Permies Poll: Do you use a bicycle?

I've been thinking about different forms of transportation and bicycles are on my mind!



Feel free to share pictures or stories of your bicycles in your replies.

I've voted no - which is my current situation; the hills and roads here are not great for cycling.

When I was in the West Midlands however the bike was my commuting transport for a trip of about 7 miles, 40 minutes - if I took the car it was normally half an hour because of traffic and parking. If I popped into town for shopping it was my normal (though not only) means of transport. These days I am lucky enough to work only a mile away so walk the 20 minutes that takes, unless I have something heavy or bulky to take.

I try to get out for about 12miles most days on my ebike (euro epac, US class 1 no throttle). Occasionally use it to get to the nearest town for stuff but mostly it’s excercise and mental health.

Planning to build up endurance to get to the used bookshop 21 miles away.

I rarely ride a bike, but that is mostly because I need to get a bike better fit for myself.

The trouble is, I am not well read on what I should be looking for in a bike so I am in the research phase while the winter months come closer.

When the kids were in elementary school I biked them to school every day except pouring rain, snow, or the darkest days before Christmas and early January, when it just wasn't safe enough. We have much better bike lights now, particularly helmet mounted ones.

Our local town has some safe routes to bike, but I'm usually picking up or dropping off bulky things the one day/week I go there. I must dust off and fix the bearings on the old bike trailer I used with the children, because that would make a big difference. However, there a significant grade for the last kilometer getting home, so I suspect to really shift to a bike, I will need to find an electric assist bike that fits me.

My son currently rides to work daily regardless of the weather or light level. Not sure what he's going to do if it snows...  However, it's only about 5 km, so he may decide to walk on snow days. Since he has a mostly sit down job, he figures he really needs the exercise.  He has a drivers license, but he really dislikes driving, so that's also a factor.

I can go to my Post Office by bike in a 40-minute round trip, which is very very pleasant in the autumn and spring here.

My daughter and I go together: I have a Trailabike bike-attachment like the one below:

I used to ride a bicycle and loved it. Never long distance riding but into town for shopping or to the train station. Then I developed a serious balance issue and it all got too scary and unsafe. I would love to get an adult trike, but good ones are expensive and we don't have the space to park it safely where we currently live.

I live in an area where bike tourism is huge (Costa Blanca North, Spain) and we have national cycling teams train here all through Spring.  

I haven't been on a bike for years.  I would like to get one but I'm scared!  The roads are not set up for bikes (often narrow, twisting mountain roads and there are multiple accidents or near misses through the main biking seasons.  

I tend to walk to our local village, but a bike would allow me to carry out trips further afield without the guilt of using my small van.

Perhaps I just need to do plenty of research on riding techniques, safety gear and quiet routes and just go for it.

Encouragement please!

When my wife and I lived in Rochester, MN we biked extensively.  She worked/went to school downtown and rode her bike until first snowfall, then the bus until spring.  We biked to church, for groceries, etc.  I worked ~20 miles away and would bike 2x a week, weather permitting, otherwise I drove.

Now we live back home "on the farm"  I work some 5 miles away, and my wife's hobby/job takes her to various locations, sometimes over an hour drive.  I don't bike to work, as much as I'd like to, because every day I carry 5 buckets (5 gal each) with food scraps home from the school, and I often run other errands on the way home from work (I'm a book mule... my wife homeschools and generally has 100+ books checked out of the library at a time, and I am always carting books to and from the library).  I've also gotten a bit lazy... it's so easy to use the pickup truck to move hay and grain... 10 buckets of grain and 15 haybales in one trip on the weekend instead of carrying them across the field a few at a time...

And my bike has a very flat tire now... and I can't find the ambition to fix it.

But if you live in a bike-friendly area and can bike for most of your errands, that is something I support and would do myself.

I’ve been biking at least once per week for the past 6+ years. I bike exclusively for fun and camaraderie with friends. We bike through Michigan winters (and primarily in the evenings) despite single-digit temps. I’ve discovered so many biking subcultures and biking friends along the way. It certainly helps me to stay trim and fit… added bonus!

I think if anyone wants to get back into biking or just start, you should invest in a good bike. But before you buy a bike I’d recommend you go to a bike shop that will fit you. Tell them what type of biking you want to do (road biking, mountain biking, trail and gravel roads, city or commuting, etc). This will help them know if you’ll be riding more upright or “down in the drops” (drop bars).

