Bike to Work Day is one of our favorite days of the year, because everyone gets to experience a little bit of what a bike can do.

This year, we decided to represent at both the Marin County Bike Coalition’s Bike to Work Day Celebration Party at Mike’s Bikes in Sausalito as well as go to the East Bay Bike Coalition’s Bike Happy Hour in Oakland.

Marin County Bike to Work Day Celebration Party

The Marin County Bike Coalition celebrates Bike to Work Day by announcing the winners of the Bike Locally Challenge.  People interested in participating have been selected by an essay-application process to ride a bike for six months, if they complete the challenge, the bike is free.

This year, Yuba Bicycles sponsored a family bike category, where a family take the challenge on one of our bikes. The Brown family was selected, and they were very excited to get their bike.

The winners of the family commuter challenge are the Brown Family. Here they are with their new bike, and Ben.

Here are all the winners of the commuter bike challenge.

East Bay Bike Coalition Bike Happy Hour

The excitement at the booth was palpable.

These guys kept making jokes about how the Yuba Mundo would be perfect for a guy with two sister wives. He does have a good point.

The Yuba Mundo in front of the Yuba van.

This is the East Bay Bike Coalition's Bike Commuter of the Year with Kaytea.

We really didn't expect this guy to pick up this bike from the bike valet.	Tasty, tempting, taco bike tormented us all evening.
This guy built this chopper for himself. He also built the trike at right.	Folding tricycle with sound system, and a joke NOs system.

Want to win a free Yuba tee shirt, apron or hat this month?

Simply submit a photo of how you are celebrating May Bike Month. Show us the cutest, heaviest, most epic loads you’ve hauled this month, and you can win a prize.

To enter, simply submit the photo on the Yuba Bicycles Facebook page. Think Facebook is creepy? Then just email your photo directly to kaytea@yubaride.com.

At the end of the month, three lucky winners will be chosen at random. Then you can look as manly as this guy.

Have you been looking for a way to take more bikes with you? Perhaps you’d rather bike to your cyclocross races to get warmed up? Or maybe you want to take your kid to the park with their bike to gain confidence before having to battle traffic?

Introducing the towing tray, exclusively from Yuba Bicycles. Fitting all v3 and v4 models, the towing tray makes it possible to bring along any bike from a 16″ up to a 29er, with a tire width up to a 2.25″. It is made out of the same material as our Utility decks – recycled milk jugs – and is durable and tough. A side bumper keeps the towed bike from scratching your Mundo. Towing tray kit includes running board with a slot for front tire, adjuster for 20″ or 16″ tires, and bumper.

After installation, to use the towing tray, adjust the support for the size of bike with a screwdriver. Then, use a cam strap to attach the towed bike to the Mundo frame, locking the front tire of the towed bike down to the frame of the Mundo, as shown at right.

Order a Towing Tray

Periodically, we like to repost something from another blog to because it is of particular interest to our community. Recently, Yuba ridin’ momma, Kate Burns had a picture of her and her sons in the paper, which stirred up a  vitriolic response from the gas guzzling community about safety etc. This was her intelligent and measured response. It is re-posted from her blog A Mom on a Bike.

To ride or not to ride?

I have been meaning to write about this for some time but needed a nudge in the right direction. That nudge came from Mr. Brown of Ione, CA in the form of a letter to the editor at the Sacramento Bee. For those of you who don’t know, I was photographed riding around downtown Sacramento with three of my four boys on the bike. To Mr. Brown’s credit the original picture was published in black and white and I have had a number of people confess that it looked like I just threw kids all over the bike. I, unfortunately, only have access to the color picture which looks much better.

The paper published the picture again this morning with the letter in a special box in the editorial section. I think they were trying to pick a fight and I think it’s going to work. There are already 20+ comments in the on-line article.

