I'm so happy to see all the family cargo bikes in my neighborhood!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here.
I'm envious of the electric cargos. When I had my kids in a cargo, the electric version was way out of reach and there were not enough protected lanes.

I could only do this with an electric cargo bike -- I just am not a strong enough cyclist to be able to rely on my own power for a cargo bike with one or two kids in it. It's very cool to see electric cargo bikes around 1k. They used to be 8k!

Oh wow, I did not know the price was so affordable. This is really getting into the range where a lot of families could easily decide to go the cargo bike route for school/work.

Some really strong sock puppeting here. Funny how all of these posts sound like they were written by the same person.

Lol I'm not the OP and am one of the above PPs but only one of the three.

I think you just don't get that this is really appealing for a lot of families. It's not even political or environmental. Driving around DC is a PITA, car drop off at most DCPS is unpleasant, parking at work is often expensive, and so on. If you live in the city this is a really great option, especially since Covid has made public transportation less reliable or appealing.

It's especially great on the Hill where everything is flat but distances between things can be pretty big for little kids to walk. I wish this is the one thing people would understand: it's not political, it's not virtue signalling, it's FUN!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Started riding my son to his DCPS everyday to/from school when I’m telecommuting.

It’s only a 6 minute ride, but it’s easily the favorite part of his day.

Love these people who wouldn't dream of driving a child anywhere without strapping them into a car seat, but they'll put a child on a bike in a crowded city and are like, "it's fine -- i'll just be careful."

The kids wear helmets and the bikes go a lot slower than cars do. Also, I would only commute with my kid on my bike in residential neighborhoods with low speed limits and good bike infrastructure. it's actually much, much safer than driving.

This just seems delusional. You are putting your child in a life threatening situation. If you get hit by a car, he or she is dead.

I mean, I walk my kid to school about six blocks. She doesn't wear a helmet or anything. I rely on the exact same safety measures as I would while riding a bike -- awareness of vehicles, caution at intersections, etc. And on our walk there is always the risk that my kid could dart out into the street at the wrong time (she knows not to do this but with kids you never know). Do you think it's "delusional" to walk with my daughter to school every day? Is the only "safe" way to transport a child inside a vehicle?

No, you don't. You and your child (presumably) walk on a sidewalk aside from when you are crossing the street. A family in a cargo bike cannot ride down the sidewalk for the whole route, or really any of it, generally. Unless there is a protected bike lane, they are in the road with cars.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
I agree that electric motors have revolutionized access and use of bicycles.

BUT.

As a European accustomed to seeing all kinds of road-sharing in my home country, I'm just terrified for cyclists here. Car drivers do NOT know how to share the road in this country. And some cyclists are just asking to get hit. I nearly hit a cyclist with no lights, dressed all in dark colors, on Rockville Pike on a winter's night. I live off of Old Georgetown Road in Bethesda, and every year there's at least one cyclist fatality near the beltway entrance and exit. Usually a teenager.

Please be careful when cycling and please stay alert for cyclists and pedestrians when driving.

+1

The bicyclists assume everyone sees them zipping out into traffic - and not everyone does.

Please, please, please pay attention when you are biking with small children.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Come back when the weather’s bad. Around here, that’s frequent.

You realize there are raincoats and pullovers that people wear, right?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Started riding my son to his DCPS everyday to/from school when I’m telecommuting.

It’s only a 6 minute ride, but it’s easily the favorite part of his day.

Love these people who wouldn't dream of driving a child anywhere without strapping them into a car seat, but they'll put a child on a bike in a crowded city and are like, "it's fine -- i'll just be careful."

The kids wear helmets and the bikes go a lot slower than cars do. Also, I would only commute with my kid on my bike in residential neighborhoods with low speed limits and good bike infrastructure. it's actually much, much safer than driving.

This just seems delusional. You are putting your child in a life threatening situation. If you get hit by a car, he or she is dead.

I mean, I walk my kid to school about six blocks. She doesn't wear a helmet or anything. I rely on the exact same safety measures as I would while riding a bike -- awareness of vehicles, caution at intersections, etc. And on our walk there is always the risk that my kid could dart out into the street at the wrong time (she knows not to do this but with kids you never know). Do you think it's "delusional" to walk with my daughter to school every day? Is the only "safe" way to transport a child inside a vehicle?

No, you don't. You and your child (presumably) walk on a sidewalk aside from when you are crossing the street. A family in a cargo bike cannot ride down the sidewalk for the whole route, or really any of it, generally. Unless there is a protected bike lane, they are in the road with cars.

Thank you for making the argument for more bike lanes. Please send the same to your councilmenbers, ANC reps and the Mayor.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I admire the people who do this, but personally I can't get past the safety risk (from vehicle traffic) or the inclement weather logistics. Does everyone who bike commutes in May-Sept have access to showers at work? Because I would be a disgusting mess by the time I got to work, and I don't have a place/time to shower there.

I used to take bike share to work daily from my home in Brookland to downtown. You'd be surprised at how much cooler you are whizzing down the street on a bike than walking, even in high humidity. I did have to adjust my clothes to accommodate the bike (some clothes make you hot and sweaty despite the air flow and I'd avoid those, plus you want pants that won't flop around near the pedals and gears and also something that will be comfortable to sit on a bike in) but it was well worth how easy it was to commute this way.

