Every Day Adventurers

Hello friends and fellow longtailers. We’re looking forward to Supermarket Street Sweep this December 5th, at high noon, and want to get a Team of Xtracycle riders together. While you can bust your ass compete for speed and cargo hauled, we had a blast just collecting food for San Francisco area Food Banks and goofing off on our bicycles.

That being said, we do have a goal, as Team Xtracycle the Haul-aholics, to haul 1 TON of food for the cause. Obviously, we want more than 10 Xtracyclers to participate (10 riders x 200lbs = 2,000lbs hauled, the more we have riding with us the more energy we’ll have to party after wards), so pass along the word and come out for this fun charity event.

Here are some photos here and here from last year’s ride, complete with Gary Fisher cameos.

UPDATE Would be nice to actually have something to act on, no? So, those wanting to go grocery store stampeding with the Haul-aholics for Supermarket Street Sweep can email rick[at]xtracycle[dot]com . But the gist is, meet up at Cupid’s Span in San Francisco (hop off BART at Embarcadero, ride toward the piers and make a right). You’ll see a large bow and arrow sculpture. Thinking a good meet-up time is around 11AM. Last year they ran out of the entry gift, so arrive early if you’re into those sorts of things.

We’ll encounter some hills, nothing too killer if I recall correctly, but get your stretch on. The organizers recommend bringing $15-30 to purchase the food items (to reach our goal this number may need to increase a tad), but you can always buy more to donate. Looking forward to it!

UPDATE

Team Haul-aholic Sign-up Form

Welcome Bay Area Xtracyclers! We’re gearing up to participate (for fun only since we’re sponsoring the event and can’t win anything) in the SF Alleycat Supermarket Street Sweep 2009, December 5th @ high noon! It’s a fun event for charity where we cyclists pedal around to various markets in SF and buy items designated on the race list.

We want to get a team of Xtracyclists who want to pedal at a reasonable pace and haul, collectively, 1 ton of food. So, brushing off the math synapsis, that’s 200 lbs x 10 riders, or 100 lbs x 20 riders. Expect to spend ~$20-40 on food for the event. The race costs nothing to enter, so keep your hemmin’ and hawin’ to a minimum, this is about HAULIN’! So, join the Haul-aholics and have a blast supporting those in need this holiday season. Ride on!

PS We’ll let other, short bikes, come play with us so invite your amigos, sig-others and such to help-a-haul!

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Peter’s truck had some mechanical hiccups on the way to HQ recently and needed to get it the last mile or so to park it ’til he got it workin’. The Xtra’ crew rolled out with three longtails and managed to lose neither life nor limb in another every day adventure.

Save $90 on a FreeRadical cargo conversion kit through the rest of October and get a free mustache with your order!

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Patrick Boone, a Wisconsin Xtracycle rider, submitted a video to CNN’s iReport. CNN asked people to try to live car-free for one day (big leap, but better than nothing) by using their bicycle.

We offered up a store gift certificate to the Xtracycle riders that got their videos selected for the iReport. Congrats, Patrick, and thanks for the quality video and Xtracycle plug. Ride on!

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Jessy Clonts, our neighbor in the Bay Area, test rode a Radish for 30-days this spring. This is a journal about her expectations, experiences and feedback. Enjoy!

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Challenge Summary

My quest to drastically alter my lifestyle in 30 days by riding an Xtracycle instead of driving a car was predictably challenging. I expected to have a tough time sticking to this goal, but made up for it with a strong conviction not to give up.

Yes, I suffered a few lapses by driving bikeable distances, and while I expected to be able to ride to Indian Rock with climbing gear, I did not make it (although the bike is very well suited to carry said gear, including a 2’ x 3’ crash pad).

But what I learned and came to appreciate about the challenge was my gradual default to the bike over the car. Any time I can hop on two wheels instead of four, whether to save time in traffic, money in parking expenses, or the environment in cutting down on my emissions, I do. And that’s a start.

I keep trying to invent a reason why I don’t need this bike; I’m a young(ish), (almost) married person with no kids, I don’t shop for groceries more than three times a month, and can carry most of my necessities in a small purse. Maybe I don’t need the Radish, but it sure has made my life healthier, more convenient, and more fun. And who couldn’t use more of that in their lives?

Whereas I used to ride my bike for leisurely rolls with friends, now I ride my bike with more of a sense of purpose. And the greatest thing about this gradual default is that it wasn’t contrived. I don’t tell myself to hop on the bike. I just do it.

And I guess that’s what this challenge was all about: teaching a person on the fringe of the bike culture to embrace the lifestyle not just for the novelty and the political correctness, but for its truly redeeming rewards.

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Jessy Clonts, our neighbor in the Bay Area, test rode a Radish for 30-days this spring. This is a journal about her expectations, experiences and feedback. Enjoy!

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Week 4 Recap

This week I experimented with comparing the Xtracycle experience with the rusted vintage Specialized experience. Having no cargo to haul for once, I hopped on my old bike and went for a ride around the neighborhood. Instantly, I felt a major difference. My handlebars didn’t seem as sturdy. My turns were noticeably more challenging. My shocks were nonexistent and bumps in the road popped out everywhere. My seat was not nearly as comfortable.

I want my Radish back! Even if I don’t have anything to carry, the ride is just so much more superior. And who needs twelve gears? I get by just fine with eight on the Radish. Chalk up another ten points for Team Xtracycle.

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