From there (hopefully) they'll help you find a bike that’s COMFORTABLE. Don’t look for bikes that are cool or trendy.

I’ve finally dialed in my riding style based on where and how I ride… lots of gravel roads, two tracks, some single tracks, back roads, and occasionally paved rods through town. I saved up and sold a bunch of stuff to purchase my dream bike, a Rivendell Susie Longbolts. It’s ideal for upright riding and has enough clearance for BIG tires to take on all the off roading I do. Very pricy but it’s a bike I’ll never sell and ride constantly. I’ve gone through a lot of bikes over the years and by far the Rivendell is the most comfortable bike I’ve ever ridden.

BUT you don’t need to spend a lot of moola on a bike. One thing that upped the comfort level for me initially was swapping out the handlebars for a more swept-back style. That being said, don’t be afraid to upgrade things like seats and handlebars, they make a huge difference!

Good luck to everyone. And remember, biking has the potential to take you back in time to when you were a kid!

If I won the lottery… [url=Carla Cargo electric trailer]https://www.manchesterbikes.co.uk/carla-cargo-200kg-trailer-electric-48v-aes.html[/url



But also, it’s not actually that much compared with a car.

On other topics:

I really strongly recommend hub dynamos for lights. As long as your front wheel spins, you have light.
I personally have one even on my ebike so that if I run out of battery I can still get safely home in the dark.

Being seen is good, looking like a human is really good. The more protection stuff and car-like you become, the less drivers see you as human.

Take the center of the lane (primary position) unless you are really happy for someone to overtake, then you can move closer to the kerb (secondary).

I drove for 20 years. Cycled casually back then. Career changed to become a e-assist  cargo bike courier which I've been doing for 8 3/4 years. Just last week I fell in bathroom, fractured my left shin bone. So I've gone from very active to housebound struggling bobbing about on crutches, with family helping me. I never ask anyone to do anything for me so this is a change. Life can flip in a flash!
There's a cyclists cafe 10km from me in the countryside which is my happy place. There's a bunch of goats with pony's and an emu to amuse visitors.
Cycling to & from work. Cycling for work. Cycling for fun, has been my life for years. I've just secured a job doing something I'm passionate about for more money. It's close enough to walk or cycle to all year. A sit down job. So cycling for fun will become my regular exercise. I'm thinking of doing sunrise rides to freshen me up for a day of focus. Expecially as I'll be in artificial light near 9 hours a day 5 days a week.
I've enjoyed reading everyone else's cycling experiences.
My dad has some great stories from cycling around the world in the mid 70's!!

Yes, I ride a bicycle as my 'means of transportation'. When I was 19 y.o. I made this choice not to get a driver's license. Now I'm 68 and still happy with that choice. But: I live in the Netherlands, the situation here is totally different from the USA! This country is mostly flat and has very good bicycle paths everywhere. Bicycles here are considered a normal part of the traffic.
Here's a photo of my bicycle-camping trip of a few years ago (I still do such trips, but with a newer bicycle now):

I'm already feeling inspired!  Tha k you for the great stories and tips!

I work from home three days a week. On the two I go to my office, I try to bike. It's about 15 km (9 miles) each way, but lots of steep ascents and descents in between. Lately, though, I've been pretty lazy, and I drive most of the way with my bike on the rack. Depending on if it's wet or not, I ride the last three and a half miles on roads with my commuter bike or on trails with my mountain bike. From home, I can get to my office in 45 minutes on my commuter. If I have the time and energy, I can ride my mountain bike all the way--about two-thirds on trails--but that's a good bit longer: 22 km and 1.5 hours.

When I'm in better shape, I try to grocery shop with my bike. I use a Burley Travoy for that.

I had a grad school professor in Chicago who didn't drive (everybody agreed Chicago was safer that way). To get to campus he biked every day--it wasn't far, less than a mile--even on the iciest, coldest days. When anybody expressed surprise that he'd bike on such a cold day, he'd say, "It's a choice between being utterly miserable for twenty minutes or in excruciating pain for five."

Sadly, I haven't been able for many years, due to a specific physical disorder in my ligaments & tendons, that causes extreme pain in my hips & back, when I try. I also happen to live in a very naturally bicycle-hostile environment.

