 It feels to me like Vancouver has similar kinds of snow events that I'm used to from when I lived in Old Blighty! I say 'events' because we didn’t call them 'storms'. The BBC weather person would report, "if we're lucky it's gonna snow a bit tomorrow in the South East, we may even get a whole inch of the fluffy stuff, so don't forget to wrap up". You get the gist! So nothing to 'write home' about, yet here I am writing about it, and my mother who lives in the UK may even get to read this!!!!
All that said, rolling into work this last two days has been potentially hazardous to my health. The streets are not cleared for this bicycle commuter! City workers in the three municipalities I travel seem to be on the 9-5 and I have to be in for 8.30!!!! Thick slippy snow with some slushy tracks of cars to follow which my bog standard Schwalbe Marathon tires cope with surprisingly well. And as I've only had them on for a few months, I feel quite chuffed about my extravagant purchasing decision. They ‘fail hard’ though in much more than three inches of fresh snow. I'm going exactly nowhere. Front and back wheels spin for a few seconds before I start listing to Port. You can't have everything I suppose.
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 Tony posing on his new Urban Arrow Shorty on the Spirit Trail not long after he bought it. I kinda remember meeting Tony Valente years and years ago in a soulless corner meeting room of steel and glass at the City Library. Back then, he was the local HUB (cycling advocacy) Chairman and sat at the centre of an extensive arrangement of tables wading his way through the agenda. He remembers me from that time, and once when I wore my magnificent kilt on a guided ride of the city HUB had organised!!!!!
Since then, quite by chance, we connected on Instagram, where I noticed he had purchased an Urban Arrow Shorty. To me, this was interesting, because IMHO it’s not an obvious consumer choice. It’s a clumsy-looking commercial bike. So I asked if I could interview him about his purchasing decision. We met to discuss this article at a local Craft Brewery. One with plenty of shade because we are suffering another ‘heat event’. Not quite as horrid as the record breaker from a few weeks ago when it hit 40+ Celsius! We have 33-35 degrees day after day right now. I was ordering a tasty adult beverage from the waitress when Tony rolled up on his Shorty wearing jeans and a blue shirt straight from the office. Before going out after work, he used to have to shower and change when he rode a regular bike. Not any more. Since he went full-time electric, he’s experiencing not only the freedom and ease of power-assisted cycling but also the freedom of not having to carry extra clothes every day to work.  Do you NEED a Cargobike? Short answer... yes, of course. They are fun and practical. Longer answer... maybe not so much. You can carry plenty on a regular bike if you have the will and a rear rack. Oh, and a choice of cordage. With my toolkit I carry two bungies of different lengths, 6ft of Paracord and a giant silicone rubber band that can fit over my wrist. With these I have always been able to get my load home. A roll of masking tape works too.  An actual Cargobike is of course better. As in it's easier to carry a load and often, but not always, can carry more weight. As a rule of thumb, a steel bicycle can carry x10 it's weight, 25lb frame = 250lb rider and everything. With alloy frames you need to check and be careful. But don't get me wrong, your current bike is fabulous too and can carry lots in panniers and on the rack. Dutch Market Panniers can carry four bags of groceries. My current Cargobike (above) I built and has a big box up front so I can just drop stuff in and ride. No messing about. A pizza straps to the top noproblemo. That fork is over engineered and can carry a person, so this makes my life easier and simpler than a regular bike because of the big front box. On the back is a saddle bag by Carradice for all my small loose stuff, lunch, and EDC things. The fork is a Crust Clydesdale Cargo Fork. A genius bit of kit. It converts non-suspension bikes into Cargobikes. Just pull your existing fork, switch over the handlebars, brakes and fit a 20" wheel and you're done. It's the next step up from a small basket on your bars or front rack. It's also an easy way to get a front disc brake if you don't have discs already. This was not supposed to be a long piece about Cargobikes, just about carrying on a bike and how doable it really is. But it's a lot more doable on a small Cargobike and IMHO your gateway to becoming a Lifestyle Cyclist.  Before I built this site I had a site I called Lifestyle Cyclist. This was the home page image I created. I still like it.
Lifestyle Cyclist Magazine's VISION is that urbanites primary transport preference be cycling. Lifestyle Cyclist Magazine's MISSION is to create entertaining, informative and inspiring content that empowers urbanites to fully employ a bicycle into their lives for the attractive, desirable and feasible lifestyle choice that it is.  This is what happens if you use throttle only to pull away on a loaded cargo bike. I've removed the drive gear that's metal so I can replace the nylon gear that melted. Makes a nasty noise and goes no where. Not my doing, one of the many dumb things I had to fix being a bike mechanic.
 This was a go at designing an Infographic that pretty much sums up my life. Works brilliantly for me not having a car, so fed-up driving.
 Posted here with permission from @colvilleanderson on Instagram, could not agree more!
 Found a free ebike! Front wheel comes off in a second and the 'cafe lock' is even open!!! Geez!
Come on people it only takes seconds to take this bike. |
AuthorThis is my playground. So it's always 'work in progress'. I like to create all sorts that doesn't fit into one 'niche'! Mainly cartoon robots, bicycle culture and other 'bits' that occur to me like coffee, cooking on a camp stove and stormtroopers. Categories
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