tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8160971028706958786.post612923249028057106..comments2022-03-31T06:58:50.121-07:00Comments on mamafiets: My Bike-Car Interfaith MarriageEmilyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12222080327159563684noreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8160971028706958786.post-50635004805107315962012-02-05T20:51:25.126-08:002012-02-05T20:51:25.126-08:00Emily thanks! Your blog actually prompted me to ge...Emily thanks! Your blog actually prompted me to get things going b4 the summer. For now we are sticking to a trailer and hybrid that I have... We are taking a little time to see if we are ready to go all the way, but I am excited about the change. Thanks for the great tips throughout your posts.Jessiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06385485730173955981noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8160971028706958786.post-51093334486144237462012-02-02T00:11:24.167-08:002012-02-02T00:11:24.167-08:00I don't find this bike to feel heavy when ridi...I don't find this bike to feel heavy when riding it loaded up with groceries and kids under normal circumstances. Certainly, though, if I were to ride up a significant hill, I would be either straining to climb or getting off the bike and walking it up. (I used to live in Japan, and everyone on a bicycle seemed to hop off and push at a certain hill near the train station. It doesn't hurt my ego to do this from time to time.)<br /><br />What most surprised me about riding such a heavy bike was the momentum it seems to build after a few seconds of pedaling along a flat path. It's a very smooth, pleasant ride, in my experience.<br /><br />I find it very easy to ride this bike with lots of weight on it, but it's possible that you wouldn't feel that way. If you are considering purchasing this bike, I would recommend you travel to a bike shop that carries Fr8s in order to get a test ride with your kids or other cargo.<br /><br />Good luck!Emilyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12222080327159563684noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8160971028706958786.post-84576028403494726242012-02-01T14:34:17.694-08:002012-02-01T14:34:17.694-08:00Hi! Honestly I haven't read this entire post, ...Hi! Honestly I haven't read this entire post, but I plan on it. I saw the pics of your bike and am in love with it! lol My hubby has been bike commuting for 3 years now and this summer I plan to join in since our little ones are big enough... We have used a trailer in the past for riding on paths, but I love the safety of having your babies right with you... I was wondering if it gets heavy??? You obviously run all sorts of errands with your bike, do groceries added to the weight of the kids get just too heavy... Thanks :)Jessiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06385485730173955981noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8160971028706958786.post-71665235957066818532011-11-22T11:47:49.980-08:002011-11-22T11:47:49.980-08:00the gender discussion is interesting!
My husband ...the gender discussion is interesting!<br /><br />My husband bike communted when we lived in New Haven. His parking card was very costly and his car was all but dying. So he decided to take it off the road ( parked it in the garage spot) and got rid of his parking spot at work and biked daily for that year. At the end of the year we donated the car to NPR and he bought a used but newer car and we moved to the suburbs where we are now. Back when we lived in NYC, he bought a piar of rollar blades as transportation and rollerbladed everywhere in NYC. So for him- bike/blades as transportation were def an Urban/money saving tactic and once we were in the suburbs and had more money he was happy to have his car. ( granted he works a 1+ hour drive from home and works overnight/through the night shifts so for him having a car to commute is kinda key. also his driving 1 hour actually saves 30 people from driving down to boston to see him as he sees about that many people in their locale rather than having them come to him... )<br /><br />For me it was as Emily described it- and less a money saving thing but a way to get around without driving. I circle a 6-8 mile route running errands most days. there is no reason I should be driving that and esp now with my new bike- I seriously don't very often. I have opted to keep my car b/c it's paid for and b/c my husband is gone from 6-7 monday -friday and then gone for 24 hours on a given sat or sun ( and every weds) his car is simply with him. My goal is to use mine mostly for road trips when he is at work all weekend and things like that. Plus I admit to being being a more fair weather rider than most- so the car may get more use in the fierce cold and snow and rain.<br /><br />I'm being tangential in my reply. but I agree- person to person is so key. Also just being out there. I feel like so many people are attempting to ride even now and then b/c they see me out and about and see that it might be possible to run all those errands with out the car....MamaVeehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09519007680870604271noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8160971028706958786.post-60340563458655982482011-11-21T21:09:28.160-08:002011-11-21T21:09:28.160-08:00Anne:
Your comment is just so interesting that I&...Anne:<br /><br />Your comment is just so interesting that I'm going to write something way too long to unpack my thoughts about it. Bear with me!<br /><br />Yes, the number of women on bikes in the US is far, far behind the number of men on bikes. In 2009, women made up only 27% of bike commuters nationwide. See <a href="http://www.webikeeugene.org/2011/03/07/bicycle-commuter-trends-in-the-us-graphic-representation/" rel="nofollow">this</a> excellent map for more information. In Portland, the percentage of female bike commuters was still only 39%. And we all know that women and families on bikes are a good indicator of how friendly and safe the bike infrastructure is (and how effective any education and encouragement efforts are). My intention wasn't to say that women are now more likely to be a convincing a male partner to get rid of a car, but rather to consider the possibility that existing networks of women encouraging other women to ride bikes (such as blogs) might have had a big impact on my particular group of friends. I'm curious to see if women elsewhere may have noticed something similar.<br /><br />In the families I know with a male partner who is more of a bike rider than a female partner, the men in question began riding for transportation maybe five or ten years before my girlfriends and I did. I think that there's a lot more out there in terms of encouragement for women right now, and I wonder how that is helping the number of women cyclists grow.<br /><br />It's by no means a significant sample of the female population (!), but among my girlfriends and I, the story of our love affair (or renewed love affair) with the bicycle went something like this. Something prompted us to think about getting back on a bike, or to think about how to get our small kids out on a bike with us. Then we did a tiny bit of internet research and found...a ton of encouraging information and beautiful, empowering images of women doing just what we had imagined. Only maybe in a way that was just a little bit cooler than we had imagined bikes to be.<br /><br />Yeah, I definitely agree with you that we're still not to where we meed to be in terms of the number of women cyclists. And I agree that it seems like a lot of the time we're preaching to the choir on these bike-y blogs. But I also think that the amount of support and information available to women who begin to be interested in cycling is fantastic, and improving all the time.<br /><br />As far as how to connect with folks who haven't yet found out how practical, fun, and convenient cycling is -- I have no idea. But I do know SO MANY women who have started to ride a bike for transportation in the past year or two. I can't help but feel that there's a lot of person-to-person influence that those of us who ride bikes have that we may not fully realize.Emilyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12222080327159563684noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8160971028706958786.post-60729566121873417992011-11-21T10:36:55.348-08:002011-11-21T10:36:55.348-08:00Emily and Sara,
Yes, gender and cycling is an int...Emily and Sara,<br /><br />Yes, gender and cycling is an interesting discussion and also popular in the media and in blogs etc. <br /><br />I would be interested to know the stats on gender and transportation cycling in the US. <br /><br />Pucher says in Northern Europe it's even. And as <a href="http://policy.rutgers.edu/faculty/pucher/Cycling%20for%20Everyone%20TRB.pdf" rel="nofollow">he</a> has studied, getting more women and families on bikes will go a long way toward expanding cycling as transportation in the US. <br /><br />While blogs help create community and are a wonderful resource, I often think we're talking to ourselves.(the people who've already made a commitment to ride). I'd love to figure out a way to reach people who haven't yet made the leap!Annehttp://carfreedays.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8160971028706958786.post-92118561121957971502011-11-20T08:29:12.342-08:002011-11-20T08:29:12.342-08:00Anne and Sarah:
It's interesting to think abo...Anne and Sarah:<br /><br />It's interesting to think about the relationships between gender and an interest in cycling in different mom/dad families. Anne, you mentioned that you thought the stereotype might be of a husband trying to persuade a wife to take up bicycling. It's funny, I know a handful of women who are interested in riding their bikes more for transportation, but whose (male) partners are wary of cycling for transport. All of us became more interested in bicycling around the same time -- in part, I'm sure, because we were influenced by each other. But I also wonder if the proliferation of bicycling for transportation blogs written by women and mothers had some influence on us? I know that I found them to be really encouraging. Hmmm...something to think about.Emilyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12222080327159563684noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8160971028706958786.post-73901169019900030062011-11-20T08:01:11.634-08:002011-11-20T08:01:11.634-08:00Shane:
I like your term: "travel mode dance&...Shane:<br /><br />I like your term: "travel mode dance" describes how couples have to be responsive and engaged to figure this stuff out.<br /><br />And I think I should clarify something: Austin does enjoy riding a bike, thankfully. He did start out feeling that relying on a bike as a primary mode of transportation, or riding it in the dark, the rain, etc. was impractical and perhaps ill-advised. He may not be ready to get rid of our remaining car or head out to a date by bike on a dark, rainy night, but he is hopeful that once he completes his MLIS degree, he'll be able to work at a library downtown and commute by bike.<br /><br />So, who knows where we might end up?Emilyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12222080327159563684noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8160971028706958786.post-14076300750250333562011-11-19T07:53:59.976-08:002011-11-19T07:53:59.976-08:00My wife and I (no kids) wrestled with the idea of ...My wife and I (no kids) wrestled with the idea of moving from two cars to one. I bike-commute to work most of the year, but in Pittsburgh, PA, there are usually two months each winter when there's too much snow and ice on our hilly roads for safe biking, especially in the 6 a.m. darkness, so I drive. I could take a bus, but the 8-mile trip is a 20-minute drive, a 45-minute (all up hill) bike ride, but a 2.5-hour bus trip. I'd love to give up the one car, but haven't come up with a practical alternative...Tandem.caphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09193172126020876458noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8160971028706958786.post-64763921943036398432011-11-19T07:22:05.741-08:002011-11-19T07:22:05.741-08:00I just want to let you know that I am loving readi...I just want to let you know that I am loving reading all these thoughtful responses and looking forward to replying to them later this evening. At the moment I am covered in flour and balancing Little on one hip as I finish up my pies for Kidical Mass. Thanks for stopping by with comments! It's both interesting and encouraging to see how this works for other families.Emilyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12222080327159563684noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8160971028706958786.post-61656599588676925702011-11-19T06:42:01.396-08:002011-11-19T06:42:01.396-08:00I'm so glad you are back!I'm so glad you are back!Erin Bhttp://bikestheuniverseandeverything.