You don’t get a lot of opportunities to try new things as you get older. You have to go out of your way to take salsa dancing lessons, try a Stand Up Paddleboard or learn a new language. And if you have young kids you probably don’t have a lot of free time to seek out and engage in learning new things. Yes, I’m talking about myself here but I am sure some of you can relate. In the grind, and joy, of parenting young children and the somewhat predictable days of mid-life, I haven’t found a lot of time and energy for learning something new.
Learning something new actually helps slow the aging of your brain. And learning something new actually brings you happiness. If you tack on being outside and exercise to this new thing – boom – you’ve added something pretty incredible to your life. Who knew I would find all of this in a cargo bike.
I feel like Superwoman on this bike. I feel accomplished and while I am still intimidated – can I get us up that hill? – that small voice saying ‘maybe you can’t do this’ is one that I revel in trying to silence. Again, when are you challenged to do something that scares you in your life? For most of us there are fewer and fewer opportunities to learn something new, something we didn’t know we could do, as we get older. So when I got my first ride in with all three kids on the bike – two months and a few dozen short rides in the making – I felt on top of the world.
I can now haul all three children – combined weight of 110 lbs – and gear for a day at the beach on my Yuba Mundo Cargo Bike. I feel safe on the bike but I’m still intimidated at times. I’m still learning new skills, improving my fitness and learning new routes to get around my city. Still learning that I need to balance the load on the bike – put the water bottles in the front bread basket instead of in our single pannier – and still learning the routes and when to gear down. Learning and loving the fun and freedom a cargo bike has given our family.
The kids love the cargo bike. Our middle child actually refused to get on the bike at first. Kicking and screaming would not get on the bike. Now he loves it and is disappointed if we aren’t going somewhere by bike. The other thing they love about the cargo bike but probably can’t verbalize: it makes our day a lot easier and even cheaper.
The other weekend we had a beautiful Vancouver day with a visit to Second Beach in Stanley Park followed by a late afternoon dip in an urban splash park in the heart of the city. By car the itinerary would have been onerous: expensive and hard to find parking in Stanley Park with stop-and-go traffic. We probably would have skipped the splash pad because there is very little street parking near it and most of it has a short time limit.
By cargo bike we are nimble adventurers. Load up the Go Getter panniers with lunch and our beach gear and we can go anywhere on a whim. No parking to find and pay for. We roll our bike into the park or to the beach, put the solid double kickstand on, and all of our gear is right there with us. Baby needs a nap? No problem.
Right now the cargo bike is really cutting down on our driving which I love. School’s been out for three weeks and the only time we’ve been in the car was to drive up to the Okanagan for a family vacation. The car hadn’t moved in two weeks and I actually had the thought, should I go turn the engine over?
Some families may be able to splurge on a cargo bike solely for recreation purposes and if that’s you, go get one – they are so fun! I recently met a family that was visiting Vancouver from Seattle and had brought their cargo bike up to explore with. The dad told me he ‘tested’ himself before buying a cargo bike. He kept track of how often they got out with their bike and bike trailer set up for a summer. It was enough usage that he felt comfortable investing in a cargo bike because they biked a lot for pleasure and adventure.
But for most families the price tag of a cargo bike takes it out of being a leisure or recreation purchase; the cargo bike has to reduce or replace other transit costs. I’ll have another post about commuting with kids by cargo bike and using it to go car-free or car-lite. There are so many families sharing how they use their cargo bike as family transportation from the car-free, cycle in all weather families to those that cargo bike to reduce, but not eliminate how much they drive. Plus: how those three kids, and beach gear, fit on the bike!
Thank you for an awesome post. You have made so much progress in these short few months. I am still working toward commuting the kids around since getting our Xtracycle edge runner around the same time you did. I do short rides both with and without the kids to build up confidence and leg muscles. 😅 Your progress inspires me to lower those gears and just keep peddling. I just need to remember cargo bikes can’t go up small curbs and to be constantly aware of the balance of the bike as I hop on and off bike. 😊
🙂 I do a lot of coasting on my bike if I am not on a bike path – one foot on the peddle and the other pushing us along on the pavement. I really struggled with getting on and off the bike in the beginning. It got way easier once I started holding the seat and the handlebar as I pull my leg over. Good luck!!
I am so excited to read more about your cargo biking adventures! This summer we bought a trailer so I can tow my three year old behind our bike, and it has been a ton of fun for us! We both feel disappointed when circumstances (timing/weather/other errands) mean we have to take the car instead of the bike to daycare or the grocery store. I love the idea of going very car-lite and my husband has been getting inspired too.
I hear you – we also feel disappointed when we can’t use the bike. My 3 year old is obsessed with it and he initially wouldn’t get on it 🙂 Our schedule is changing in the fall – work and daycare – so I’m excited to see if we can start using it for the complete school and daycare drop off for all three kids. Happy cycling! 🙂
Hauling 110lbs of little boy/toddler/baby plus gear up and down those city streets? That’s impressive – you definitely ARE superwoman!!
🙂 Thanks!
I bought a Cargo bike when we moved close in to the city. We began spending some amazing quality time together as a result. I’m happy just being out and on it. As soon as I saw it, I needed it. Well worth the $. Love this post!
🙂 I’m in an online local family biking group. So fun to see all the reactions and updates from parents after they start using a cargo bike. Lots of “this is the best thing we have ever spent money on” comments.
This is so awesome! It makes me wish that we didn’t live in the country, I know our kids would LOVE something like this…how fun 🙂
So glad you are enjoying the Yuba! We have a Yuba and a Madsen and love them. I completely agree about the cost of cargo bikes necessitating a reduction or elimination of driving. I think some people are shocked at how much they cost when they find out, but in our case, they let us be car-free and have paid for themselves many times over.
And the feeling when you get someplace by your own power? Amazing.
Looking forward to reading more about your biking adventures!
🙂 I just replied to a comment about getting electric assist installed if/when we sell our car. It’s $2000 but no car means we can rent our parking space out for $100/month and no car insurance is another $120+ saved per month. So it would be paid for in less than 10 months. Cargo bikes do have some sticker shock but if it eliminates the need for a car or cuts your annual driving in half, the bike quickly pays for itself. Fantastic to hear from a car-free cargo biking family!!
What a bike, this is something I have wanted to start again but there are so many big hills around us I keep putting it off.
I actually ask the kids to get off the bike on any really big hills. I plan most of my routing to avoid hills but I think if we do get rid of our car in the next 1-2 years I will invest in getting electric assist. It has a steep cost – $2000 – but that’s quite reasonable if we sell our car and it would open up the more challenging routes for us.
This is so awesome! I’m often frustrated by the hassle of getting kids in and out of the car and finding parking for short trips, or multiple stop trips where the destinations are just a little too far to walk between. A family bike would be wonderful.
Thanks, Katie. It really does open up your village/town/city to you in so many ways. It’s funny, one thing I was worried about for longer day trips was if the baby/toddler could get a nap in on the bike. All my kids have been stroller nappers and it’s allowed us to take everyone out for a full day. I was so happy to find that baby #3 could fall asleep on his bike seat.