Question? Did your teacher walk/ride for his health? And are you going to do it for your health? help the environment or to save money? I walk for my health. I rode my bicycle to work years ago for my health and because my car quit working and I could not afford to fix it. I find riding my bicycle is actually bad for my health do to drivers of vehicles where I live.

I have been riding my bike to work two to three times a week, but the other day when I was biking up a hill on my way home it suddenly just stopped. It’s something wrong with the pedals, and might not be able to be fixed. It’s my mom’s bike from college, so I guess I can’t be surprised, but it’s kind of a bummer.
I also am wondering, for people who have experience riding in the winter, (I live in Michigan) how well do the brakes work going downhill? Do you need special tires or anything? I’m just wondering if I’ll need to drive to work instead of biking.

Scotttt Davis wrote:Question? Did your teacher walk/ride for his health? And are you going to do it for your health? help the environment or to save money? I walk for my health. I rode my bicycle to work years ago for my health and because my car quit working and I could not afford to fix it. I find riding my bicycle is actually bad for my health do to drivers of vehicles where I live.

My professor was a woefully unhealthy person and died young. He biked for transportation.

Me, I bike to work for a few reasons: 1) exercise, 2) environmental, 3) it's far more fun.

When my kids were in pre-school, I drove them to school, and one of them would inevitably be crying by the time we got there. Then I switched to taking them on a cargo bike, and both were always laughing by the time we got there. It was a no-brainer after that.

Katie See wrote:I also am wondering, for people who have experience riding in the winter, (I live in Michigan) how well do the brakes work going downhill? Do you need special tires or anything? I’m just wondering if I’ll need to drive to work instead of biking.

In my experience, the brakes work fine. It's the tires you have to worry about. In Montana, where I grew up, people use studded tires on their bikes in the winter.

I recently bought an E-bike to get around on. I will have had it for a month on the 11th and already put over 350 miles on it. I am disabled and the E part makes all the difference in the world. It was STRANGE getting back on a bike after 40 years since last being on one.  For the first time in years I can AFFORD to just go ride around looking at the sights. I also learned you can SEE so much more at 10-20mph than you'll ever see at 60mph!

This is the bike I bought and it is Homestead and off grid friendly.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/135217866396

My longest ride was 46 miles at the lowest power level with as much pedaling as my body could handle to extend battery range.

I have made some modifications and have plans for more. Making the bike fit ME and the things I want to do better...

ETA: Usually I go out off the property 1 or 2 times a month, in three weeks I've gone out about every other day on average. I've even been grocery shopping on the bike several times.

I had to vote NO, at the present time.  I am looking into e bikes.  The grocery store I use is about a quarter of a mile away.  It is a long a 4 lane divided highway but at different times of the day the traffic isn't so bad.

I'm still working on restoring my range of motion and strength, I think I'm ready to give it a try.

Peace

I went for several years without a car in different cities:

Atlanta, 1 year--horrible experience trying to bike on those roads. People yell and throw things at you.

Southern Germany for 3 years and then later in NW Germany for 6 years, mostly with no car, until I got pregnant with my 2nd, caved and bought a car.

Portland, OR--13 years with no car until I got priced out of the inner city and had to move further out where the buses are not as frequent, the car-share company is non-existent, and everything is further away. I do not enjoy being car dependent now, and I still try to bike when I can. Luckily I work from home most days, so no commute.

If I had my druthers, I would still bike/walk/bus to everything and rent a car when I want to travel, if needed. I used to think an electric car or bike was the answer until I learned about the horrible environmental impact, so pedal biking is still my preferred way to go.

Howdy,
I voted yes, daily.
I have, what I call The Coastal Outhouse Tour. I am able to coast from the front door of my house to the Outhouse, which, at 73,is way faster than walking, some of you will get the meaning of this.

I used to ride a lot more. I do on occasion take my bike with me to do some pleasure riding. I think in the future,on good days(sunny,not raining) I will be taking my bike to town,park my car, and do my town errands on my bicycle. I do miss riding my bike.

I do "produce"all my electric power with a 24/7 micro hydro system and solar panels. I could be charging an electric bicycle, which for me, may be "enviornmentally" friendly.

When I was younger, living in Upstate NY, I used to bike tour with a group(60-80miles a day) that included Pete Seeger. Got to know him well enough to be invited over to his house a few times.

