notes/motherload_film_about_cargo_bikes.md

Released March 28, 2020 https://vimeo.com/ondemand/motherload?autoplay=1

• towing a bike trailer up their hill was too much, so she stopped. (5:15)
• she lives in Fairfax, CA, birthplace of the mountain bike (Joe Breeze).

Longtail

• Ian Grayson (13:33) made longtails in Australia starting 1988
  • was inspired by what he saw in India
  • doesn't own a car or a cell phone, got a TV only recently
• Bruce Neely electrified one in 1990 (Ausralia)

Xtracycle (17:05)

• 1998

• sold 100 in the first year, hoped to get 10,000 (20:30)

  • no market yet

• saddled with debt after 20 years

• redesigned everything

• Ben Sarrazin (Yuba) (17:05) wanted to carry his kayak on a bike

  • 75% of their market is female
  • left Xtracycle to start Yuba
  • top-selling cargo bike brand in France, US, Canada, Australia

Erik Brohaugh

• ebrohaugh@gmail.com
• rural Gambia
• fights erosion, plants trees, improve agriculture
• built a cargo bike to get around, it caught on
• dreams of opening a factory so he can empower locals with bikes "made in Africa"

Holland (58:00)

• kids to go to school by themselves by bike
• "Ika Trading" (sp?), a Dutch lady
• Amsterdam built up its infrastructure in the 1970s in reaction to bicycle deaths

Pros

• save money
• lose weight
• feel free
• be outside
• less isolated
  • people
  • sounds
  • wind
• fun

Barriers

• aren't you cold?
• isn't it hard?
• in the snow?
• can you carry a heavy load (groceries etc)?
• are you as mobile?
• is it safe?
  • yes, stats say as safe as walking or driving
  • even safer when taking into considering health benefits
• "line cutters"
• "weird"
• "extreme"
• road rage
• mom shaming (55:00)
  • drivers are more willing to be aggressive with women
• 1% of Americans ride bikes
• 54% of Americans think it's unsafe
• 25% of bike commuters are women
• the more money you have, the more likely you are to drive

Applications

• haul car tires four at a time
• do agriculture in West Africa
• disaster relief

Companies/Entities/Events

• Metrofiets
• 2020 Cycles
• Xtracycle
• Clever Cycles (imported Bakfiets)
  • normalized cargo bikes
  • optimized cargo bikes for families
• Bicycle Works
• Cycling Without Age
• Ika Trading (sp?) (Dutch)
• Flying Pigeon LA
• CicLAvia
  • open streets event in LA, started 2010
• The New Wheel
  • 12-month no interest financing
  • trade-ins (cars, bikes)
• Disaster Relief Trials: cargo bike race in Portland
• Rock The Bike
  • makes power from bikes!
• LA Cycle Tours
• Kidical Mass

Electric Bikes

• make cargo bikes more accessible
• $2k cost is added from electric motor
• very efficient

Demographics

• (in LA) foreign-born people are three times more likely to ride a bike (1:09:09)
• people of color are moving towards cycling at four times the rate of whites
• under $20k household income: 7% biking
  • over $100k: 4%

Criticisms

• smug, vain, self-righteous
• connection to early feminist cycling seems dubious

Highlights

• The Finches, six kids and a mom on one cargo bike (48:12) (Portland)
  • did a media tour after an article about them
  • they did a coast to coast tour with seven kids!!
• disaster relief race (1:14:00-1:15:50)

Takeaways

• steps to get widespread adoption
  • make it safe
  • make it easy
  • make it normal
    • turn signals?
    • brake lights?
    • regulation
    • good conduct by cyclists -> persuasion of normies, infrastructure
  • "enormous revolution that's just beginning"