Washcycle on a cargo bike

David C. is the writer-producer of the Washcycle blog, the definitive bicycling-focused blog for the Greater Washington region.  He also writes at Greater Greater Washington.

On 2nd Street NE.

He lives on Capitol Hill, bike commutes to his federal job in Suburban Maryland, and after he gets home from work, he gets on the cargo bike and collects his three children from three different schools/day care facilities in and around Capitol Hill.

He says the cargo bike is heavy and not great for hills.

I do think that the rising number of specialty bikes that I see, cargo bikes in particular, and most often used to ferry children, not goods purchases, is an indicator of a greater take up of cycling as a transportation mode, as opposed to recreational use.

After "Bike to Work" Day, I think we need to organize "Bike to the Supermarket" Day.  ("Bike and Walk to School" Days already exist.)

I do my "marketing" by bike for the most part, although where I live, it'd never be by cargo bike, as a trip to either Safeway or Giant requires negotiating at least one steep hill, going or coming, depending on the store I choose.  Usually at least once/week, I buy a fair amount of groceries in the vicinity of the start of the Metropolitan Branch Trail in NoMA, which means riding home uphill, unless I take Metrorail.

-- Bike to Shop Day (May 21st, 2016), Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties, California
-- "How to Shop by Bike," Momentum Magazine
-- "Soup up your ride as a grocery getter," Bike to Shop Day website