When I was 13 I had a paper route, for 3 years. My dad clocked the milage and I guess it was 26 miles a day, single speed Schwinn  cruiser.

Randy Eggert wrote:I had a grad school professor in Chicago who didn't drive (everybody agreed Chicago was safer that way). To get to campus he biked every day--it wasn't far, less than a mile--even on the iciest, coldest days. When anybody expressed surprise that he'd bike on such a cold day, he'd say, "It's a choice between being utterly miserable for twenty minutes or in excruciating pain for five."

We don't have the ice and snow like in Chicago, but we get a lot of drizzle, especially in the cold 1/3 of the year.   Some people are astonished that I would still bike to school on those days.  If it's strong, hellish, downpours, I'll drive.  Otherwise, I wear rain pants and a coat. I show up energized and happy, and leave the same way.  I save money on the gym membership, and I'm also not polluting, using gas, and creating demand for more parking lots.  I get my exercise on the way to and back from work and shopping. Otherwise, it's hard to get out into the cold, dark, drizzle and move my body. Helps fight SAD too.

John S
PDX OR

I tend to use my e-bike as my primary form of daily transportation.  Mostly I'm just traveling within 5 to 10 miles of my  house, and there is a rails to trails path I can take for the bulk of my millage.  I've got over 4000 miles on my e-bike at this point and will need to replace the now worn tires.

I do it for pleasure, exercise, and to save money.

Katie See wrote:I have been riding my bike to work two to three times a week, but the other day when I was biking up a hill on my way home it suddenly just stopped. It’s something wrong with the pedals, and might not be able to be fixed. It’s my mom’s bike from college, so I guess I can’t be surprised, but it’s kind of a bummer.
I also am wondering, for people who have experience riding in the winter, (I live in Michigan) how well do the brakes work going downhill? Do you need special tires or anything? I’m just wondering if I’ll need to drive to work instead of biking.

Hi Katie

I ride all winter. Rim brakes are slightly less effective when wet, but if the pads are good and adjusted properly, you should be fine. Disc brakes work best in wet conditions. Tires with knobs, especially along the edge, are better than smooth road tires for winter. I’d check with a local bike shop and talk to them about where you’d be riding and I’m sure they would have a few suggestions for you. They might be able to give your bike a tune up for winter riding.
Your toes and fingers will be the first thing to get cold. I have winter biking gloves and always have hand and foot warmers during cold weather.

Overall, the biking industry is moving towards fatter tires, not necessarily FAT bikes, but larger tires. They’re more comfortable and stable.

Have fun!

Zachary Bertuzzi wrote:I think if anyone wants to get back into biking or just start, you should invest in a good bike. But before you buy a bike I’d recommend you go to a bike shop that will fit you. Tell them what type of biking you want to do (road biking, mountain biking, trail and gravel roads, city or commuting, etc). This will help them know if you’ll be riding more upright or “down in the drops” (drop bars)...
BUT you don’t need to spend a lot of moola on a bike. One thing that upped the comfort level for me initially was swapping out the handlebars for a more swept-back style. That being said, don’t be afraid to upgrade things like seats and handlebars, they make a huge difference!

Shortly out of college, more decades ago than I like to admit, I got a second job to pay for a paralegal program. Ended up staying at it long enough to have a good chunk extra, which I spent getting a new bike, that fit me right. It was down to two, and fortuitously the clerk advised me that, though it was a little more, the one bike was much more adaptable so that in the future I could change it up as needed without changing the entire bike out. This was because I had indicated an interest in possibly getting two bikes, one to be my street and stores bike and one to be a trail bike with light off trail capabilities for bike camping. With that good advise on an adaptable foundation, I've been able over the years to switch things like seats, handlebars, and tire types to suit my lifestyle and aging body. In the long run, I've saved hundreds, if not thousands, vs. randomly trying different bikes until one fit and switching bikes every time I needed something different.  

Trying again to post a pic of my very dirty bike.

Cathi Allen wrote:

Zachary Bertuzzi wrote:I think if anyone wants to get back into biking or just start, you should invest in a good bike. But before you buy a bike I’d recommend you go to a bike shop that will fit you. Tell them what type of biking you want to do (road biking, mountain biking, trail and gravel roads, city or commuting, etc). This will help them know if you’ll be riding more upright or “down in the drops” (drop bars)...
BUT you don’t need to spend a lot of moola on a bike. One thing that upped the comfort level for me initially was swapping out the handlebars for a more swept-back style. That being said, don’t be afraid to upgrade things like seats and handlebars, they make a huge difference!