Here’s his letter and my reply:

His letter:

I found the picture of Kate Burns and her three sons on her bicycle quite disturbing. I did not see an excellent advertisement for “May is Bike Month.” Instead, we saw a woman who was violating Ca. Vehicle Code 21204 and endangering her small children. I hope she discontinues this practice immediately.

– Timothy D. Brown, Ione

My letter:

I would like to respond to Mr. Brown’s letter regarding the picture of me and my three sons posted in the Bee on May 2nd. The black and white picture posted in the Bee did not do this bicycle justice and I understand the confusion and concern. To clarify, I would like to address this letter specifically and generally.

Specifically:

California vehicle code 21204 states:

a) A person operating a bicycle upon a highway shall not ride other than upon or astride a permanent and regular seat attached thereto, unless the bicycle was designed by the manufacturer to be ridden without a seat.

(b) An operator shall not allow a person riding as a passenger, and a person shall not ride as a passenger, on a bicycle upon a highway other than upon or astride a separate seat attached there to. If the passenger is four years of age or younger, or weighs 40 pounds or less, the seat shall have adequate provision for retaining the passenger in place and for protecting the passenger from the moving parts of the bicycle.

Glossing over the fact that I was not on a highway but riding in downtown where there are lights every block; the bike is made to operate as I am using it. All the passengers under 4 are restrained in place – the child on the front has a belted bike seat and the first child on the rear has stoker bars, foot pegs, and a healthy dose of common sense. The back seats – and they are seats – are firmly attached and protected from the wheels and gears twice – once with bags and once with wheel skirts.

Generally –

Many people assume that biking is dangerous – you will die. “Is it safe?” is a question I hear frequently and most don’t seem to believe my answer. Webster’s defines the word safe as being secure from harm, injury, or danger. Safe does not exist in the real world – everything we do involves risk. I am reminded of this every time I fall down the stairs, slip on my tile floor, buckle my kids in their car-seats, or book an airline ticket. Indeed, even sitting on our backsides doing nothing carries risk – the risk of diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, and too-tight pants.

Of course biking carries risk but is it dangerous? In 2009, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 630 pedal-cyclists died and 51,000 were injured in traffic accidents. Those numbers account for 2% of all traffic related fatalities and injuries in 2009. These numbers imply that the other approximately 86% (pedestrians accounted for 12% of traffic fatalities and 3% of injuries) of people injured or killed in traffic accidents in 2009 were driving or riding in cars. Obviously, being in a car does not ensure safety. In fact, based on these statistics, one could argue that riding a bicycle is safer and less dangerous than driving and definitely less risky than walking. Additionally, there are ways to minimize the risks of bike riding – riding with traffic, obeying traffic signs, wearing helmets, signaling, using bike lanes/ trails when available, and wearing lights and reflective gear at night. Although I take care to minimize the risks as much as possible, I realize that I am also depending on motorists to be considerate, law abiding, and in control of their vehicles. When I ride with my kids I am teaching them how to bike safely – they are learning traffic laws and experiencing how important it is to “share the road”. Lessons I hope will make them not only better (future) drivers but better people.

I weighed the risks and the benefits and decided to ride with my kids. I have found that riding my bicycle is invigorating, relaxing, economical, and enjoyable – even with the kids on back. I can’t very often say that about my car trips. I think we will continue this practice indefinitely.

I feel very strongly about the general safety part of my letter. I cherish my kids and would never put them in a situation where I thought they would absolutely get hurt. I spend a lot of my time on this bike off of main streets riding mainly on bike paths or through residential neighborhoods. I’m not saying that everyone should ride that way, it’s just how I prefer to ride. Anyway, this hasn’t changed my mind a bit – I don’t feel judged or threatened. I feel like I need to ride more so people get used to seeing bikes and bikes with kids.

VeloLogistics.net has been making waves in Europe this week. The recently launched cargo bike sharing service enables people to find geo-tagged cargo bikes to barrow nearby.

