10/31/2004
bike move
Show of hands. How many people know what the title of this post refers to?
Yes, bikes do move when you pedal them, or carry them around over your shoulder, but what it actually refers to is the phenomenon of moving from one apartment to another and inviting your friends with bikes trailers to come share in the fun.
Until the past year, I was familiar with the concept of renting a truck and inviting friends over for donuts and coffee in the morning and then pizza when it was all done, but I'd never participated in a truckless-move, or in one done substantially by bike. Today was my 3rd (the middle one did also utilize a pickup truck, but the first one and the one today were done entirely by bike, including couches, dressers, queen-size beds and all).
I think we used a total of 6 or 7 different trailers today, of different shapes, sizes and designs. The one I pulled for several trips was a fresh air trailer. Very cool 8 feet long and 18 inches wide and very sturdy. I'll post pictures when I get them from the participants.
Surprisingly, it doesn't take any longer than a truck move, and might even be faster due to the multitasking that can occur. The first trailer can leave as soon as it's packed as long as one or two people ride along on their own bikes to help with traffic control. Since there are so many vehicles involved, bottlenecks are nearly non-existant in the process so it's very efficient. Riding a bike pulling a trailer isn't much more strenuous than riding a bike without a trailer so I'm probably not any more tired than I would've been after a truck move, but I am very, very tired due to my friends having an exceedingly large amount of stuff that had to come down from the 2nd and 3rd floors and go back up to the 2nd floor.
I'm going to sleep well tonight!
Yes, bikes do move when you pedal them, or carry them around over your shoulder, but what it actually refers to is the phenomenon of moving from one apartment to another and inviting your friends with bikes trailers to come share in the fun.
Until the past year, I was familiar with the concept of renting a truck and inviting friends over for donuts and coffee in the morning and then pizza when it was all done, but I'd never participated in a truckless-move, or in one done substantially by bike. Today was my 3rd (the middle one did also utilize a pickup truck, but the first one and the one today were done entirely by bike, including couches, dressers, queen-size beds and all).
I think we used a total of 6 or 7 different trailers today, of different shapes, sizes and designs. The one I pulled for several trips was a fresh air trailer. Very cool 8 feet long and 18 inches wide and very sturdy. I'll post pictures when I get them from the participants.
Surprisingly, it doesn't take any longer than a truck move, and might even be faster due to the multitasking that can occur. The first trailer can leave as soon as it's packed as long as one or two people ride along on their own bikes to help with traffic control. Since there are so many vehicles involved, bottlenecks are nearly non-existant in the process so it's very efficient. Riding a bike pulling a trailer isn't much more strenuous than riding a bike without a trailer so I'm probably not any more tired than I would've been after a truck move, but I am very, very tired due to my friends having an exceedingly large amount of stuff that had to come down from the 2nd and 3rd floors and go back up to the 2nd floor.
I'm going to sleep well tonight!