Shortly out of college, more decades ago than I like to admit, I got a second job to pay for a paralegal program. Ended up staying at it long enough to have a good chunk extra, which I spent getting a new bike, that fit me right. It was down to two, and fortuitously the clerk advised me that, though it was a little more, the one bike was much more adaptable so that in the future I could change it up as needed without changing the entire bike out. This was because I had indicated an interest in possibly getting two bikes, one to be my street and stores bike and one to be a trail bike with light off trail capabilities for bike camping. With that good advise on an adaptable foundation, I've been able over the years to switch things like seats, handlebars, and tire types to suit my lifestyle and aging body. In the long run, I've saved hundreds, if not thousands, vs. randomly trying different bikes until one fit and switching bikes every time I needed something different.  

Wonderful!! A good frame should last nearly a lifetime and, as you said perfectly, upgrade as needed based on riding styles and needs. So glad to hear your story.
One thing I love about biking that coincides with the permaculture ethos is OBSERVATION. On a bike you can take in so much of the environment you’re traveling through. I’ve found plenty of plants and trees to collect great seeds, noticed plants that often grow together, micro climates that are home to plants and creatures only there, etc.

I love my bike. I never drove a car until I was 30. Now at 60, I still enjoy walking and even though, I am half mile back in the bush, I have, for the most part, been without a car for 3 years. I do rely on my neighbours to pick up the odd thing for me when they go to town. I reciprocate with favours that they need. In winter, my first preference is walking, then x-country skiing and lastly, snowshoeing into my property. I do have a trusty old Yamaha Bravo snowmobile to get me around when I need it. I find the walking really keeps me in shape. And although my holistic diet has a lot to do with it, I'm happy to say I don't have any of the hip or knee issues that my counterparts complain about so even though I'm getting my own car this week, you will still find me walking all over the place whenever I can.

my primary means of mobility is always to walk; i bicycle when the distances are greater and/or time is more of the essence;

after the road-pirates on los angeles county stole, the one and only motorized conveyance, i used to support the permaculture experiment-experience i was stewarding, a CNG-fueled one-ton RAM VAN (for a second time) and not recovering it via paying any ransom, i made the decision to utilize an eBike for greater distance sojourning than walking could accomodate timely, then;

after that [motorized] vehicle was also stolen, by a mexican-national acquaintance, and sold on the black-market of mexico, i purchased a folding mountain-bike and now feel perfectly happy that the only time i am paying for mobility, and/or contributing to industrial pollution of our earth realm, it is affordably via public-commercial transportation and/or carpooling/sharing a friend or relative’s private automobile.

I rode a bike a lot when I was younger.  The first few years of married life a bike was my primary transportation when my husband wasn't home with the car (I didn't learn to drive until I was in my thirties).  I was able to keep that up until we had three children -- I had been able to manage with two, with one in a bike seat behind me and the baby in either a front pack or a back pack, depending on her age.  My husband built me a bike trailer, so I could carry all three of the girls, but the first time I took it out, the right tire caught on the edge of the pavement as I was starting to make a left turn, and the trailer flipped over, spilling all three of the girls out into the road right in front of an oncoming car!  The driver managed to stop in time, and the littlest one was strapped into her car seat and unhurt, but I never took the trailer out again.  I had a bike again a few years ago, but couldn't go far with it because youngest daughter, who is severely handicapped, still lives with me.  She can't ride a bike, and is too big to carry as a passenger, and I can't just leave her alone at home.  So, we either walk, or we take my truck.  The roads around here are too narrow, with no shoulders at all, to be safe for riding bikes, anyway.  I've thought about going Amish and using a horse and buggy -- maybe someday!

I can't, for the same reason I can't drive a car, not enough vision for that.  I can see shapes and colours, but in order to stay balanced on a bike one must go fast enough, and then things come along too fast for me to visually process them, so that didn't ever come to fruition for me.  I could do one of those three wheel ones on a track, but that just doesn't seem worth while, though in reality maybe it would be excercise wise.  I'd love to get a tandom bike for myself and my husband, but those cost money.  Maybe someday.  My mother and I had one when I was a kid and we had fun toodling around the neighbourhood.

