How do you know if you'll actually use a cargobike if you buy one? Will it end up sitting idle in the shed, providing a terrible return-on-investment? I though a lot about this before buying our cargobike.
Back in 2005 my then boyfriend (now husband) and I moved from Adelaide to Melbourne. We were commuter cyclists in Adelaide, and we brought our bikes over with us, but the Melbourne roads seemed so much more hazardous, there were more hills, and to rent a place as close to the CBD as we were used to being in Adelaide was a financially unviable proposition. We chose a flat close to public transport and enjoyed that for a while, though my boyfriend's full-fare monthly PT tickets weren't cheap.
Then cycling started to creep back into our lives. A close friend moved over as well, became a neighbour and bought a new road bike. I resurrected my neglected old roadie, S bought a roadbike as well, and we started to do weekend morning rides, with the BV Around the Bay in a Day ride as our training goal. Soon we were doing weekday morning training rides as part of S's commute. I started riding to the city for rowing training. The Melbourne traffic, though it appeared more hazardous, with trams, tram tracks more cars and more pedestrians, actually turned out to be a little more gentle than Adelaide traffic, where drivers rarely have cause to slow below 60 on most roads. Maybe everybody is driving a little more carefully in amongst all the perceived hazards.
Moving to the north side of the Yarra changed our bike habits a little but not in terms of commuting and errand trips. The problem in the North is being further from the regular haunts of the lycra brigade: Beach Road, Kew Boulevard and the Dandenongs were our favourite training ride locations.
By the time we had a baby, in 2011, we had been using bikes as our go-to transport mode for around six years. It was a firm habit. There was rarely an impulse to travel locally (2-13km) by car... there are only so many times you can sit, stuck in traffic, watching cyclists pass you by, before you start to think that the car possibly isn't the most convenient transport mode for that trip.
I use our cargobike for many of the same sorts of trips that I used to do on my regular bike. Local trips to shops, the library, friends' houses, local parks and my former place for work. As well as now for K's childcare drop-offs and pickups. So, the answer to my worry has turned out to be pretty simple: if you are able to demonstrate the habit of cycling on your own, you will believe in your ability to demonstrate the habit of cycling with your kids on the cargobike. At least, that's what the case has been for me.
Back in 2005 my then boyfriend (now husband) and I moved from Adelaide to Melbourne. We were commuter cyclists in Adelaide, and we brought our bikes over with us, but the Melbourne roads seemed so much more hazardous, there were more hills, and to rent a place as close to the CBD as we were used to being in Adelaide was a financially unviable proposition. We chose a flat close to public transport and enjoyed that for a while, though my boyfriend's full-fare monthly PT tickets weren't cheap.
Then cycling started to creep back into our lives. A close friend moved over as well, became a neighbour and bought a new road bike. I resurrected my neglected old roadie, S bought a roadbike as well, and we started to do weekend morning rides, with the BV Around the Bay in a Day ride as our training goal. Soon we were doing weekday morning training rides as part of S's commute. I started riding to the city for rowing training. The Melbourne traffic, though it appeared more hazardous, with trams, tram tracks more cars and more pedestrians, actually turned out to be a little more gentle than Adelaide traffic, where drivers rarely have cause to slow below 60 on most roads. Maybe everybody is driving a little more carefully in amongst all the perceived hazards.
Moving to the north side of the Yarra changed our bike habits a little but not in terms of commuting and errand trips. The problem in the North is being further from the regular haunts of the lycra brigade: Beach Road, Kew Boulevard and the Dandenongs were our favourite training ride locations.
By the time we had a baby, in 2011, we had been using bikes as our go-to transport mode for around six years. It was a firm habit. There was rarely an impulse to travel locally (2-13km) by car... there are only so many times you can sit, stuck in traffic, watching cyclists pass you by, before you start to think that the car possibly isn't the most convenient transport mode for that trip.
I use our cargobike for many of the same sorts of trips that I used to do on my regular bike. Local trips to shops, the library, friends' houses, local parks and my former place for work. As well as now for K's childcare drop-offs and pickups. So, the answer to my worry has turned out to be pretty simple: if you are able to demonstrate the habit of cycling on your own, you will believe in your ability to demonstrate the habit of cycling with your kids on the cargobike. At least, that's what the case has been for me.
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