Cargo Bikes as Game Changer for Family Transportation

Especially for parents, a cargo e-bike adds a glorious mode of family-friendly transportation. That's what Katherine Martinko describes vividly in her Ode to an E-Bike.

The kids love riding on it; they ask to come along, just to be able to perch behind on the seat and watch the world fly by. We all look forward to errands and drop-offs, to being able to hop on and take off, load it up with stuff and not worry about stuffing things into backpacks or saddlebags. I can avoid traffic and parking issues. I can take it on pavement and trails, thanks to wide grippy tires. I take it to the grocery store, to the beach, to the gym, to dinners with friends. I love how its cargo-carrying capacity allows me to pick up kids, groceries, and parcels at the post office spontaneously, without having to plan in advance; I always have enough room to carry everything (and everyone!).

I've had the feeling that a cargo bikes can replace a child's experience of being trapped in a car seat with something closer to an amusement park ride. But the article highlights also how much joy it can spark for the parents.

Back to that initial comment I made about feeling joy, it truly does fill me with bliss as I speed along Lake Huron smoothly and silently. I think we adults sometimes struggle (or forget?) to find moments of sheer delight in our day-to-day lives. What comes so easily to a child becomes a rare emotion in an adult, and yet the e-bike provides me with that on a regular basis. I get a little surge of giddiness, of excitement, that comes just from the basic act of riding. Often I catch myself riding with a giant grin on my face, which must look ridiculous to passersby, but makes perfect sense to me. It's impossible not to feel happy on the e-bike, and it's guaranteed to boost my mood whenever I hop on.

Thank you James for sending this over as a reply to Electric Bike Ownership.