When I first moved to Kanata my mom got me a second hand bike from someone at her work. It is a Fuji mixte mountain hybridy something or other with not too bad shifting gears but overall heavy and not my size. I rode it to work and sometimes other places but not exclusively and not, what I would call, a lot. This was at the time before I got my drivers licence and before Chris lived in Kanata and was able to drive me around at the drop of the hat so it was the perfect time for utilitarian biking, but I did not really do much of it. I was a little bit perplexed by that. Yes, Kanata infrastructure could use some bike-friending, but some can be said for Zagreb where I run errands on bike all summer. I attributed this to general boringness of Kanata and the the fact that I was wearing a helmet. I have nothing against helmets, I wear them on any ride I consider dangerous (March road anyone?), but that does not make me like them. In retrospect, the bike had a lot to do with it as well. It was the perfect bike at the time because it was there and it was free at the time when I had just started making money, but not the perfect bike for me. I still have that bike. The money I would get for it if I tried to sell it does not justify the effort and sometimes I ride it in the winter.
Biking in Zagreb – look ma, no infrastructure!
A few years later Chris and I got matching Rocky Mountain hybrids and our recreational and commuting cycling really took off. We routinely biked downtown or through the rural areas on weekends. These were the perfect DINKy bikes. We did not do any utilitarian cycling. The effort or tying up those bikes is unreasonably high. The bikes have quick release parts which make them transportable by car but you have to make a pretzel with a bike chain to secure everything. There is no appreciable cargo space. Riding these bikes in normal clothes is uncomfortable, indecent even in case of skirts (crossbar) and you’re bound to get chain grease on the legs. The bike handles poorly when it has to stop and start often (it likes to go fast for a long time) and the addition of the trailer made all of these problems more acute.
DINKy days
With kids my time and willingness to put in effort decreased and recreational and fitness cycling is just not something that I do very often. This is where Kona Africa comes in. It can carry kids close enough to me to be able to have a conversation with them, it handles well when stoping and starting often. I can cycle in regular clothes but there is still no room for groceries (as long as the kids seats are on the bike anyway). I am pretty sure I doubled (at least) the amount of utilitarian cycling I do just by using this bike. It is the perfect bike for now, but it is not the perfect bike. I’d really like something zippier that fits my geometry better.
This summer I am already starting to be a bit too big and wimpy with the pregnancy to bike longer distances (summers are uncomfortably hot when you are pregnant). Even short trips to the grocery store take twice as long with the bike and Chris is unlikely to be interested in joining us after doing his 40k commute. Next year, I might not be able to bike much because the baby will be too young. I will try and bike with the older two when I get a chance (how often will that be?). The year after that we will have to rethink our whole strategy. Will we get a trail-a-bike for Trev for recreational rides? Will we still do any recreational rides? Should I get a bike with extended rear rack so I can fit all three kids on a utilitarian bike? Would I even be able to pull a bike with three kids on it? Would I want to?
Some days I feel like utilitarian biking is just a pipe dream for this family… How to get out of this funk? I love biking, I love biking with kids, infrastructure in Kanata is not as bad as that, there are places to go to within 20 minutes, I hate driving the car etc, etc, etc. So what is it going to take to bike more?