Lindsay Berresford has always lived a pedal-based life. She’s never owned a car and doesn’t plan to. But when told she was expecting twins, Lindsay knew she would need to rethink her two-wheeled lifestyle. Here's her story.
Lindsay Berresford has never owned a car and doesn’t ever plan to. So she instead opted for a practical cargo bike.
When the twins arrived, everyone assumed that my husband and I would buy a car but this didn’t seem convenient.
We do have a campervan which we use for holidays and rent out during the rest of the year but this isn’t something we would want to drive all the time.
There’s always traffic, it’s difficult to find parking, especially in the centre of Bristol, and it can be quite stressful driving in such a hectic environment.
Initially, we got around by walking and the occasional bus journey but this didn’t work for us. Far too often I found buses didn’t have the facilities to allow for a double buggy and walking place to place took hours.
After a bit of research, I came across a Taga electric cargo bike which looked like the perfect solution to my travel woes.
The bike is lifechanging
I can honestly say it has changed my life.
The day the bike arrived I put it together single-handedly as it was surprisingly easy to put together and headed straight down to my local Ikea with my oldest son to practise.
We rode around and around, especially concentrating on staying between the white lines when I turned corners.
That was enough to give me the confidence to head straight out onto the road with all the kids.
It does feel really different to a normal bike and takes a bit of getting used to but don’t let that put you off. The main thing to remember is to take your corners slow and wide.
It's compatible with family life
We also store our cargo bike in the front garden which means that we can access it easily and the kids can hop in, in a safe environment, and jump out once we reach our destination.
It’s completely hassle-free and the little ones absolutely love it! They enjoy being outdoors and waving to people on the street.
We actually get a lot of attention because you don’t often see cargo bikes on the road – honestly, it’s like we’re celebrities when we’re out and about.
It’s also a great bonding time for us because we are so close together on the bike, so we often play games and chat on the way to school. You don’t get this kind of interaction when you’re driving in a car because you have to concentrate on the road and what you are doing more.
It helps save us money
Although the initial cost was quite steep, we’ve actually saved money in the long term as it’s much cheaper to maintain than a car.
We simply charge our bike each night by plugging the battery into the socket. I feel even better because we have solar panels, so it’s green energy – and off we set in the morning. It’s really as simple as that.
I’d love to see more families using cargo bikes but people don’t view them as a travel option because they’ve never heard of them.
I can’t recommend purchasing one enough. Riding a cargo bike has opened up so many opportunities for me and my family and has been so easy to integrate into our everyday routine.
