I moved to Oakland and bought a cargo bike. Oakland’s been very …

I moved to Oakland and bought a cargo bike.

Oakland’s been very walkable and bikeable so far (with a good grocery store, hardware store, coffeehouse, garden center, transit centers, and bike shop all within 10 minute rides).

While I’ve been idly looking at and researching cargo bikes for many years (including admiring the range of designs I’d see in Copenhagen, Amsterdam, or the Supermarket Street Sweep), I could never really justify the expense. Now that I’m living somewhere a bit more spread out than SF (and with, for the first time, a yard and room for gardening and woodworking), and with my motorcycle retired (no registration, insurance, gas the past few years), when I saw an Xtracycle Edgerunner for auction at a fund raiser for a good cause, I made an impulsive decision and rode it home that night.

So far I’ve been happy with it– it rides and balances like a normal bike when unloaded, parks easily, and I’ve put it to work lugging home 4-6 bags of groceries or in an extreme test, 200+ lbs of potting soil over a hill (excessive, a bit sketchy, and not recommended– I’ve since added added the “U Tube” horizontal support platforms which should make a more modest version of this easier in the future).