Had a lovely time on the GSD 10 from @ternbicycles that I rented from @FourStar_Chi and wanted to share a bit about the experience 1/n 
To start with, we’re a one car family living in the exurbs of Chicago with two kids so I wanted to get a sense for how an eCargo bike might replace some of our primary car trips: school drop off and work commutes 2/n
Unsurprisingly, the kids really liked getting to school on the bike. Their weekly bag of clean clothes and cobijas (blankets) easily fit into the cargo panniers 3/n
After drop-off, the commute to work is approximately 10 miles. I don’t cycle enough to have previously thought about bike commuting, but the electric assist definitely changes the calculus for me 4/n
One of the downsides to my primary office location is the lack of high-quality bike infrastructure in #Rosemont. At some point, you have to cross the river, which either means riding on Irving Park or Lawrence. Riding north on River Rd also feels decidedly unsafe 5/n
5 year olds also seem 💯 capable of describing safe bicycle infrastructure:
ME: “Which street felt safer. This one or that other one?”
HER: “the other one was a bit more better...it was more quiet and there weren’t as many cars” 6/n
ME: “Which street felt safer. This one or that other one?”
HER: “the other one was a bit more better...it was more quiet and there weren’t as many cars” 6/n
My wife and I also work at the same location so it’s unfortunately not eliminating a car trip until both of us bike or days where she works remote. It does give us more flexibility in scheduling our days 7/n
I was also impressed with how many local trips the eCargo bike opened up for us. Here’s a photo from our ~4.5 mile ride (each way) to Garfield Park at bed time. Same for rides to other local parks and forest preserves 8/n
I haven’t done the math yet, but I could easily see the GSD10 replacing a lot of local trips under ~4 miles and judiciously replacing longer trips. 9/n
Another aspect of bicycling vs. driving that I was not prepared for was how more human it felt (especially during ‘Rona). Had some lovely conversations with folks waiting for busses, at crosswalks,etc. which doesn’t happen when I drive 10/n
Also some unintentional comedy along the way. Shoutout to my super ‘shroom! 11/n
I haven’t made a decision to buy one way or the other, but these are some of the factors slowing me down 12/n
If there was a way to make the last few miles of the work commute more safe and on lower speed roads, it would make a huge difference 13/n
I also didn’t have any terrifying interactions with cars, which I know is atypical.
I’ve nearly gotten hit crossing at an intersection with the walk signal and honked at for allowing pedestrians to fully cross an intersection, so I know the terror is coming 14/n
I’ve nearly gotten hit crossing at an intersection with the walk signal and honked at for allowing pedestrians to fully cross an intersection, so I know the terror is coming 14/n
Our current vehicle is a smaller sedan so we don’t have an easy way to transport it anywhere that we can’t pedal. I’m hoping to bike instead of use the vehicle for many trips so I’m not sure how realistic this issue is. 15/n
Lastly, can’t end the thread without talking about the price tag. Comparing the price for a GSD 10 to another bicycle is a bit unfair since a more appropriate comparison is probably the cost of a second car ($$$). Fin. 16/16