How it works is simple: you go on to the site, register, and then add your bike. People then contact you about borrowing your bike. While the site doesn’t seem to support compensation for the bike owner (unlike recently-launched Relay Rides for cars), it does have clear interface showing what type of cargo bike lives where.

Yuba riders are an intrepid lot. You are constantly finding new and inspiring uses for the bikes. Here are before and after pictures from a Yuba rider, who used her bike to transport a trade show booth to an event she had. She got an impressive amount of stuff on the bike (and apparently still looked professional during the event).

She did it! A few months ago, we told you about a young entrepreneur who was raising money to build a revolutionary taco bike called Hot Bike. Congratulations to Rose Slam! Johnson, she got her project funded, and the Hot Bike is on the road.

She took a Yuba Mundo to the fine folks at Rock the Bike for the custom build, and here’s what they came up with:

The full set of photos showing the design and build process can be seen on the Rock the Bike Flickr.

A number of our customers have requested some sort of deck or floor for the Bread Basket. Our hardworking designers are working on producing a floor with some really cool features, but you’ll have to wait for it.

In the meantime, here are some step-by-step instructions so you can make your own Bread Basket floor. In the examples shown at right and below, we used 1/4″ plywood, window screening and heavy mesh, but you could use any number of materials such as coroplast, sheet metal, or leftover plastic election signs. You will also need sixteen zip ties.

1.  Put your Bread Basket on top of your material, and mark the inside of the bread basket on the material.
2. Using whatever cutting tool is appropriate for your material, cut along the line you just marked (using eye protection if necessary). Make sure it fits inside the basket.
3. Take the basket floor piece out of the basket and put holes in each corner, four more on the long sides, and two more on the short sides. (Please note: stiffer materials such as the plywood shown in the example do not require as many holes and zip ties as softer materials).
4. Use zip ties to attach the basket floor to the Bread Basket.
5. Et voilà! (It’s always classy to use French to express your admiration of your own handiwork).

And for those of you who were wondering how to route the brake cables when installing the Bread Basket, here’s a quick video showing what it should look like:

Here at Yuba, we keep an eye on the blogosphere. Recently one of the most inspirational bloggers we know posted some incredibly pragmatic advice about how to get used to riding a cargo bike under load. Here it is, reposted from Elle B’s Tiny Helmets Big Bikes blog.

Josette asks:

Hi there! I’ve been reading your blog while considering getting the Mundo for my own family/cargo needs. I did a test ride with my two-year-old in the peanut shell and the ride was wonderful but I actually tipped over the bike while trying to walk it out of its parked spot — the bike all loaded up weighs more than me! I was wondering if you have any advice for new cargo-bike riders on how NOT to tip the bike over.

Cargo bikes do handle differently than other bikes, especially when it is loaded up. Almost always, if you’re going to fall, it’s going to be while you are mounting/dismounting. I recommend to start riding your new cargo bike in an open, empty location so you can get a good feel for how the bike moves without also having to deal with outside distractions. Practice turns, swerving, circles, hopping on/off, etc. You can try getting on and off the bike next to a curb so your foot falls flat and stable on the surface or lower your seat in the beginning until you are more comfortable (not recommended for long rides but it’s a good starting point). Also, try to make sure your bike’s load is evenly balanced and if possible, keep the weight close to the front of the rack. If one side is heavier, it is easier to lose control. Once you get more comfortable and confident while riding your cargo bike, you will be less likely to tip. Walking with the Mundo is a bit difficult, too. Keep one hand on the brake to help stabilize and move slowly. I also use my hip to help hold up the bike and keep both hands on the handlebars.

That said–tipping happens. Sometimes, it’s nice to get that first fall out of the way so you can see that it actually does less damage than one would believe (but I don’t advocate doing it on purpose, of course). I have found that I am able to ride with a higher seat now, take tighter turns, and go faster because I am more used to the way my Mundo handles. One last piece of advice: regularly remind your little one to not make too many sudden moves

-Elle B.

TinyHelmetsBigBikes.com