Kind of brings back that kid-like feeling, especially if you have a passenger.

Ahhh let’s see.... we got it as sort of a bike truck so we can haul stuff to our garden and I can use it for hauling tools from my shop. Also kind of nice to use as a people hauler 

Bakfiets.nl is a brand but Bakfeits is also the term for a cargo bike. Literally boxbike. They’ve been around for 100 years so the idea is anything but new.  Bakfiets.nl is regarded as the gold standard of cargo bikes here but there are a lot of other good brands too. This one was coincidentally what I was looking for for a decent price. 

It cycles remarkably easily,  and it’s not too heavy. No hills here though so that’s no prob but it’s pretty easy to get it over bridges. It has an internal 8 speed hub so you have a pretty good gear range and it’s a blast to ride. Kind of brings back that kid like feeling, especially if you have a passenger.

Lots of fun! I’ve always wanted one and had some money burning a hole in my pocket so here it is! 

Young friends in the Netherlands don't own a car, go everywhere on their bikes.

A young couple I know in the Netherlands don't own a car - don't miss it much, either.  They  travel everywhere under pedal power.  "We just acquired a Bakfiets cargo bike, took turns pedaling 25 miles to dinner with friends in another town.  Had a nice ride home late under the crescent moon along a big canal. The view from in the box as passenger - intoxicating. Can’t do that in a car!" 

Skies over former Lake Calhoun made for perfect riding conditions today.

Bright blue sky and puffy white clouds over Lake Bde Maka Ska in Minneapolis today = major benefit of COVID lock-down. Bikes in abundance in parks and around lakes, all over town this afternoon, but far fewer cars than normal = an atmosphere that Native Dakota peoples counted on when they inhabited our world, nearly 200 years ago.

Jesus Loves You and Doesn't Want You to Catch COVID-19

Driving west yesterday on 42nd Ave in Robbinsdale.  Homemade sign by parishioners lifts spirits, gives us all hope!!

Legendary Cosmopolitan editor Helen Gurley Brown about to have vanity plates installed on her Mercedes.

In this foto the late Helen Gurley Brown, who built Cosmopolitan into the most influential young women's magazine in the world, is about to have New York State COSMO vanity plate installed on her Mercedes-Benz.  HGB hardly needed more notoriety, but what fun we all had when the late Editor-in-Chief of Cosmo's dozens of international editions, was awarded yet another accolade in her long list of accomplishments. The "we," by the way, is the editorial and advertising staff of Cosmo at the time, including the not-so-handy publisher,  Seth Hoyt. Photo circa 1996.

Plenty of snowy diversions here to keep you from going to Florida.

Back yard 'boggining - fearless, fun, not too fancy. 

Lake Bde Maka Ska municipal kayaks hibernating safely and serenely.

Snowshoer and pet Choc Lab about to walk 18 on the Spring Hill course.

This guy even rides to work on his twin engine, battery powered skate board. He can do twenty MPH with those studded tires, and the battery might last 25 minutes in sub-zero  temps.  And it was below zero the day I met man and machine. 

"Beleza" means "beauty" in the Portuguese language.   I kept waiting for a gorgeous California lady to slip behind the wheel of this RAV, but she never showed up. 

I learned on my walk around Bde Maka Ska that the first home in Minneapolis was  built for missionaries who'd come to the area to convert American Indians to Christianity. Too much snow on the plaque to read the date of construction.

The City of Minneapolis has invested enthusiastically in educating walkers, bikers, X-country skiers, boaters, et al, on the history and origins of this remarkable body of water, formerly known as Lake Calhoun. 

"Ferg" in same hat he wore as a kid.

I'm pretty sure this is the Jamis that my oldest daughter rode when she was in college.

I was only too happy to get this bike for my most wonderful daughter when she was an undergrad. Over the years the Jamis has been passed around from family member to family member, and it's still going strong. Now, about that seat .....

I helped "One Street" develop World-Ready Shift Levers by kicking in to KickStarter.

Five or so years back I connected with Sue Knaup in Prescott, AZ. She told me that her "One Street" nonprofit hoped to raise $$ via Kick Starter to  create and distribute a special "technology" to permit anybody anywhere to make replacement components for bikes.   Sue's market was developing countries where bikes were the main means of transport, but repair shops w/spare parts were few and far between. 

The concept to be funded initially:  a small "back yard" blast furnace and mold in the shape of a shift lever.  Aluminum cans could be melted down by anyone, and molten metal poured into the mold, let sit and: voila! Repair problems solved. 

Prototypes were made, the concept was well received, but manufacturing glitches came up that prevented the fruition of the project. For my modest contribution Sue sent me a shifter that I keep on my desk as a reminder of how much need there is in the world, and how one smart, savvy, enthusiastic dreamer-entrepreneur can . make a difference. 

Likely the best bakery and coffee shop in Wayzata, MN.

Certainly the only one with a French accent!

Ken Weir explains Patek Phillipe collaboration with Weir Jewelers on occasion of the Dublin store's 150th year in business.

Ken's family started the business a century and a half ago.  To celebrate 150 years, current Dublin owners picked Swiss watch maker Patek Phillipe to design a special, limited edition chronograph. Price: a mere 90,000 euros!

Weir "Style" magazine tells the story. 

My friend here owns three vintage VW's, two "Bugs" and, now, this cherished van.

Looks like the sheepdog is right at home riding shotgun.

Pedaling around Bde Maka Ska today, with a stop at Perennial Cycle.

Dep't. of Parks and Rec "pop-up" office at Bde Maka Ska. Empty chair belongs to young employee who just got up to examine a boat being pulled from the former Lake Calhoun - making sure no Zebra Mussels were attached.

I met three divers in wetsuits.  One guy found a discarded Raleigh mountain bike on the lake bottom. This fellow holds a box-ful of junk he's collected. The lady in the background of this pic is a "lake-saver," though I'm not sure what she retrieved.

Our Parks and Rec man is back in his chair after examining the hull of an aluminum motor boat.  Don't think he discovered Zebra Mussels this time.

Strong anti-litter messages abound!

Hey, Bro: don't be changin' your motor oil lakeside. 

Here's the Raleigh one of the wet-suiters pulled from the lake. 

Pop-up office will be open until mid-October, then stored securely until Spring 2020. 

My visit to Perennial Cycle put me in touch with the new Dutch-made Urban Arrow electric-assist cargo bike. Luke here, tucked comfortably in the cargo "hold" of the Arrow, urged me to give 'er a try so he could take a pic, but I made him do it first. Clearly this man is having a riotous time!

Had to cross this puddle every time I rode along Long Lake this summer.

I've heard that the summer of 2019 was the rainiest on record here in Minnesota.  My Giant (w/o fenders) had to ford this flowing body of water every time I pedaled my fave route around Long Lake 

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No sooner had I purchased my Long Haul Trucker from Tonka Cycle and Ski in Hopkins, than I sold it back to shop owner Steve.

This in-demand Surly was a beautiful machine, and a purchase I'd thought lots about making. After a couple of weeks of pedaling locally, I realized that the velo was not a good fit for me and my style of riding.  Back to Steve I went, explained my situation, swapped the Surly for a Giant "Expressway" foldy, and a wad of cash.  Steve and I both got a good deal. Nick, holding the banner behind us, nodded his approval.