Fiets of Parenthood

Alright, so we didn't have an event like they have in Portland- or Seattle. What we did have was my wife's brother come to visit with two of his sons. We had a great time biking to the park- both on the Mundo and with the home-built bakfiets. The two visiting boys are 5 and 7 years of age. The older one rides really well. The 5 year old is very good too, but wasn't up to the task of riding to the park. He either rode on the Mundo or in the Bakfiets. We strapped his bike and a trike onto the back of the Ute so kids of all ages would have something to ride at the park.

This morning we started the day with some home-grown eggs and fruit juice/yoghurt smoothies spun up in the bike powered blender. (more on the bike blender some other time) We then found ourselves in the yard running the kids through a bicycle slalom course made of windfall apples, pears, and bottles from the recycling. Here is a pic of Uncle Steve running the Civia through it.

Of course I had to try the bakfiets. I am actually getting the hang of it. Perhaps a road trip to a Fiets of Parenthood competition next year! Here is a video of the frankenbike.....hope it works; I did have some technical difficulties.

KIVA

A while back a friend introduced me to Kiva. What Kiva.org does is partner with micro-finance organizations worldwide to raise funds for entrepreneurs. You can hop onto Kiva and be part of a team of people that each lend a person $25. You then get repaid in installments and can then use the credit in your Kiva account to help someone else. I have made a dozen loans to Kiva, and currently have one borrower that is late in making a payment. The beauty is even if they totally default, I am only out $25.




One of the hurdles I experienced on Kiva was how to "focus" my loans. With hundreds of loan listings this is a challenge. One thing you can do is focus on an interest.......say cycling. Or join a team. Lending teams are structured either geographically or via some special interest. I currently am counting my loans towards the Bicycles for Humanity Team. There is another team called Carbon Trace that focuses on carbon free transport, there are religious teams, atheist teams, country teams, workplace teams- you get the picture.

Fitness Cycle

Okay, I have been on this build cycle infrastructure and save health care dollars kick.....here is an article that came out in the local paper yesterday.

http://www.bclocalnews.com/vancouver_island_south/peninsulanewsreview/community/100484254.html

Is pasting this link here like re-gifitng?

Family Mundo

Here is a very short clip of the whole family on the Mundo. The kids would need Peanut Shells or some such to ride the Mundo- but we had to try a lap around the driveway! This bike continues to impress me- it feels so good, even with 4 humans on it. (albeit a couple of small humans!)

Bakfiets

I have been getting a bit of shop time in lately. Working on the bakfiets again. Maybe it is time I share the frankenbike with the world?

I took a Rocky Mountain MTB, an cheapo Peugeot MTB, an older Bianchi racing frame, and a sturdy little kids bike with a 20" front wheel and hacked them all apart. Then tried to weld the pieces back together. Here is a fellow from work giving the prototype a spin.

I managed to scrounge up a 48 spoke BMX wheel with a 14mm axel. Skookum. The double horizontal tube seems very strong and plenty stiff. It just means the upper tube will run through the box. This will make it less flexible for cargo, but offer up a tube to tie stuff too. Surprisingly enough, the bike is quite easy to ride--- maybe a little twitchy at low speeds, and the front brake will lock up the front wheel in a blink. I expect these conditions to improve with the addition of a plywood box. (and cargo)

Electric Assist

Okay, so we often hear that walkways and cycle paths contribute to “healthier” communities. What does that really mean? I imagine a lot of people just take that statement and face value and don’t break it down to healthier individuals. Some recent literature out of the United States claims the cost of bike lanes and cycle infrastructure is more than offset by savings in health care costs. Big claim.
Here is what happened the other day. An elderly gentleman came by the shop on an electric assist trike. I got chatting to him- and put some air in his tires- seems that a while back he was having a very hard time getting around and it looked like he was heading for knee surgery. A friend of his had just got a new E-trike and suggested he try the old one. Well, he hasn’t looked back. He says his mobility is greatly improved, he has lost weight, bikes to appointments, and generally loves exploring the Saanich Peninsula. His biggest complaint about the Lochside Trail? It needs to be widened in some spots- so many bikes! Here is a pic of his bike; he didn’t seem to want to be in the photo. Can’t blame him.

This has given me chance to reflect on electric assist bikes. I don’t know if I previously pooh-poohed them or not. I am not sure I had an opinion- but after reading Bike Snob now realize I should have an opinion. I think they are great- especially for cargo bikes and older riders. We are seeing a mini boom of retired folks on e-bikes around the peninsula. Think about it- these folks likely wouldn’t ride at all faced with some of the hills in our region. Now they are zipping around- mentally and physically happier for it.

Opus Bikes

Not that we need another bike here, far from it. Opus has caught my attention, however. Perhaps they are not well known outside of Canada? Check out opusbike.com

This bike is beautiful: http://www.opusbike.com/site_urbain_10.php?lang=en

I haven't ridden one, (or a Lugano- which might be more my style) but hear they are sweet. Check out their whole urbanista line.

Crossing the Streams

Don't cross the streams! Well it had to happen sooner or later. I kludged the Kona Ute bags onto the Mundo. Easy.

If you happen to have access to a Ute Bag or two, they fit on the Mundo perfectly. Nice to have something interchange!