My 2-wheel mini-van
How we make San Francisco work mostly with a cargo bike
Before living in San Francisco, we lived in Barcelona, and there, my main mode of transport was a Brompton folding bicycle. I NEVER locked it outside, so I was absolutely that weird woman who showed up to the bar with a bicycle in her hand. It never got old, and I thought I would ride it all the time in San Francisco.
Well, the hills said differently, and 15 years later, the simplicity of that beautiful little bike is but a memory tucked into the storage space under our stairs. Now, it isn’t just me, but our two kids who need to get places, and our preferred method of transport is a Tern GSD. Specifically, this one:
There is simply nothing like it.
I believe this is the final version of our 2-wheel mini-van, and here is how I use the set up:
Hauler rack: this is where my stuff goes. I got it because it is easier than the panniers for smaller things. My peers warned me that the Transporteur Rack makes it hard to park, and the Kanga Rack didn’t exist at the time. I would have gone with that given the option. C’est la vie.
Sidekick flat bars + Captain’s Chair: This combination has worked for us since our kids were 3 and 7. Before that, it was the bars with a Yepp Maxi, but once she wasn’t falling asleep on the bike, we upgraded so they had more space. Good choice. This set up makes it easy for them to get off and on.
Cargo Hold Panniers: These hold SO MUCH STUFF. I have gone grocery shopping with this and brought home 6 large bags of food, 2 in each pannier and 2 on the seat, held in place with bungee cord. Perfect.
Sidekick Doublewide Decks: these are a good solution to the problem of my kids’ legs getting too long and me being afraid they would hurt their feet/ankles on some turns. But, they are annoying because retracting them is a bitch and they make the lockstand hard to reach (which I could fix for another $30 by getting the extensions). The GSD 1 had a retractable foot peg option and I would gladly take those.
This is a fantastic set up and my kids and I ride on it daily. In fact, on Saturday, we celebrated 3,000 miles (since June 2021), and this morning (Tuesday) I was already up to 3,021.