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| Jack rode his bike for about 30 minutes while we waited for Kyle, he's getting pretty speedy now! |
The Boda Boda is a completely different ride from the Mundo, to be honest I still find it a little squirrelly because the handle bars are very wide and I'm not exactly the most graceful of individuals. It has a very traditional "sit up and beg" style as my cockney Mum calls it, and reminds me of the style of bike people ride in comedies like Last of the Summer Wine, where some old guy loses control of it and shoots off the road into a ditch. Today I took a very narrow path that cuts between houses, high hedgerows and chain-link fence on each side, half way down the path I discovered a nice old Gent and his Jack Russell taking a stroll. I stopped so I could get a bit closer to the fence and we passed each other without incident, but when I went to cycle off I got the wobbles and almost ended up in the hedge. These things happen more than I'd care to mention, I guess we still have a learning curve together, but it sure is lovely to ride. I find it to be far more nimble and well suiting to me personally, the gearing is more than adequate for gentle hills, it's very lightweight at only 35lbs and it encourages me to sit upright which has eliminated mid-ride back aches for the most part. It is really gorgeous too and I have noticed it makes people smile, people are kind of drawn to it and the Mundo.
The ride home was a quick dash as we don't have front lights yet (our lights all got stolen during our moving sale) and it was getting close to dusk. We strapped Jack's bike on the Mundo and away we went. Day 5 already in the past, only 26 left. I'm hoping tomorrow we can go for a longer ride, maybe on the Strawberry Line.
*sigh*
ReplyDeleteShepton Mallet (Strawberry Line)
*grin* just a foolish comment in rememberance of a trip through that region in the early 80ies: 3 People on 2 motorbikes which, according to british view, already made a club.
I was first really unsure of the handlebars on the Boda. They are super wide and I kept worrying that I would hit my knee when making a sharp turn. Now I love, love the handlebars and am crazy about the cork grips. I got cork grips some time ago to put on another bike but we haven't made the switch yet. Now I am obsessed with putting cork grips on all our rides.
ReplyDeleteI feel totally free and zippy on the Boda. It's a total revelation after riding very heavy cargo bikes with every growing (multiple) boys for the past five years.
How recently did you get your Boda Boda? (sorry, I only discovered your blog a couple of weeks ago and may be missing some relavent info :) ) I just got an Xtracycle Radish a few weeks ago, and the squirrelly handling you describe sounds familiar. It's pretty fun to have such a practical bike though. Your bikes are beautiful, and the baskets and bag you found are great! - Melissa
ReplyDeleteI have the wobbly problem on any cruiser-style bicycle I've ever ridden. The front end just wiggles out of control when I'm not bearing any weight on it. It's actually one of a few reasons that Boda Boda got dropped from my list of potential replacements for my stolen Ute. I'm leaning toward the Kinn Cascade Flyer at the moment, but I need to get myself down to Portland to test one out.
ReplyDeleteYou know what they say, "Better to ride, than not at all." Someone must say that! I'd say it. And I love the way you're sons bike fits on the rear rack like that, it awesome.
ReplyDelete