Thursday, 28 March 2024

How I Became A Cruiser Bike Guy

brendan

March 28

As I pedal my cruiser bike nowadays, I often have to remind myself that although people are smiling in my direction, they are not smiling at me. For most of my life as an urban cyclist, I wouldn't say people have been

just didn't want to own one. For most of my adult life, my living space wasn't big enough for more than one or two bikes. I couldn't be an

Since 2016, I have owned a commuter/touring/gravel/bikepacking/road bike built by my friend Gregory, and for my needs and athletic ambitions, it's been perfect. [Photo of Gregory and custom Chocolate Spokes bicycle]

When we moved into a house with a garage, a couple other bikes materialized, but even when Hilary hopped on the vintage Peugot cruiser she found, I rode my one bike. I just always wanted to get somewhere, fast. Or at least efficiently. Give me a couple gears so I can get up to 18 mph without pedaling like the Road Runner.

I didn't even take my dad's offer of a *free* cruiser bike, a Felt Cycles New Belgium cruiser you could only obtain if you worked at New Belgium, or if you lived down the street from an 80-something guy who won one in a raffle and was open to selling. Which is what my dad did in 2008 or 2009. [PHOTO of 2008 Felt Cycles New Belgium cruiser bike]

Then we had a baby. I became, as someone once put it,

So I asked my dad if he was still interested in getting his New Belgium cruiser out of his garage permanently. And, he was. The bike seat fit on the cruiser, and we got Jay in it as soon as he could safely fit. We set the seat so it worked for both of us, and we were off. I mean, off as fast as you can really go on a very heavy one-speed bicycle with coaster brakes.

An old friend of mine who loved road cycling used to joke that if it wasn't at least 40 miles, it wasn't a real bike ride. Which I get. But I also quite immediately found a different kind of value in looking down at my kid's helmeted head and his tiny hands hanging onto the handlebars. [PHOTO LOOKING DOWN AT JAY ON A BIKE]