Bicycles Make Us Superhuman

The most amazing thing about the bicycle is how such a simple machine can allow ordinary people to achieve  superhuman feats. Two stories I came across this week illustrate the point very well.

The Finchs of Portland

The first story is about Portland, Oregon, resident Emily Finch, a 34 year old mother who moves her six kids and groceries on a Bakfiets cargo bike. She has a kids bike attached to the back of the cargo bike and this is usually ridden by her 9 year old daughter Mary, who is often called on to deliver some extra power to get up hills.

The Bakfiets cargo bike weights 44 kg, the kids bike perhaps 12 kg. The cargo bike can carry up to 130 kg of cargo and maybe a 9 year old on the kids bike might weigh 30 kg. If Emily weights about the 50 kg this means the total weight of this rig, on the road, fully loaded could be over 250 kg. A quarter of a tonne or about one third the weight of my Nissan Micra car.

I know from riding a heavily loaded touring bike about the extra handling problems that weight can cause on a bike. I am in awe of this woman who clearly can deliver a lot of power when needed, but I’m even more impressed with her bike handling skills. A rig like this leaves no room for handling errors.

Perhaps ever more impressive is that if you take Emily’s weigh out of the reckoning this woman is capable of moving 200 kg on the road. It would require quite a big pack horse to move this kind of load. But with the right cargo bike an ordinary woman can achieve this feat using only her own power.

Trix Zgraggen

The second story I came across was the Race Across America, a grueling 3000 mile bicycle race from California to Maryland, over burning deserts and a 11,000 foot high pass in the Rocky Mountains. This year the womens race was won by Trix Zgraggen, a 46 year old Swiss woman who completed the course in a mind boggling 10 days 13 hours and 59 minutes. Another super human feat made possible by the bicycle.

Ancient legends are full of stories about characters with superhuman powers, able to move great loads, travel long distances and travel faster than an ordinary person could. Everyday all over the world ordinary people are using bicycles and achieving feats that rival those of ancient legends.

The full story of Emily Finch is on the bikeportland.org website

Bakfiets Cargo Bikes

Trix Zgraggen

Race Across America