First day as part of the family

It has been a little over two years since our journey with the Big Dummy took off.   We had spent the better part of a year shopping cargo bikes to find one that would best suit our family.  We test rode everything we could in our local bike market, spoke to cargo bike families, even spoke with local bike makers, all to ensure the best fit for our needs.

Then the day came that we finally found the right one.  Rachel and I went into our favorite local bike shop, Paul's Bicycle Way of Life, situated near the University of Oregon Campus.  We  had already gotten a lot of positive feedback regarding the Big Dummy, and BWOL had a beautiful "soil-ant green"(gotta love Surly Colors) Dummy with bright yellow fenders.

Rachel was the first to take it out, before we had even turned back, she was sold.  I took a quick spin on it, but the moment had already happened, our journey to being car-free was about to take a significant
step.  Back in the shop we made all the necessary arrangements, threw a set of handlebars on the back, money changed hands, and we had our new bicycle! 

First Major Job- Parade Duty

Only one issue remained, we had driven.  This is important because, unbeknownst to us, we were a few months away from calling the minivan home...more on that later.  For the moment, our issue was simply getting the very large bike home.  Mama cycle came up with the solution, a multi-modal adventure with Genevieve from our home to pick up the bike.  From walking, taking the bus and finally the shop, Rachel made sure that this momentous moment wouldn't be tarnished by our single occupancy vehicle.

Victoriously, she rode in, triumphant princess behind her.   We didn't know it at the time, but were were just a few weeks away from locking all of our bikes up and living out of our car, victims of our housing crisis, but at that moment the future was bright and one of the last hurdles to a car-free life had been cleared.

 Since then we have done about everything we could imagine off of the back, front and/or sides of our Big Dummy.  This isn't meant to become a "how-to" blog of utilizing your cargo-bike to its fullest.  Instead, join us as we tell the tales, both old and new, of how our beloved Big Dummy has been at the forefront of so many adventures, and helped reshape the way we saw bike commuting.

See you soon,

Papa Cycle

The CARDAG Motorcade