Grateful Ted Party

A friend got a new job. And celebrated "Grateful Ted" style. Fun party!

New Light

Thanks for the tip, Mike M.

Basement Vacation Week

Here are highlights from my vacation week :-)

Photo source link if slideshow below doesn't appear: http://picasaweb.google.com/kirkjohnsonster/August2009VacationWeek

Replace a Car with a Big Dummy?

Yes. It can be done. I received this question from the west coast:

"Kirk, greetings from Bainbridge Island, WA. I'm thinking of investing in the Surly Big Dummy to fulfill my experiment of not driving for one year. Any advice you would give to someone starting to spec out components?

I've got two kids to haul (age 6 and 2) + in-town runs to the grocery, hardware store, and book store."

My advice would be:

1. Invest in a pair of Footsies (shown) from Xtracycle for your older child or any passenger
2. Add a handlebar on the seat post (not shown) so that your passenger can hang on
3. Include a passenger trailer (such as a Burley) for your 2 year old
4. Of course, the standard Xtracycle bags and snap deck (shown in the picture) are ideal.
5. Be sure to be visible -- I use a variety of lighting, reflective vest, etc. and even a Down Low Glow light which is beautiful and functional.
6. Consider a trailer and trailer hitch from Bikes at Work (here are pictures of our big trailer from last year. I collaborated with them on a project to develop the first Big Dummy-specific hitch, and I now have a long trailer bed that supports 300 pounds -- some pictures of using that hauling mulch.
7. Have a good gear ratio that goes to a faster spin for going up steep hills -- you will appreciate that when fully loaded.
8. My setup includes disk brakes which I love -- great all year around and even when icy or wet.
9. The other accessory that I like is the "TrayBien" which is also shown as I hauled my Surly Steamroller to downtown Minneapolis for a software vendor to ride with me (he was visiting from North Carolina).

Think it is expensive? Far less, compared to the ownership costs of an average car, which in most studies (one from AAA linked here) exceeds $7,000 PER YEAR. And that is not considering the environmental cost to manufacture the car, ship it, and all the emissions that will be spewed, the demand for gas/oil and the political and social impacts from all that...

The whole Big Dummy with extras can be $3000, and in my case much less because I purchased many used parts. One on One Bicycle Studio in Minneapolis put together the majority of my rig and they did an great job.

I'm going on 3 years without a car and 16 months with a Big Dummy. I can easily say that the Big Dummy, a REAL sports utility vehicle, is an excellent substitute for a car. Pictured with this blog is a photo from my sister of Alex and me after a ride to downtown Minneapolis. I like the image because it is about the family, not so much about the bike. The bike is part of our lifestyle, but it is just a tool. We've used the Big Dummy to haul, play polo, go camping, go to coffee/restaurants, and just go out on a cool summer evening ride. I've had up to 7 people on the bike with the various trailers and can say that it has been a huge benefit to our family.

So, S.J. and anyone thinking of going this route, I can't offer enough encouragement or support. Contact me if you have more questions or if you can at least let me know how it is going after a while. I predict you'll want to continue the "experiment" for more than a year.