Center of Attention

Today my son North and I went for the same hill climb I geeked out about with too much information regarding elevation in this blog entry. When we got to the top of the hill on Phinney Avenue N, we paused in front of Rudy's Barbershop for me to put back on my warmer shell for the windy and cooler ride downhill. While parked there, we had everyone in the barbershop, and drivers on the street, all smiling and pointing to us while saying something to those around them.

This is what its like everywhere I go on the bike. Usually when parking at the Fred Meyer, I get in a conversation from someone who wants to know more about the bike. Today it was both when we went in, and came out. I've been stopped on the street by a mother who wants one to carry her twins.

The bike wins smiles and accolades every where I go. That is an endorsement of some kind, maybe an expression of people's desire for new solutions to their daily routine. Maybe in the 1960's the same might have been shown towards Honda scooters or VW Beetles. Anyway, I know in our current era of nervousness about oil, our spending money and the environment; this cargobike illicits some sort of aspiration in those who see it pedal by.

New record elevation climb: 374 feet

Today I rode the bakfiet from Fremont Ave at 35th Street to Leary Way at 3rd Ave, then to 3rd Ave and 65th Street, then a turn up an 8% grade on 65th St that climbs to Phinney Ave. I had to get off the bike and pushed it up the most steep few blocks to the top of the hill. I did this at a pace about as fast as pedaling in lowest gear anyway. Finally from there it was all downhill back to Fremont Ave and 35th Street. 

1. 47.650414° N 122.349844° W 62 ft
2. 47.65475° N 122.360744° W 36 ft
3. 47.666486° N 122.360659° W 177 ft
4. 47.675935° N 122.360659° W 213 ft
5. 47.675849° N 122.354307° W 341 ft
6. 47.664954° N 122.354007° W 364 ft
7. 47.664896° N 122.350016° W 341 ft
8. 47.650588° N 122.349758° W 69 ft

$118 in groceries and a big 22 month old boy

We've had our cargobike for a little over three weeks now. I've been riding it daily for fun/exercise or for true utility such as getting groceries or taking my son to the community center. Today I set a new personal record for load carrying capacity. I can't give the weight carried, but I can give the US dollar amount: $118. Along for the ride was my son North, who weighs over 30 pounds.

We rode on nearly flat terrain of the Burke-Gilman Trail for 1.2 miles, from the Ballard Fred Meyer to Fremont. Honestly, the only time I could feel the weight was when not pedaling it. Once the bike was underway there was not much to notice. On tabletop flat land I could have pedaled this amount of stuff all day.

It was fun having a big diaper box and lots of groceries filling the cargo box, made me feel like I was driving a serious rig.

A trip to Mommy's office for a family lunch

My goal is to have the whole family together for lunch everyday at my wife Jenni's office. Today was the first test run of it. Our son loves her work area anyway. It was really nice. I think it'll be good for us, and will give my wive a real break and a chance to reconnect with me and our son in the middle of a crazy business day. Before getting the cargobike lunch dates like this weren't practical.

Almost ready to go to mom's office
Lunch in mom's work area is so cool.
Ok, back on the bakfiets and going home.

Commiting to Biking: Class and Age

Considering biking for all of your transport? Its an easy choice if you're one of those slender single people living on a bike trail leading from dorm to classes. What about the rest of us?

I'm going to out some of my personal life to give an example of who can do it.

We are a very middle class family making between 40 and 50K, which in a major west coast city is lower middle class. I am 47, married, and we have a 21 month old son. I am the "pedaler" of the bike that gets our toddler around town and groceries home.

We chose strategically as to where to live. There's no freakin' way would I say you can live just anywhere and do everything by bike. But thats why they make U-Haul trucks, so you can move to where pedestrian/biking is honestly doable.

We didn't just get rid of a car, or have it stashed for times of cheating a human-powered commitment. We've never had a car since becoming a family. Work is 1.2 miles away along an urban trail, and our main store is 1.2 miles away on another urban trail. We were committed pedestrians before becoming committed Bakfietsers. Thus, getting a bike that can carry a toddler and groceries feels like a expansion of our world, not a compression.

$3000 for a bike is something serious, especially in the post-mini-depression the US went into after 2008. We make less than 50K per year. Outing myself a little more here: I'm not choosing costly things to symbolically save the global environment. I'm pretty much an all-pragmatic, not into symbolic ethical acts. All that said, I chose the Bakfiets as our family SUV for the next ten years or more.

Thats our story, our situation, and our solution.

Climbing 155 feet / 47.24 meters

All proponents of cargobikes admit a caveat: cargobikes are heavy and a challenge to pedal up a hill. I bought ours knowing this.

One place I wanted to transport our toddler to is the Green Lake Community Center. It is on a higher elevation than our home in Fremont along the waterway.

Today we set out for Greenlake, and made it fairly easy! The climb in elevation was 155 feet. We did most of the hill climb along 15th Ave NE. I was huffing and puffing at the top, but that was expected. I got the bike in part to get more cardio work anyway.

For Seattlites reading this and considering switching to all-bike transport, I recommend studying the lay of the land of this city to understand a harsh reality for bicyclists: you can't just live anywhere and bike anywhere (with ease) in this city. Especially with a Bakfiets. The good news is there are regions of the city that have flat are doable grades for bikes. The most notable is the Ballard-Fremont-Westlake Avenue-Downtown circuit. Once I moved to Fremont I saw the massive waves of commuters that go from Ballard/Fremont to Downtown. I recommend anyone committed to biking or considering a Bakfiets for family transport look into living/working along this circuit.

My son North's first ride in the Bakfiets

My son is 21 months old. He cried the first time I placed his bicycle helmet on him. I had bad feelings about the first ride, especially with helmet on, so my plan today was to place him in the cargobike and only push it along -just a gentle introduction to bike riding. Everything was surprisingly going so well after a few blocks that I braved placing the helmet on him. He cried for mere seconds. Then I put on my helmet and started pedaling the bike.

North was totally happy. At the start, and through the whole trip. We were on the Burke-Gilman trail, and he was calling out to the birds as we went along. We rode on through Ballard, and to the Ship Canal Locks. On the way back we stopped at Fred Meyer for groceries, and a picnic snack of strawberry yogurt for North. We went to my favorite little vista park along the Ship Canal for a snack break. Then it was on home. Even at the last North was visibly enjoying the ride.

Dear Bakfiets, we love you.