Ready for Something Completely Different

I don’t know if turning 40 primed me for a major lifestyle change or what, but early this year I had the idea to make a break with one of our vehicles. Crazy in this car culture, I know. Radical even.  But questions were begging to be answered, such as: Why pay large chunks of our income for gasoline? Could we go without our second vehicle and how would we get around when my husband took his car to work? I began to get excited by the possibilities of dramatic change, because truthfully, I loved my Honda Odyssey, but it didn’t love me. The comfort of the van created a dependence that kept me from using my body to get around, which is ironic since we live within walking distance to parks and businesses and most of my errands don’t require a drive out of town. Giving up my van would mean I would be choosing to become physically active after many long years of weight gain and inactivity; the sacrifice would initiate my own odyssey, only this time a real one, taking both me and my family outside the comfort zone of our life together.

How could I make this do-able in my community? My first thought was of using Santa Clarita’s extensive paseo/bike path network, an ideal bicycle highway across most of the Santa Clarita Valley. The only challenges I could see to getting around via bike were my low level of fitness, the geographical distance of one end of town from another, and the high temperatures that a typical Southern Californian summer brings. With these issues in mind, now was the best time to finally purchase what I had been saving for: an electric bike. Such a bike would get me further distances than I could expect to travel without conditioning and without exhausting myself. Moreover, the lack of extreme exertion would help me tolerate a hot climate that would normally discourage bike usage.

Initially, I thought a bike trailer would be best for towing around my 5 year old, but the lower end e-bikes sold locally at Walmart didn’t have space for the trailer hook up around the back hub motor. The internet solved my dilemma. When I read about cargo bikes and their multiple uses, I saw the practicality of using a specialty bike to truck around both my kids and my groceries. After much research in forums and blogs, I decided I had to test ride the Yuba elMundo.

The Yuba Mundo is a rare breed of bike in the U.S. – a cargo bike, or longtail, due to the extended frame. From the internet, I became familiar with the Dutch bakfiets, or box bikes, used in the Netherlands to move whole families in a box secured to the front of a long framed bicycle. YouTube is full of videos of seemingly happy Dutch families cruising through the city on these bikes. Here, bakfiets are sold mostly in Portland and Seattle, where bike culture is strong and varied. However, as much as they looked like fun, Dutch style cargo bikes are very expensive, much more so than the alternative cargo bikes developed in the U.S. and honestly, I wanted something more streamlined for my new adventure. The typical American cargo bike carries its loading capabilities behind the rider’s seat, above the rear wheel; the stretched frame behind the rider is the “long tail”. Other U.S. companies have designed bikes that carry loads in front of the rider, but as with the bakfiets, these bikes seem to cost more than the longtail design.

Without a local Yuba vendor, I settled on traveling 92 miles to ICargo Bike, a cargo bike specialty shop in San Clemente, CA. My girls suffered the long car ride through heavy traffic to meet with Richard, the owner. Their moods lifted immediately when they saw his well-used e-Yuba waiting for the test ride. I took it around the block alone, and felt the exhilaration of moving forward on e-power, gliding around the alley and street effortlessly. Next, the girls, ages 5 and 13, with a combined weight of 145 pounds, settled onto the rear seat pads and away we went. The Mundo has a lower center of gravity than a regular bike, so their weight did not disturb the ride, though the excited attempts to peer around my shoulder would shift the balance somewhat. Clearly, we were love-struck from the first ride and the next day I placed my order for a black Mundo with cream Fat Frank tires and a top-of-the-line electric battery and motor system. Hell, if I was going to give up my beloved van, it was only going to happen for a worthy replacement!

The Delivey

After placing my order with ICargo Bike, I felt an overwhelming nervous excitement. I couldn’t stop daydreaming about my bike, (nor telling everyone about it) and the day it arrived was very much a dream come true. On May 10^th, Richard delivered the Yuba right to my home, free, as advertised on his website. The family was waiting on the street as he pulled up! My husband was seeing a cargo bike for the first time and was impressed with the dimensions: 6 feet, 9 inches and weighing approximately 45lbs without all the upgrade accessories, according to the Yuba website. And I had ordered accessories, oh yes. The eagle had landed.

Little M and her friend were eager to get on the bike. Richard from ICargo Bike makes an adjustment.

This bike has a no frills design, but was created to meet the needs of a range of users. Mine has front and rear disc brakes, for my own peace of mind since heavy bike loads require extra braking time. Additionally, I was leery of standard tires and the flat risk associated with them. Another good excuse for an upgrade, no? Cream Fat Franks with tubes treated with green Slime seemed the most reassuring solution. The electric Bionix kit that I had put on came highly recommended by ICargo Bike. Honestly, this feature alone warrants its own post, and I’ll have to do just that very soon.

The Yuba also has a sturdy bread basket, attached to the front frame of the bike; not the handlebars. This allows the basket to hold up to 50 lbs. But no, that’s not enough storage space; I had to have the giant Yuba panniers that fit over the rear tires. The Go-Getter Bags accommodate a full grocery run. Having had the bike since May, I haven’t yet filled them to capacity. 8 bags of food, including liquids, fit and balance easily on this bike. Usually I have my youngest child with me during these runs to the store.

In fact, most every ride on the Yuba has little M. hitching a ride on the back seat pad. Next, I’ll share how this has changed not only her world, but that of my whole family too.

Our electric Yuba Mundo really gets around.