the great madsen tumble

On Wednesday night I met up with with miss sarah and our friend Tom for a little bike ride through Belgravia. The bike ride was all part of an evening of fun, but it was also prompted by Sarah's participation in the Let's Go Ride a Bike Summer Games, a contest put on by Dottie & Trisha, the two ladies who write the Let's Go Ride a Bike blog. Our little excursion fit the category of Sarah bringing along a non-biking friend for a ride. Since I haven't owned a bike in about four years, I fit that category, since in Edmonton my main form of transportation is on foot or by transit. That doesn't mean I haven't wanted to buy a bike. A year and a half ago I almost bought a beautiful Batavus, but at the time it just wasn't the best financial decision to make, so I held off for something else. The problem is I never found another bike I liked quite as much and then winter came and I ended up not buying anything. So I remain bikeless, but for the past several months I've been feeling that bike lust and before summer arrives I will be buying a bike. Currently under consideration (a couple styles from each manufacturer), in alphabetical order: an abici (I like the look of the granturismo, but haven't tested one out yet), batavus (not sure what model), dahon, and the oma.

On Wednesday I rode Sarah's dahon foldie (which I'm currently borrowing as I try to figure out if it fits my needs) and Tom and Sarah took turns pulling each other in the Madsen. The dahon is a compact little bike, and it rides nicely (with the exception of the seat post deal which I describe below, but that was human error not so much the bike's fault). It's also probably the most inexpensive of all the bikes I like. Upside, it is the most compact so it would be easy to store in my apartment during the winter months. Inexpensive? Does that mean I could save up for more camera equipment?




But back to the Madsen. When carrying big loads, especially an adult, this cargo bike requires a bit of oomph to get going. Tom eventually sorted it out with Sarah in the bucket and we rode around for a bit before stopping so I could adjust my seat post (it kept on slipping down until I figured out how to tighten it properly, and with my long stems a too short seat post is most annoying) and Sarah could take over pedaling the Madsen.




Except, as you can see, that switch wasn't so successful. While Sarah has pulled baby Dexter and hauled groceries using the Madsen, she wasn't able to get going with Tom in the bucket. Thankfully we tried this near some soft grass, so that when the bike did take a little spill Tom had a soft place to land. In the end Tom took over the driver's/rider's seat and we rode back to the house to make dinner. We headed back to the house only moments before a thundershower.

I'll report more on my bike adventures as they progress. I'm trying to find a way to attach my camera to the handlebars (gorrilla tripod maybe?) so I can shoot video as I ride. Sounds a little like living dangerously, but I would only do it in controlled situations. Trust me.