We hear this story a lot, from members who are already confidently riding their bike and became a parent, about how joyful and convenient it is to transition to carrying your kids around via bicycle, too! From a year or so onwards, these little San Franciscans can experience their growing world from the comfort of a bike seat, cargo bench, or front-loader bucket bike.
Sometimes, though, the transition from solo riding to cargo riding with kids can be intimidating. The data shows we still have work to do to get more women on bikes, for a lot of reasons like perception of safety and a sense of belonging, and that hesitation can amplify when it comes to mothers bringing kids along for the ride. That’s why Board members (and cargo bike moms) Alyssa Cheung and Kristy Frilling-Skelly approached us with the idea for a group ride and demonstration, to give moms a chance to ride in a safe space and try our cargo riding.
That’s how our Moms Who Bike community bike ride on June 14 was born. And we had some great partners join us. Bay Wheels provided a small fleet of their e-bikes plus monthly passes for everyone who registered, Streets for All SF helped with snacks and promotion, and our friends at The New Wheel electric bike shop even brought 4 cargo e-bikes for moms to try out on the ride.
Kristy talked a little at the start, about the idea for the ride. “When my oldest kid started elementary school, I noticed a really robust group of dads regularly ferrying their kids to school on their cargo bikes, but far fewer moms. And,” she continued, “I know some of the moms in these families do love to ride! So I can see there’s a confidence gap, and I know sometimes all it takes is a little encouragement from a friend and a space to try it out.”
We rolled out from Duboce Park on a sunny Saturday morning in June, and with 20 people on cargo bikes, Bay Wheels bikes, and their own bikes, we rode confidently and in community all the way through the iconic Wiggle, along the Panhandle and into Golden Gate Park. Seeing such a big group of parents enjoying the car-free comfort of JFK Promenade reminded us why we fought so hard to win that space in the first place.
The conversational pace of the ride gave everyone plenty of time to ask questions and learn from experienced parents who bike on staff and in our ride. We fielded questions about different kinds of cargo bikes, the upcoming plan for more Slow School Zones in the Biking and Rolling Plan, about when to start letting kids bike on their own (we can help with that, through our Safe Routes to School program!), and the best bike routes through the city.
One mom who joined us, Angela, knew it was time to get her own bike to join her family on weekend outings. “My husband usually takes the kids on his bike, and I end up driving to meet them,” she said, but after riding one of the front-loader bikes on loan from The New Wheel with both kids in the bucket, she felt more comfortable traveling on the streets with them in tow.
It’s crucial to us at SFBike to see parents confidently making the shift to moving around the city, with their kids, for everyday – and multigenerational! – transportation. It’s one reason we have a regular partnership with Karen Wiener and her Biking With Children classes, hosted at Natural Resources. So if you missed our Moms Who Bike ride but you’re curious about starting to modeshift your school commutes, you can register now for our next two classes, on July 20 and September 7. We’ll see you, and your kiddos, out there!
