Critical Mass, according to Wikipedia, “is a form of direct action in which people travel as a group on bicycles at a set location and time.” “The idea,” according to Wikipedia, “is for people to group together to make it safe for each other to ride bicycles through their streets, based on the old adage: there’s safety in numbers.” That’s easy if you’re an adult, but what if you’re a kid? Enter Kidical Mass, a ride that is “united by the vision that children and young people should be able to move around safely and independently on foot and by bike.” This is not that different from the mandate of Toronto’s 8-80 Cities which is “guided by the simple but powerful idea that if everything we do in our cities is great for an 8 year old and an 80 year old, then it will be better for all people.” Can we hear an Amen?!
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Cargo bikes are Pedaal’s contribution to this conversation. There is no safer bike for kids than a front loading cargo bike. Motorists can generally not see a bike trailer, child seats tend to throw a regular bike off balance, and longtails solve this balancing issue. But, none of these options resolve the problem of impact resistance. Here in Canada, 68% of the population owns a car – and that puts a lot of cars on our streets. If cars require impact resistance in order to share space safely with other cars, you’d expect the same thing of a bike that’s meant for carrying kids. Front loading cargo bikes feature impact resistant boxes; and we believe Bullitt makes the best front-loader out there. It’s light, has great handling, and above all, they’re safe.
Cargo bike riders tend to form a community, and we built Pedaal as a community hub for cyclists. Our background with cargo bikes goes as far back as 2008, when – while operating another shop – imported front loading cargo bikes from Europe to Canada. And so, Pedaal is our way to become more active in the community our customers created. And, this community is truly awesome. It could be because cargo bikes – kind of like Brompton bikes – are so life changing. But, it could also be about making new friends, whether that’s the adults or the kids!
One thing we’ve observed is that every Halloween, people seem to dress up themselves and their cargo bikes. What an amazing idea! An even better idea – with thanks to Robin from Happy Fiets – was to combine this with the Kidical Mass ride. And so, on October 28th we hosted the first annual cargo bike costume contest; complimented by cookies and hot chocolate.
Thanks to everyone for coming out! A big thank you to Janet-Joy and Robinwho planned the route and corralled everyone safely. Also thanks to our barista Calel for some excellent costume judging!