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8160971028706958786.post-13023040743107217582011-11-19T06:12:46.320-08:002011-11-19T06:12:46.320-08:00This is a great post that I think will help others...This is a great post that I think will help others with this dance.<br /><br />Given our situation, we just never became a two-car family. We met as Peace Corps volunteers and neither of us owned a car, then on to NYC so no car. A set of twins and a move to Maine--> car, but we worked where we lived (a boarding school) so only one. Finally, with our last move to New Haven, CT, we made the intentional decision to remain a one-car family. My husband got his father's 1961 English Rudge Roadster bike and put a kid's seat on it. A year later, I discovered bakfietsen and became a woman possessed. Now we both ride with our three boys, both take the car when we need to, negotiate who uses what and when, walk, hop on the occasional bus, & try not to feel shy asking to bum a ride with a friend when necessary.<br /><br />I am interested in this gender split in bicyling families with a mom and a dad. Were both parents into bikes right away? Who convinced whom (or not)? How? Did the other partner change her/his thinking about bikes (or vice versa)? Oh, you may have just prompted a good investigation for me for some future blog posts! Cheers.sarahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02800138092758321499noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8160971028706958786.post-43689190250601184342011-11-18T21:08:31.997-08:002011-11-18T21:08:31.997-08:00Awesome post! We are also a one-car family and rel...Awesome post! We are also a one-car family and rely on our bikes a lot, although for us it's not a my bike/his car issue - we're totally even in that regard! We drive when we need to and bike when we can and it works.<br /><br />Our sons have grown up with the idea of cycling so this feels totally normal to them. In fact, we spent a total of four years bike touring as a family (most recent trip was three years from Alaska to Argentina!) where we didn't have a car at all.<br /><br />I love hearing about families who are making the effort to use the bikes as I feel it sends a wonderful message to the kids!Nancy from Family on Bikeshttp://familyonbikes.org/blognoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8160971028706958786.post-64606058761560120942011-11-18T20:37:12.380-08:002011-11-18T20:37:12.380-08:00I love that you're the one convincing your hus...I love that you're the one convincing your husband to give up a car... stereo-typically it's the other way around. <br /><br />We went from 4 to 3 to 2 to 1 to no cars in a stretch of @ 8 years. It was a long slow process. With each car sale, we felt an increasing sense of relief!<br /><br />I'm cheering for you!Annehttp://carfreedays.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8160971028706958786.post-12902097647620960382011-11-18T20:26:10.042-08:002011-11-18T20:26:10.042-08:00So great to have you back posting. This travel mo...So great to have you back posting. This travel mode dance is something I think a lot of families struggle with and you have a great perspective and take on the whole thing. <br />I think if Missy and I hadn't started our relationship out centered so much around the bike it would be more like this (a bit more of an effort). I feel lucky she fell in love with riding too... Though I do still have to tone it down every once and awhile.Shane MacRhodeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06290033238088921736noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8160971028706958786.post-70384869573820961582011-11-18T16:06:36.733-08:002011-11-18T16:06:36.733-08:00Thanks, MamaVee!
How cool that your husband has s...Thanks, MamaVee!<br /><br />How cool that your husband has started riding his bike more. Did he stop bike commuting when you moved to the suburbs?<br /><br />I'm thinking of adding another light to my family bike. Are you happy with yours?Emilyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12222080327159563684noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8160971028706958786.post-29560910324999992532011-11-18T15:44:23.484-08:002011-11-18T15:44:23.484-08:00oh I like this!!!
This kinda fits my husband and ...oh I like this!!!<br /><br />This kinda fits my husband and I. Although he bike commuted for a year about 6 years ago. but he thought ( and still thinks) the idea of not drivng when you have a car is a little strange. esp in the suburbs. He has come over to my way of thinking and realizes it isn't a fad. And he has come to bike to things lately on his own. Like to an important dinner meeting near by and now whenever he gets his car services ( like today) he brings his bike and rides from dealer to work which is a short bike path ride away. Although unlike me he didn't think about the fact that he would be riding inthe dark tonight and his light is for a leisure rider and so he was all stressy. he laughed at my $150 light- but my light is super bright and I wouldn't have stressed about the dusk falling....MamaVeehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09519007680870604271noreply@blogger.com