I& #39;ve been a nervous nellie about cycling on city streets for a while and after I had kids I was petrified. So I was one of those parents driving their kids to school every morning. Finally took the plunge, took the money we were saving up for a car and got an urban arrow. https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🧵" title="Thread" aria-label="Emoji: Thread">

I know they& #39;re expensive to buy and to maintain and to buy accessories for but guess what? so is a car but multiply all of the expenses by 10. I don& #39;t have to buy gas or pay to park. We& #39;ve only had it 1 week but we& #39;ve replaced 8 car trips and I& #39;m actually exercising every day.

Riding on a larger bike makes me 100x more comfortable on the street with cars, I& #39;m highly visible. Electric assist means we& #39;re more nimble and I& #39;m not worried my asthma will make us stop. I know not everyone can drop $$$$ on a e-bike, I wish they were a more viable option.

The experience is just better than a car in every way. Even when it was sprinkling it was a fun shared experience. We talk more and we see more, we nod and wave at the other parents biking and strolling with their kids on the greenway. I don& #39;t miss the 5 min saved by driving.

It feels like most people I pass have never seen an urban arrow before, based on the stares I get every morning but I hope that my appearance or maybe this thread will inspire someone to get out of their car too. I& #39;ve been counting and we& #39;ve replaced 8 car trips so far.

Oh also this bike is heavy as fuck so I& #39;m less worried about someone riding away on it or throwing it in the back of a van. I still lock it up of course but I& #39;m less worried about it than my regular bike. Go to Blue Heron in Berkeley and try out some cargo bikes!

We used to have one of these but it was such a hassle to use we didn& #39;t get out with it as much as we would& #39;ve liked. It& #39;s still good! Don& #39;t mean to knock trailers at all I just didn& #39;t love it.