The main weather issue with a bike is actually cold and especially rain. No one wants to sit on a wet bike. If it was just a drizzle, I'd wear a good rain jacket and make sure to bring a towel to wipe down the seat. But in a downpour, I'd take metro. I also had to get the right gear for biking in really cold temps -- this meant gloves with good grips, a jacket or scarf that I could pull up around the lower part of my face, and sometimes wearing long underwear under my clothes. But DC has relatively few bitterly cold days and it almost never snows, and you can always take public transportation instead if the weather is bad enough, so this wasn't a big deterrent.

Biking in DC is so fast and convenient. I'm no longer in good enough shape to do it and no longer have a daily commute which is an obstacle to getting back into shape for it. But I did it for about three years and it was great.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
I agree that electric motors have revolutionized access and use of bicycles.

BUT.

As a European accustomed to seeing all kinds of road-sharing in my home country, I'm just terrified for cyclists here. Car drivers do NOT know how to share the road in this country. And some cyclists are just asking to get hit. I nearly hit a cyclist with no lights, dressed all in dark colors, on Rockville Pike on a winter's night. I live off of Old Georgetown Road in Bethesda, and every year there's at least one cyclist fatality near the beltway entrance and exit. Usually a teenager.

Please be careful when cycling and please stay alert for cyclists and pedestrians when driving.

+1

The bicyclists assume everyone sees them zipping out into traffic - and not everyone does.

Please, please, please pay attention when you are biking with small children.

And please tell people driving cars the same thing.

[Anonymous]

Can someone link to an affordable ebike?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Same. I would love to transport my DD this way (I am a long-distance cyclist who bikes for recreation and transportation) but DH thinks seats are unsafe. Will only use trailer. Which is fine but doesn't work for my bike.

Agree. Those seats look REALLY unsafe.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
I agree that electric motors have revolutionized access and use of bicycles.

BUT.

As a European accustomed to seeing all kinds of road-sharing in my home country, I'm just terrified for cyclists here. Car drivers do NOT know how to share the road in this country. And some cyclists are just asking to get hit. I nearly hit a cyclist with no lights, dressed all in dark colors, on Rockville Pike on a winter's night. I live off of Old Georgetown Road in Bethesda, and every year there's at least one cyclist fatality near the beltway entrance and exit. Usually a teenager.

Please be careful when cycling and please stay alert for cyclists and pedestrians when driving.

+1

The bicyclists assume everyone sees them zipping out into traffic - and not everyone does.

Please, please, please pay attention when you are biking with small children.

And please tell people driving cars the same thing.

This is the important part.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I admire the people who do this, but personally I can't get past the safety risk (from vehicle traffic) or the inclement weather logistics. Does everyone who bike commutes in May-Sept have access to showers at work? Because I would be a disgusting mess by the time I got to work, and I don't have a place/time to shower there.

I used to take bike share to work daily from my home in Brookland to downtown. You'd be surprised at how much cooler you are whizzing down the street on a bike than walking, even in high humidity. I did have to adjust my clothes to accommodate the bike (some clothes make you hot and sweaty despite the air flow and I'd avoid those, plus you want pants that won't flop around near the pedals and gears and also something that will be comfortable to sit on a bike in) but it was well worth how easy it was to commute this way.

The main weather issue with a bike is actually cold and especially rain. No one wants to sit on a wet bike. If it was just a drizzle, I'd wear a good rain jacket and make sure to bring a towel to wipe down the seat. But in a downpour, I'd take metro. I also had to get the right gear for biking in really cold temps -- this meant gloves with good grips, a jacket or scarf that I could pull up around the lower part of my face, and sometimes wearing long underwear under my clothes. But DC has relatively few bitterly cold days and it almost never snows, and you can always take public transportation instead if the weather is bad enough, so this wasn't a big deterrent.

Biking in DC is so fast and convenient. I'm no longer in good enough shape to do it and no longer have a daily commute which is an obstacle to getting back into shape for it. But I did it for about three years and it was great.

Not uncoincidentally, when I was bike commuting downtown, I was in the best shape of my life! It was almost effortless.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
I agree that electric motors have revolutionized access and use of bicycles.

BUT.

As a European accustomed to seeing all kinds of road-sharing in my home country, I'm just terrified for cyclists here. Car drivers do NOT know how to share the road in this country. And some cyclists are just asking to get hit. I nearly hit a cyclist with no lights, dressed all in dark colors, on Rockville Pike on a winter's night. I live off of Old Georgetown Road in Bethesda, and every year there's at least one cyclist fatality near the beltway entrance and exit. Usually a teenager.

Please be careful when cycling and please stay alert for cyclists and pedestrians when driving.

+1

The bicyclists assume everyone sees them zipping out into traffic - and not everyone does.

Please, please, please pay attention when you are biking with small children.

And please tell people driving cars the same thing.

This is the important part.

- Not all drivers see the bikes zipping around. Be mindful on a bike.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Same. I would love to transport my DD this way (I am a long-distance cyclist who bikes for recreation and transportation) but DH thinks seats are unsafe. Will only use trailer. Which is fine but doesn't work for my bike.

Agree. Those seats look REALLY unsafe.

Maybe you should check it out before commenting on the safety or lackthereof. Just because "they look unsafe" doesn't mean they are, in fact, unsafe.

[Anonymous]

I want this so badly for myself and my kids, but the poor cycling infrastructure in my center city neighborhood (and, especially, the terrible drivers) makes it impossible.

It kills me to drive the 2 miles to/from school twice a day.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can someone link to an affordable ebike?

The Rad is probably the best budget cargo bike, but it’s still around $2k