About Cargo Bike Life
Hi & welcome to my blog “Cargo Bike Life”. My name is Terry O’Floinn & I have been a commuting cyclist for 20 years. In December 2016 we decided as a family to purchase a cargo bicycle (bakfiets) to transport our children around.
Why choose a cargo bike?
There were various reasons for choosing a cargo bike. Our changing circumstances have meant we needed an alternative form of transport be it a second car, bike or public transport. With three young children under the age of 5, we needed to find a practical solution that suited our needs & of course our pockets! In the end, we opted for the cargo bike.
What is a cargo bike?
A cargo bike come in various forms (sometimes known as a ‘box bike’ or ‘bakfiets’ in The Netherlands. We chose a three wheeled tricycle version called a Babboe Big. A cargo bike works like a standard bicycle but has a large enclosed area on the front of the bicycle that can carry children or indeed other forms of ‘cargo’. The Babboe Big looks like the following:
Why did we choose a cargo bike?
We looked at buying a second family car but for various reasons the cargo bike made more sense including:
- Initial purchase cost
- Ongoing running costs
- Our actual transport needs on a daily basis e.g. do we need a second car?
- Our environment
The purpose of this blog
Ireland is seeing a phenomenal growth in bicycle usage as a transport form. Unfortunately there are challenges in terms of infrastructure & attitudes towards cycling as a transport medium for families. I would like this blog to be part of the conversation advocating cycling as a safe form of family transport as well as providing an insight as to how we are using our cargo bicycle & hopefully you will get some useful tips & information.
Thank you for visiting & I hope you enjoy Cargo Bike Life.
Terry O’Floinn
