Tag: family

Passenger is the new cargo

Did you know that people carry their kids, friends, spouses, and parents on bikes?

I carried my first passenger in April 2010 on my trip to Portland. I test rode a Yuba Mundo from Joe Bike in the SE Hawthorne neighborhood. But this photo shows a friend carrying ME on the bike.

I really want to carry someone. I told my sister that when I get a new cargo bike this year (either the Yuba Mundo or the WorkCycles Fr8) I will pick her up from her apartment and take her to school. It will be the most joyous occasion of 2010. Mikael at Copenhagenize talks about throwing his son’s bike on the front rack of his Velorbis when he goes to pick him up, so his son can ride home on his own.

This photo is so much fun, I printed it out and posted it on my refrigerator.

Passengers: the ultimate bike accessory. Want to see more photos? Marc at Amsterdamize has 260+ photos and videos in his Side Saddle set. Check the blog post about riding side saddle to get some tips.

The woman or family side of bicycle planning

Recently after I posted the American Community Survey findings on bicycle commuting rates in Chicago and the United States (which both show a gap between male and female cycling to work rates), Let’s Go Ride Bike posts an entry about the media’s analysis of the cycling gender gap. I didn’t posit any thoughts about the gap I noticed in the blog entry I wrote.

I recommend you read what Dottie wrote, which includes ideas about how to get more women to ride their bikes outside of the recreation arena. Her influence to write the article came from three recent articles from larger media sources (NYT, TreeHugger, Scientific American).

Will protected bikeways leading to urban shopping and school destinations be the trick? Or should we step up targeted education? Is it the bike? Sweating? Fashion? How should families on bikes play a role in bicycle planning?

I’ll take this research and writing into consideration as I develop a new perspective on how I can convince my mom to ride her bike the two miles to work at least one day per week in good weather (she currently drives between home and work in Salt Lake City).

I visited her in May and drove her to work one morning. I noticed very low traffic and several other commuters traveling by bicycle that could keep her company. I want her to take a class on urban bicycling at the Salt Lake City Bicycle Collective, but their website’s helpfulness only goes so far and no one’s answered my email.