We spent a couple of days in New York this winter, more specifically Brooklyn, mostly in Park Slope. I checked out every bike that we walked by (as one does) and thought about how different riding a cycle is in New York compared to in California. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXLorSvKziQ Winters in the Bay Area are much milder, as it rarely gets below freezing during the winter months. We get winter rain, but rarely any snow or ice. In contrast, it’s much colder in New York, there’s more snow, slush, road salt, and other stuff that’s tougher to ride a bike in, and tougher to store a bike in. Some had a lot of rust As you can see on this “Goffa bike”, the rims, brakes, kickstand, stem, spokes, chain, nuts are all rusted. This bike has been left out for a long […]
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Riding our Xtracycle Family Cargo Bike in Oregon City
We spent a couple of days in Oregon City with the Xtracycle Swoop cargo e-bike (an electric longtail family bike) and had a nice time using it as our primary mode of transportation. Riding the cargo bike to the Oregon City Farmers Market I took the cargo bike and the two kids up Linn Ave to get to the top of the Hill in Oregon City, where the Oregon City Farmers Market is located. It’s at the corner of Beavercreek and Kaen Rds, at the Clackamas County Red Soils campus. The ride up was okay. Car traffic was moving kind of fast, which is a little unsettling in the bike lane with kids on the back, but it felt okay. We had to stop briefly because my kid was having a moment. The bike was fine. It felt stable […]
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Nice Bikes: An Argo Cargo Bike kit in Oakland that converts your bike into a practical front loader
An Argo Cargo Bike at the park Bike adventures are big fun. Bike adventures with kids are even better. I’d seen the original Argo Cargo bike Kickstarter for their “Lift” product and thought it was a neat idea to be able to turn any “regular” bike into a front-loading cargo bike. They had a successful campaign and raised $105,429 for their front-loading cargo bike conversion kit. Many front-loading cargo bikes cost $3000+, so a kit that adds on to an existing bike for $1149 is compelling. The Argo Cargo bike attaches mainly at the front fork and the bottom bracket, and requires a minor modification to the brake cables to connect your brake lever to the brake on the front wheel. I saw a parent ride in on their Argo Cargo Bike with their kids in the front, and asked […]
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Neighborhood Bike Parades That Help Kids Learn to Ride Together
The kids bike parade is a way to let kids play, ride bikes together and learn to ride safely. Children and adults make new friends and build community by bike. How did the bike parade start? Earlier on in the pandemic, we learned that COVID spread mostly through poorly-ventilated air. We tried to think of ways to still foster social interactions between children with a lower risk profile. Our family and a lot of others have gone with their kids biking to spend time outdoors. We started by turning a birthday party into a evening bike ride. Kids had fun biking together and being able to see each other not on a computer screen! Parents got a chance to ride with their kids and others. Neighbors were treated to a lively mini parade. A few parents loved the […]
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Flat tires suck
Flat tires suck. I took my child to get a flu shot the other day (not a great experience!). On the way out, we had to hop a curb because there were no curb cutouts nearby. My child went off the curb and then said “Daddy, there’s a problem.” I looked back, and indeed, the rear wheel was completely flat. That’s some insult-to-injury type stuff right there. It was kind of funny though. Luckily, I usually carry a tool kit with a patch kit and a pump with me, so I was able to fix it pretty quickly. On flats in general I don’t know if it’s just Oakland and Berkeley streets, but two friends have gotten flat tires recently on their cargo e-bikes. I saw one of them on the sidewalk on the way to school pickup. He was […]
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Pannier ridealong on a Surly Big Easy electric cargo bike
When friends ride along on an electric cargo bike We rode our bikes to Strawberry Creek Park in Berkeley for a birthday party. I saw this cute setup on a Surly Big Easy cargo e-bike. It’s a long-tail cargo bike with full-sized wheels. It is great for carrying groceries, kids or other bikes, and it has an electronic assist. The bike is set up with a Thule/Yepp child seat in the back. The panniers are also a perfect place to take a stuffed animal buddy along for a ride. I took one for a test ride once. It felt stable even with an adult on the back rack. Or follow along for updates:
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