Vermonter Abroad: Bikes

Aug 08, 2023

It was the summer of ‘84. I was 14 and excited about my first summer job. Too young for a license, but also too proud for a ride, my dirt bike became the daily commute. Before that, biking was just for fun, but now it was for a paycheck.

I totally underestimated the daily grind of a commute on a bike. In fact, that last stretch of Bank Street between Catamount Lane and Monument Avenue almost broke me. Anyone familiar with that area appreciates how steep it is.

Biking up from below the Mt. Anthony Country Club, I would curse that stretch of my commute. From there, at the top of Bank Street, I would hang a left and cruise on Monument Avenue past The Old First Church. From there, it was up to The Everett Mansion Gate House, and on to the Dewey Street intersection. Finally, it was uphill again (but more manageable) until arrival.

Surprisingly, I was able to hang in there that first week of the commute. Then I got my first paycheck. And while the commute might have been, in parts, a bit strenuous, the ride home down Monument Avenue and Bank Street was glorious.

That fast speed thrill as the wind flowed though my hair - pure magic. And yes, there was a lot of hair back then because it was the 80s. Big hair was part of the zeitgeist of 84’ - big hair, big fun. And no, I wasn’t wearing a helmet. Bro, it was the 80s. Somehow, the paycheck plus the daily ritual bonded me with my bike.

But alas, all good things must come to an end. Eventually, I got a driver’s license, and lost my connection to my bike and to the beauty of the ride. Poof - the magic was gone.

I wouldn’t commute on a bike again for another 30 years, but it wasn’t 80s nostalgia that got me back on one. Transportation was the issue again. It was the birth of our second kid and the new coordination of commutes and tasks forced me back to an old means of transportation. Buying a second car was out of the question. Kids are expensive enough and cars in Europe (like in many other places) ain’t cheap. So I researched and researched for alternatives.

A Yuba el Mundo, an electric powered cargo bike, was the result. It was supposed to do, within a much smaller radius, what a second car could - mainly carry the groceries and transport the kids - but minus the money for gas, insurance, and parking. The cargo bike delivered as advertised. But I also got something I hadn’t bargained for. I got back some of that magic.

It wasn't so much the fast hills or the wind in the hair as much as the beauty of the ride. The slower-than-a-car-pace, the fresh air, the vistas - you take in so much more behind the handle bars than behind the wheel.

It’s simpler too. On bikes you just ride straight up to places, get off, lock it up, and go. It’s also less stress to get to places with no parking lots where parking can be a minor catastrophe. I grew to appreciate the chill-factor.

I missed my cargo bike in Bennington while visiting family recently, and, sadly, wasn’t able to rent one. But a jog up and down the new Rail Trail convinced me that cargo bikes could work here. Thanks to the new, awesome and totally cool Rail Trail connecting Northside Drive to the Downtown, I wondered if a family with kids could get by without a second car.

I know from experience that a shopping trip with a Yuba go-getter-bag attached to the cargo bike could handle a generous amount of groceries. I also imagine the electric motor on the cargo bike could handle rides uphill to places like the Bennington Museum.

A basket attached to the front could easily handle stuff for a picnic at Willow Park plus towels for an afternoon at the splash pad. With tie down straps with steel buckles, fold-up chairs are easily fastened to the frame on the other side of the go-getter-bag.

Note: This isn’t an ad for a Yuba el Mundo cargo bike. Five other types of cargo bikes with similar add-ons could accomplish these tasks equally well. Just find the bike that fits your life style, be prepared for a trial-and-error type of transition, and you are on your way.

As always, the zeitgeist changes. It’s less a big-hair-big-fun vibe now than a we-need-to-save-money-(and the planet)-vibe. Cargo bikes embrace that spirit now more than ever.

The commute has changed too. These days, I do the commute minus the big hair and high speed. It’s been replaced with short, grey hair and a helmet. The beauty of the ride will never change.

Dave Donlon lives and works near Frankfurt am Main, Germany. He was born and raised in Bennington.