If all you Xtracycle riders called the editor of your local rag to tell them about your patriotic two-wheeled, troops-supporting, car-parked, stuff-hauling, new-world-orderin’ exploits, we’d have at least 15 new cases of 15 minutes of fame like our man Mauricio and it might be enough to attain critical mass. OK, so it wouldn’t be enough to attain critical mass, but it would help.
We’ve always thought that most people don’t have a category to plop “sport utility bicycle” into, and in the absence of seeing lots of them around, it’s therefore easy to assume, cool, but not for me. One key to widespread adoption, if this is true, would be having enough of them in bike racks and lanes, in front of the grocery, in articles in the paper, that people start to imagine, hmm, maybe this is something for me. Small articles in little papers help beget larger articles, as happened to Mauricio.
Notice the R-25, also a key piece of troops supporting.
Ligtning strikes again
Nice! I’ve got photos of me hauling a more modest load: about 55 pounds of cliff bars for the Marin County Bike Coalition’s “Bike To Work Day” musette bags from central Novato to Fairfax. I didn’t get any photoss of the box I brought back which weighed only about 45 pounds. I guess I should upload em to the community section eh? Nice job Mauricio!
Is there not a good way to make a decent spring-loaded stand for the Xtracycle – something like the whopper on the Cargobike from Bakfiets? Especially handy for those of us with kids around, and when you don’t want to have to lay your load on its side like in this photo… (I know there is a stand available, but it doesn’t work with the wideloader.) Surely there has to be a way…
Ryano, have you seen ‘Custom Center Stand’ at http://www.rideyourbike.com/xtracycle.html ?
It is lever operated, but might be close to what you’re after…
What do you mean when you say “critical mass?” I’ve seen it mentioned in here a couple of times, but I haven’t really caught on to what it is you mean.
Yeah, sometimes I forget that not all two-wheeled beings have experienced the joy of cruising the city with a pack of clowns, scufflaws, and stunt riders. Critical Mass is a happening of cyclists in cities around the world, often used as an activist tool to bring attention to cycling’s place in the urban mobility mix. It usually happens on the last Friday of the month. Google “critical mass (your city)” to find out where yours is, and read some reports. Many advocates see it as bad PR (the Mass often breaks traffic laws and further snarls already snarled traffic, usually on purpose); others simply love it for the joy of riding in such a huge pack.