicycle Shops, Speedy Reedy, fixed gear, fixie
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