Bike Hauling
In January our family rejoined the homeschool cooperative in our community. We are delighted to have a place to go twice a week. The kids play and do projects and the moms visit and do projects too. It's great fun. As you might remember, I sold my Subaru and bought a Madsen Cargo Bike last spring and until I learn to drive our rickety stick-shift (ugh!) pickup truck, our bikes are the only way we get around town during the day while Michael is at work.
I have to admit, the Madsen was not getting used much in December, I am usually a major cold weather wimp, but having somewhere to be really makes us just bundle up and get on our bikes! It's been an unseasonably cold winter in Kentucky and my biking resolve has been tested, but happily, Laura has kindly helped out the few times that the roads were really snowy and icy.
So today was a co-op day and then we stopped at the farmers market to stock up on meat. When we made it home I had to take a photo to share all the stuff we crammed in the bike.
There was just barely enough room for Avery-
Here's everything that was in the Madsen bucket, not including Avery-
From left and working around counter-clockwise: a bag of recycling I brought home from co-op to recycle, my purse, our lunch bag, Julian's coat, a whiffle ball bat, an afghan, a pair of jeans, gloves, 3(!) pairs of boots and a pair of sneakers, our groceries from the farmer's market, a bunch of books about whittling, my whittling supplies, enough yarn for three knitting projects and the ipad. And the cool thing is, I probably could have hauled even more stuff around if I had packed things more efficiently instead of throwing things in willy-nilly.
Buying the Madsen was a great investment in our family's transportation and I am so happy with how it has performed over the last year. Riding around town behind my 9 year old Julian is a fun way to connect with him and it's a pleasure to cruise through our community at bike-speed. And the days are only going to get warmer! Hooray.
5 Comments in Berea 
Reader Comments (5)
You are so inspiring! Good for you for braving the cold weather :).
Woah - I'm impressed! Last summer, I got my local cyclery to fit my (somewhat ancient) mountain bike with two large-ish baskets on either side of the back wheel, and a wee basket on the handlebars for my purse. I've loved it, and thought I was pretty cool for carting home groceries for three people on my bike. Clearly I've got a long way to go. :) Good for you!
oh my...that's impressive! i guess it's time to put some air in my tires and bike around town myself.
Just like any other vehicle, they end up piled full of extra stuff. The back of my truck has a crazy list in it. Thanks for your efforts.
Wow! That is a lot a lot of stuff!