One Year with the Bike

I’ve been meaning to write this post since early May, when it had actually been a year, but I never seemed to fall on this topic. Finally, it is time.

It’s been a year (okay, almost 14 months) since I bought the electric-assist cargo bike, and I still love it just as much as I did when I got it, maybe even more. It is seriously an amazing way to get around the city, and makes me love this confounded 7×7 cement maze a lot more than I do from behind the wheel of a car.

Of course there are some issues when it comes to riding a bike around a congested city. I’ll mention those first, but only because I want to end on the positives.

Weather. I am VERY lucky that the bike is not my only mode of transportation, and I can take the car when it rains. Having the option to take the car was especially important this past winter, because it rained A SHIT LOAD. After eight years of drought, California seemed to be making up for a lot of dry winters. It would have REALLY sucked to ride out in the rain, and I think my kids would have made me pay for it.

Rain is not the only weather that sucks on a bike. San Francisco may never get hot, but it sure as f*ck gets windy. Riding in high winds is not fun, but we’ve gotten used to it. The good thing about a bike as heavy as that one is you don’t feel like you’ll be blown over (which can be a very real and terrifying feeling on a lighter road bike). Still, powerful wind gusts hurt the face and eyes, make you ride slower and just all around suck. I have been more acutely aware of the wind this year than any previous.

We also get a lot of fog. This morning it felt like little pinpricks of water hitting my face. But honestly, it doesn’t bother me. Kind of feels refreshing!

Close quarters. Now my kids can quarrel in the car with the best of them, even with that lovely middle seat between them, so it’s not like car rides with them are always peaceful, but I definitely notice an uptick in bickering when they are on the back of the bike. There isn’t a ton of space on the bench and with the wind blowing jackets and hoods all around, they get frustrated with each other. They also handle those frustrations poorly. It drives me nuts when they fight on the back of the bike. Luckily, with how much we’re riding it this summer, it seems to be getting better. I guess they are just getting used to sharing the smaller space, or maybe they are tired of constantly fighting all the time.

Safety concerns. Last week a cyclist was killed at an intersection near my house that I ride through almost every day. That was… sobering to say the least. I am SUPER cautious on the bike, especially when the kids are with me, but I know I can’t control for every possibility (like idiots on the smart phones while driving). We all wear neon yellow windbreakers, and I ALWAYS assume cars don’t see me. Still, it’s definitely a risk I’m cognizant of, even if I don’t actually feel anxiety while I ride. I have been looking for a good safety flag to put on the back (all the ones I’ve found online get horrible reviews and evidently break almost immediately) and I plan to get an air horn on the handle bars so I can alert drivers when necessary.

Fear of theft. There have been a few times I didn’t take the bike for fear of leaving it in a certain area for a long period of time. I have a VERY BIG chain to lock it up, and a back wheel lock for extra protection, but there are areas where I feel uncomfortable leaving it for prolonged periods. That said, 99% of the time, I’m okay to take it somewhere and leave it locked up. I would definitely NOT be comfortable leaving it locked up in the same place daily (giving inspired bike thieves the time and opportunity to orchestrate an ingenious plan).

Storage. I have a big basket on the front, and it holds a lot, but it can definitely be hard to fit everything on the bike. Once we take off my son’s Yepp seat, I can hang bags from the bench, which will really help. At this point I’ve gotten pretty creative, and managed to get three kids, and their stuff, on the bike for shorter rides.

{My daughter’s backpack hanging off my son’s seat – with her robe scrunched below (it was pajama day at camp)}

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Okay, and now on to the positives! And, in my opinion, there are so many!

It’s fun! Seriously, I LOVE riding my bike. I used to road bike with my parents when I lived on the peninsula, so I’ve spent hours, and ridden literally hundreds of miles, on a bike. (I actually participated in many centuries (100 mile rides) and even a couple 100 plus-over-multiple-day rides.) So yes, I already liked riding a bike, and I suppose I already felt pretty comfortable riding near cars (though riding on the peninsula is the minor leagues compared to riding in SF – there is a MASSIVE difference). I also REVEL in riding past a block (or two or three!) of cars waiting in traffic. Nothing, truly nothing, makes me happier.

Exercise! Outside! So, the battery really helps me ride, which means I don’t get much  exercise on the bike (but this is actually another positive: see below!). My guess is it’s a lot like walking, as far as energy expended. Of course, riding (or walking!) is better than being in the car, so I’ll take it (it definitely doesn’t substitute for any of my workouts though). I also think I get a little of that exercise “high” being on the bike. It’s not as good as when I run, but I definitely feel energized after a longer ride. I also LOVE being outside, it’s just good for my soul, and in SF the weather is generally decent, if not beautiful (even when the wind is slapping me in the face. 😉

You don’t have to work hard. I know a lot of people who have considered getting an electric bike (just a regular one-person bike, not a cargo) but didn’t because biking is their only form of exercise. While I appreciate that perspective (especially if you don’t have a car so you have to ride your bike), I think there are very real benefits to having an electric-assist bike, especially in a city as hilly as this one.

For one, I don’t get sweaty when I ride the bike. I sweat when I exercise a lot, and I HATE showing up somewhere with circles under my arms and a headband of sweaty hair. I really and truly HATE it. I live in a city that rarely gets hot enough to make me sweat, and I don’t want to do it because I rode a bike to get somewhere. For me, being able to arrive dry, even lugging two kids up some impressive hills, is a HUGE positive.

It’s also nice to not be physically exhausted every time I ride it. The point of the bike is to get places, not expend energy. I appreciate that I can get where I’m going without wearing myself out. The bike really does feel like a way to get around, not a way to work out. I absolutely appreciate that. It allows me to take it anywhere, wearing anything (well mostly anything).

Easy to park! There are some neighborhoods that I will likely never drive to again, now that I have the bike. The Academy of Sciences is amazing, with an incredible aquarium that my kids love, and I have a membership so we can go whenever we want, but it’s in the middle of Golden Gate Park and the parking is atrocious. I’ve actually left there once without going in – I couldn’t find a spot within a mile! Now I can ride over there in about the same time it took to drive, and park my bike 100 feet from the entrance. It’s the best.

My daughter has been at a camp in my old neighborhood where parking is notoriously difficult. I’ve ridden there every day and it’s so easy to just kick up the bike stand and sign her in or out. Parking, or double parking, would be so stressful.

Fast! The electric assist is not just awesome for getting up big hills with 90+ lbs of kid, it’s also awesome for getting where you need to go fast. Generally it only takes me a little longer to take the bike than the car. Sometimes travel time is about equal. In a city with as much traffic as this one, the bike is a really quick and easy way of getting around.

Good for the Earth. Obviously riding a bike is better for the Earth than driving a car. It also takes one more car off the rode in a city with way too many cars. I also like being part of the bike culture here in the city. I mostly stick to streets with designated bike lanes, or at least bike signs painted in the lane, and there are always a lot of other bike riders on those streets – and a lot of them have cargo bikes with kids! I like being a part of that group of people who are doing things a little differently, for themselves and for the world.

I’m sure there are more positives and negatives I could think of, but with these points I think I paint a comprehensive picture of my experience with an electric-assist cargo bike. It’s definitely a massive investment, but I am enjoying it so much. I think if they can eventually bring the price down on electric-assist bikes, it could start a serious revolution.

{Three kids on the back of the bike!}