Which Bike Today?

Over at EcoVelo, Alan has arguably one of the most drool worthy private collections of bicycles of all of the bicycle bloggers out there. He has articles on his Country and Commuter bikes. This has inspired me to share my own, impressive fleet.

First up, My Commuter-

You have all seen my Batavus Socorro. After my old commuter proved to be wrong for me, Hubby the Bike Man presented me with this wonderful bike. When I was still working, I used this to get me to work- 18 miles round trip (without child pick up) with a 20 mile train trip in the middle. I wore professional attire while riding it, and that basket in the front was perfect for carrying my purse, my lunch, my jacket... Where I worked in Richmond, CA , there was no car parking on the facility premises and the surrounding area was rife with crime. There was always space in my clinic to keep my bike, which meant no slashed tires or broken windshields.

Next, My Country Bike

With my heavy duty frame and front suspension, my Bat is great on rough terrain. I can use my bike on just about any road out there (except for maybe Downieville, but that's OK). Fire roads are no issue for me.

Now, we move onto my Kid Hauler.

Pick up at the preschool is easy. I pull up to the school, unfold my Bobike Junior, put Declan on the back and off we go. The seat has a folding rack in the back so I can carry the boy's backpack on it. It will carry him until he is 70 pounds, assuming I have not booted him off to his own bike by then. Because the Bat is so damn stable, I am able to carry my very wriggly boy home without feeling like we will tip over (although I am convinced that he wants to see if he can do the whole Thriller dance back there). I still have the Burley trailer hitch on there if I need to carry more than one kid or a big screen television.

Last, but not least, is my Everything Bike.

While I do not work these days, I am always out running errands, meeting people, working to slow traffic in front of my home.... and usually put at least 10 miles of errand riding on it daily, filling up the front basket as I go. After that comes picking up Declan. His school is a 6 mile ride from my home. We usually need to stop for groceries on the way home and pick up as much as will fit on the back rack (we go through half a gallon of milk a day and about 60 pounds of produce a week).

I would be lying if I let you think I have only the one bike, I do not. But I could. It is telling that this bike has about 5500 of the 6000 miles I have logged in the last year and a half. All it takes is one bike that you love to get you riding- until I was given my Bat I couldn't dream of riding like this because I had the wrong bike (too big, not appropriate).

However, if you are looking for a fleet, I can recommend Alan's as one to wish for!