Perennial Cycle

The June century was scheduled for the last day of the month and was tagged "The Great Cargo Bike Century". Derek has a sweet Utilitarian Transports cargo bike. I have a most beautiful Larry vs. Harry Bullitt cargo bike.

The day before the ride I installed bar-ends, swapped on my clipless pedals, put on an XL stem and installed a cyclometer. Ready to Roll. I did add a few non-essentials for the ride: a couple of pink Flamingos and a cooler with ice, Izzies. San Pellegrino and a variety of snacks. I called Derek to see if he needed any help getting his UT ready to roll. The Heart of the UT is a Surly One x One (which we had converted to a One x Eight last week (see his new derailleur hanger here). Derek's response was to state the obvious in the world before the Bullitt: Cargo Bikes are not designed to do a century ride on. He's on for the ride, but he's going to pretend that his Surly Cross Check is a Cargo Bike : (

For a moment I panicked thinking that I might be setting myself up for more punishment than I could handle, but after a quick think (2 seconds) I decided I was right on track with the Bullitt as the day's steed. I thought for another 2 seconds about stripping off the deck from the Bullitt to save weight, but I decided that was silly and then as mentioned I ended up loading a cooler up (how often can I have fresh chilled grapes 80 miles into a century?).

The ride went smoothly and the Bullitt was a joy to be on, even at mile 99. I ended the day with 115 miles and put in a 5 hour day of work after the ride. The Gear range was perfect and the Alfine 8 speed hub shifted flawlessly all day long. The Bullitt is just a sweet riding bike that happens to be capable of carrying 200 pounds of stuff when I'm out and about.

This video is also available at our youtube page: Bullitt Century

See a Video of Derek's Utilitarian Transports Bike HERE

Last week we took delivery of Larry vs. Harry Bullitt cargo bikes. We have been anxiously awaiting these newly engineered cargo bikes. Homeland Security decided to put them in the slow lane of our customs office and about the time we were thinking they'd never arrive, a truck pulls up with the goods.

I had Bike Club at the local elementary school  that afternoon and thus raced to get one put together in time to ride with the kids (thanks for the ride Mary. I still can't believe I fit it into our undersized minivan). I hadn't ridden 25 feet and a boy yelled out of a crowd "cool bike!"). What a great start to this new relationship!

Now I've had a chance to shop for groceries, make a few runs to the warehouse, commute to work as well as just riding the Bullitt out and about with the family. My expectations were high (really high). The Bullitt has performed all tasks in an amazing fashion. It's fast as all get out, it's completely FUN to fly around on and then comes the cargo part of the deal. This bike can take your load with hardly a notice of it. My typical loads have been 20 -50 pounds and I'm telling you, it's effect on the handling is a non-issue. The bike has exceeded my expectations by a lot.

Yesterday I was at a stoplight downtown and someone yelled out "Hey guy, what is that?". I responded :"the future" as the light turned green and I took off with a smile. Believe me when I tell you that the Bullitt is special and it will push the Cargo-Commuter category of bikes well beyond its current position.

Arriving in the shop this week are the much anticipated Civia Lorings. We fell in love with these bikes when we first saw them back at Interbike last year. In their words 'From its gently sloping top tube to its bamboo fenders and matching trim, the Loring is a study in elegance, simplicity and fun. Designed for short runs, the Loring carries up to 50 pounds of cargo while delivering an exceptionally balanced ride.'
An urban commuter so beautiful you can't wait to be seen on. The first one built is going to Mary but the second will be available for test rides this weekend. I'll post more details when I've put a few miles on.

May was month #9 in the 12 x 100 Challenge (one century per month for a year). It was a busy month (as are all) and we scheduled the ride with a day to spare (whew!). So this past Saturday (May 30th) we set off early. For the first time in 9 rides we had beautiful weather (that's right, we were 0 for 8 as of Saturday morning). JOY!

Being that we have now completed the really challenging months I decided to add a theme to our May Century. I loaned Derek an Airnimal Joey D (drop bar Joey) and I rode my Airnimal Joey Explore 27 and we called it our Joey Century. The Airnimal Joey is a suitcase style folding bike with 24" wheels. I set up Derek's Joey D to match the fitting he has with his Surly Cross Check. I ride my Joey Explore every day as it's my daily commuter set up with fenders and  rack. I have fallen in love with this bike as it's a sporty rocket that can be nicely fit into a trunk with a simple 45 second "trunk" fold. I have suitcased it a couple of times to fly with it, but I don't travel enough to take huge advantage of that aspect of the bike.

The weather was absolutely beautiful  and the only hiccup in the 100 miles was me having a worn out rear tire and thus having to deal with those consequences (shame on me). Derek rocked out on the Joey in spite of the fact that he'd never ridden a folding bike. The transition was pretty seamless for him. I learned that my Joey is just as versatile as I knew. I've said many times that if I had to have one frame for the rest of my life I'd choose the Joey. I Love It!

We met up on the Greenway here in Minneapolis and we headed east through St. Paul and out to Stillwater. Then we followed the St. Croix river south to Afton before swinging west and making our way back to Minneapolis.

Bike Details:

Derek's Joey: 9 Speed Joey D with a bottle cage and a Carradice Nelson seat bag supported with a Utilitarian Transports UT Support Rack. 52 tooth chainring with an 11-32 cassette on the rear. Panaracer Pasela tires (24 x 1", 115 PSI)

Luke's Joey: 27 speed Joey Explore with Salsa Bar-Ends, bottle cage, rack and fenders. This Joey Exp;ore was built up with 520 wheels ("roadie" sized 24" wheels as opposed to the 507 wheels that are the stock Joey Explore size) with Intense Microknobby 24 x 1-3/8" tires.