Last Sunday the Boo and I went to the Seattle Bike Expo. I wasn’t sure we’d make it as we had some crazy weather (snow, more snow, FAT snow, rain, more rain, wind, more wind, SUN! Let’s go! Quick! Rain, sun, rain AND sun. What?) but make it we did.

My primary purpose in attending was to test ride the Madsen cargo bike. Nobody carries them locally (at least before the Expo!) and I needed to try it out. I like it in concept a lot, but there’s much to be decided on a trial run.

My first impression surprised me. First, to interject, I’m not only a hugely novice rider, but I’m also far too concerned with appearances. I just have this idea that if I’m going to spend a lot of money on a bike, I want it to look how I want it to look, you know? So I was surprised that my first choice in color based on internet images (cream) looked a bit more yellow than I was expecting, while the baby blue bike just popped. Needless to say, I likey the blue. (Incidently, the Boo approved of the black.) Also? The rain canopy looks damn cool. (Although I just read that’s changing. Oh well.)

Anyway. I had been trying to muster up the courage all morning to actually go to this thing, despite the weather, and try out this bike, so I was happy it was a no fuss situation. I didn’t have a lot of questions as I had already picked Jason’s brains as much as I could (with my limited knowledge and experience) via email. Suffice to say, the Madsen guys were very nice and accomodating. First I rode one alone, and it was great! Better than great; it was awesome. Loved it. Then we popped Boo in the back. Couldn’t hardly tell he was there!

It was a wee bit wobbly starting up (but I was wobbly alone too), and braking I could definitely tell there was something behind me as it felt like something was catching up to me when I hit the brakes hard. Does that make sense? That might be normal for cargo bikes, I have no idea! It didn’t seem alarming, just something I noticed. Like when your grocery bags slide around in the trunk of your car if you hit the brakes hard. Also, it didn’t phase Boo at all, which is one of my Great (if irrational) Fears. That if I brake suddenly, he’ll come flying out. Didn’t happen. Phew.

I also couldn’t really tell much about the length except for trying to do a tight circle. I think, in retrospect, it might be a good thing I’m a novice bicyclist. I don’t have a whole lot to compare the experience to! Last time I used a bike as actual transportation was in college and that was so long ago all I remember was loving it, but not much else.

Sadly for me, I still haven’t made up my mind about what I want, so I didn’t buy the poor, pretty, wonderful bicycle. They even had an awesome deal that had me trying to mentally figure out a way to make it work, but I just couldn’t hack it. I’ve had to face some reality recently that has made me second guess this whole plan of mine, and I just couldn’t do it.

One of my major obstacles (besides the obvious lack of money and fitness) is a support system. See, I was so flippin’ excited when I realized all I needed to do to get some daily exercise with the kiddos was to bike on our errands and park dates instead of drive. Seems like a no-brainer, but it really was a (fluroescent) lightbulb going off over my head for me. Which is why I’ve plowed ahead with this idea despite criticism — I’m in such desperate need for a (feasible and pleasant to me) way to get in shape that the rosy glow of family bicycling just descended on me.

But lately that rosy glow has been fading. I’ve been thinking about this topic for quite a long time now, months and months, and there are a few things that are becoming obvious.

1. Nobody else in my family wants me to do this. (Well, other than the kids!) They worry about the safety of the kids on the road, which is reasonable, especially in light of my lack of experience.
2. Dealing with the rather large age differences of seating these two is a challenge with the existing bikes I’ve considered. (The challenge being finding seating arrangements everyone is happy with — I know many options exist.)
3. Everything costs too much. (Yes I know cars cost more but we’re not getting rid of our car.)
4. I am in really, really, atrociously bad shape.

So…. I’m backing off a little. Slowing down a bit. I haven’t lost sight of my lofty goals, I’m just trying to calm down my brain a little bit and bring it in line with my actual abilities. My reconsidered goal for this year is merely one thing: Get riding. Fix my mountain bike, go on some local rides, ride with the Boo on the trails at the weekend when the Daddy can watch the Baby. If that goes well, get a baby seat and just drive to the trails if need be during the week. That’s it.

Then later we’ll revisit the whole family biking concept. I can still hope for sooner, but somehow I doubt it. I still plan on visiting some local shops to try out various bikes, all in good time. I am still thinking about what would be the best base for an Xtracycle, how the Xtracycle compares to the Madsen, hell, I even want to try the Bakfiets. I want to try as much as possible and really consider all of my options.

Bonus part of this idea? There will probably be a whole lot of new cargo biking concepts by then! For example, hopefully more options in purpose-built longtail frames, maybe even with with the step-through I’m loving so much. A girl can only hope. Cargo bikes seems to be gaining in popularity. But for that matter, maybe I don’t even want a cargo bike, maybe I just want a nice singleton dutch-style bike, baby seat, and a Follow-Me for the lad. I just don’t know!

So, back to the Madsen! While I’m sad about this focus on reality, it was a fun bike to ride and I’m really glad I got the opportunity to try it out. I liked the low center of gravity in the back, and the seat and handle bars were remarkably comfortable. Way more comfortable than my mountain bike, in fact. No pain at all from my grumpy lower back. I liked the step-through frame and the nifty double kickstand.

The rest of the Expo was interesting. Discovered more local bike shops than I knew existed, and saw some really beautiful bikes. Who knew you could make wooden handles? And I now have a secret love for wooden fenders. All things I had never considered before. Also noted some awesome deals on everything from bike parts and clothes to used bicycles and even a $1800 fully built Surly Big Dummy, which I’m fairly sure is an awesome price. I will have to remember that for next year!

Also, it was so nice being with just the Boo. He’s a cool kid, and I don’t get to spend much one-on-one time with him any more. It was just so much easier to be responsive, fun, engaged, creative and focused without a baby in tow. So that was awesome. I hope we can find more things to do together, just us two.

Even though it was a short trip, it was nice. Looking forward to going back next year — hell, maybe I’ll have made a decision by then!

And finally — a picture by the Boo, age 4, of my obvious need for a fitness regime! He has an interesting eye for photography, no? Or maybe I’m just biased :)

This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 18th, 2009 at 11:16 pm and is filed under Health. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.