What is the Mundo?

I am the very happy owner of a Yuba Mundo Cargo bike, a purpose-built, long-tail, heavy-duty bike that is built to be a serious replacement for a carbon-emitting vehicle. I'm learning more every day what a bike can do, and I'm becoming convinced that a cargo bike with an electric assist is a truly fantastic machine!

Sunday, February 17, 2013

Errandonneering

As soon as I saw the word, I knew it was for me.  Errandonnee.  I love bikes: working on them, riding them, reading about them, what have you.  If it has to do with bicycles, I'm there.  The bottom line though, is that I see the bicycle as the ultimate utility tool.  Need to go get something at the grocery store? Hop on the bike.  Gotta go to class?  Bike it.  Want to get out of the house and chill at the coffee shop?  No better way to get there.  So despite my love of all things bike, and my participation in all sorts of bicycling events, I am, above all, attracted to the pure practicality of bicycling as the most efficient mode of getting where I need to go.  The errand enabler!

Thanks to the wonderful Lovely Bicycle! blog, I recently heard about a "Winter Challenge" from fellow bicyclist/blogger Chasing Mailboxes D.C.  The authors have concocted an enticing way to inspire us to get out on our bikes despite the cold weather and possible snow on the ground.  They call it the Errandonnee: "complete 12 errands in 12 days and ride a total of 30 miles by bike between February 9-20."  OK, I know it's already the 17th, but other people have done the whole thing in one or two days, and you can too.

In a nutshell, you keep track of your errands (they have a shared document you can use), you prove your various exploits by taking pictures, and you have to do more than, say, just go to the coffee shop every day.  So hey, check it out and have some fun, and let me know how you're doing.  Right now I've gotta go - biking over to a brunch potluck meeting to find out how I can get involved with using bicyles for food rescue with Fort Collins Food Rescue.  (Community Meeting, #4 on the list for the Winter Challenge :-)

Here are some pics from my recent errandonnes:
On a trip to the coffee/beer/bike shop (Yes, Crankenstein is all that and more) I saw this cool custom keg delivery bike from Equinox Brewing Company.

On a trip to the grocery store I saw a beautiful Yuba Mundo setup.  This is some serious errandonneering!

My sister lives on the other side of town, and sometimes needs some help taking care of her dog, Dooley, during the day.  A bike ride, a little frisbee, and both Dooley and I get some exercise.


2 comments:

  1. Questions about that keg delivery trike: Am I seeing correctly, that both front discs are controlled by a single lever? I've been contemplating building a bakfiets, and had been wondering how to manage brakes on the front. Any notion as to who builds brake levers like that?

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  2. Hi, I know I responded to you a long time ago, but now I see that my comment was never published. Sorry about that. Anyway, I think that there is a lever for each disc, and no brake in the back. The bike was built by Panda bikes in Fort Collins, and here's a story about it: http://inhabitat.com/equinox-brewerys-keg-trike-delivers-fresh-brews/equinox-keg-bike-8/

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