Riona Abhainn wrote: Maybe someday.  My mother and I had one when I was a kid and we had fun toodling around the neighbourhood.

My Uncle, in his first 2 decades of retirement, built recumbent tandem tricycles for disabled people to bike with an able bodied person beside them.  Yes, pricy! But they were partially subsidized due to the benefits to the disabled person - good exercise, fresh air, mental stimulation etc.

I use a BMX to transport myself to/from our house to our farm, which has a separate driveway just two doors down, and on the same side of our very busy street with a wide sidewalk (actually wide enough that I also transit with our small tractor, especially for snow-removal in winter). The BMX bike is much faster than walking, especially for stupid-quick chores such as: close/open a greenhouse, check on lights/heat/doors/deliveries, home and back for a lunch break. It is also much faster than using my truck, to enter traffic, turn out, then enter again and turn out again...two of those being across oncoming traffic. I will use the truck if I need its contents, or am heading onwards to the outside world... but the BMX is also easy to chuck in the back, so I sometimes do just to have the option.

My bike is not currently setup for any cargo, but I should add a way to carry some hand tools and gear, water, and snacks... maybe I still have my old newspaper carrier bag? or add a rack and small saddle bag?

On the opposite side of the street is a community bike path, which connects three neighboring towns, and it is a mix of widened sidewalk, rails-to-trails, paths along & through green spaces, and riding on marked streets. Someday I ought to take a ride, maybe on a better bike for touring... or maybe I just need to add a BMX track around the farm!

When we lived in Paris, we relied on bikes and public transportation to get around. Two years ago we moved from Paris to the French countryside (in the Champagne region) and decided to not buy a car.  I immediately bought a vintage second-hand bike and related equipment (a very good lock, a great rain poncho with transparent sides along the face, a front basket, a side bag, some bungee cords to attach boxes to the rear rack, and lights for the front and rear). The rain poncho is really well designed. It has little bands for my hands to keep the poncho over them while I hold the handles and an attachment that keeps the back flap close to me. I love that I can put a backpack under my poncho to keep me and my stuff dry. I already owned a helmet and reflector bands for my ankles because I used the bike share system in Paris while I lived there. All this equipment is still what I use today, 2 years into this adventure.

It's relatively flat in the town we moved to, and I don't have great distances to travel, so the bike made a lot of sense. We live very close to the center of our small town, and the two commercial zones with big box stores are only a 10-15 minute ride away. I would take the bike to the home improvement store and post office. We would bike to our weekly sports meetups. We typically walk to the grocery store, which is 4 minutes away by foot. My husband takes the train to work in a nearby town, so between the walking and train ride it's about 35 minutes door to door.

However, we discovered that our social life suffered and our medical access was greatly diminished by relying solely on bikes, trains and our feet. Friends lived in towns that are 30-40 minutes away by car, so by bike, a dinner together became impossible.

When I had medical appointments in a town 11km (7 miles) away, I took the bike. There was a safe bike path for the majority of the route. This was ok in the late summer, but in the fall and early winter, biking there was really a terrible choice. The ride was supposed to take 35 minutes. However, when the winds pick up in the autumn, I was riding facing the wind head on. Fighting the wind the entire way, it would take closer to 50 minutes. Plus, I would arrive completely soaked from perspiration and out of breath. For a medical appointment, this was quite inconvenient. Then, there was a medical treatment that was only available in a town 90 minutes away by train. For the preliminary appointments we took the train and walked to the hospital once we arrived in town. However, when it came time to administer the treatment at very specific early hours of the day, our foot/train mode of transport was no longer adequate. If the trains were late, we would miss the appointment, which would cause a very significant issue in the quality of the treatment. A car became necessary.

We spent 14 months car-less here, and now that we have our small electric car, we still use the bikes all the time. We're moving soon into a house we're renovating, and we have been moving things there in our small bike trailer every time we go over to the house. We still go to our sports meet-ups by bike, and bike to the big box stores when needed.

Daily ebike pulling trailer all over with lots of heavy stuff in tow

I may need to change my vote.

On the days where I don’t go for a ride because I’ll need the energy working outside, I’m now using the bike to get around the site quicker. Need to get the trailer sorted.