When we had our first child in 2016, life certainly changed for the better, but our lifestyle didn’t change too much. We’d find time to get out and about. We bought a child carrying hiking backpack and did some great hiking, we travelled internationally with a 6 month old, and we even found babies sleep remarkably well amongst the noise at the local pub.
4 years later, with a 4 year old and almost 2 year old, our lifestyle had certainly changed! Four year olds talk back to you, hate doing anything you ask, and pick on their younger siblings. They’re too big to want to travel in the pram but won’t walk more than a few hundred metres. Getting 2 kids dressed and ready to go out requires persistence and mental resilience, meaning we’d often just give up and stay at home This brought on guilt trips about not doing enough fun stuff with the kids, and was generally not great for mental health.
Our life had changed, and I’m not sure it was for the better.
Then we got a cargo bike…
Fun returns to the family
The day we got our cargo bike our life improved. Here’s 5 reasons why cargo biking has changed our life… for the better.
1. Mundane errands become family adventures
When you take the car to the grocery store, you generally go there with one thing in mind, getting in and out as quickly as possible. You are dragging kids there who don’t want to be there, and its overall an unpleasant experience.
On our cargo bike, our grocery store runs become an adventure where we ride a different route every time, play eye spy with the kids, spot native wildlife and generally just have fun.
2. Kids ride up front
I’ve done plenty of km’s with a regular kid seat on the back of my bike. The simplicty and cost of this is great, and I’d recommend it to all parents who want to ride with their kids. However it has some serious shortcomings, one being your child is behind you.
If you’ve got a child like my 2 year old who thinks it is a great game to stick their hand down your pants, this can get pretty annoying. But mainly with your kids behind you, you just can’t engage like you can when you are infront. You hope they are having fun back there but you really don’t know.
In our cargo bike, our kids are in front, we can chat, laugh and I can just keep an eye on them.
3. Pack everything
I’m sure we’re not the only ones who have had to negotiate what we are taking in the pram due to sheer lack of space. Or taken the bike with the rear rack out and can’t even find a space to carry our wallet, let alone food and water for the kids.
It was a revelation when we got our cargo bike and this was no longer an issue. The baby bag gets thrown in, a lunch box with enough snacks and water to keep us going for hours, and whatever toys we want. Want your dump truck, Batman toy and Soccer Ball? Sure chuck it in. Want to ride the balance bike when we get to the park? Chuck it in too.
4. 'Local' is more than your suburb
We hate getting in the car on the weekend. Getting kids in and out of the car is painful, we need to load them up with devices on the car trip to keep them entertained and that’s before you consider the stress of dealing with traffic and car parking.
This meant we spent a lot of time at the parks, cafes, playgrounds, beaches within a short walk from home. Every day felt like groundhog day.
Then we got our cargo bike and all of a sudden local was many kilometres from home. New parks, new cycleways, new beaches, new cafes. It made these trips genuinely more fun for everyone.
5. Kids love it
We’ve all spent $30 on entry to a trampoline park only for kids to crack it and generally have a miserable time (or is that just us??).
We now have free adventures on our cargo bike, we get outside in the fresh air, and our kids love it.
As parents, everything is about the kids these days, more smiles on their dials = a win for us. Plus, we’re helping our kids make memories that will stay with them for life!
Family adventures await
We could easily rattle off another 10 things we love about cargo biking with our kids. It was all these great moments that led us to found Tribe Bikes. We’ve brought Australia’s most affordable cargo bike to Australia so more families can live lives that involve less stress and more fun. We would love nothing better to see you ‘take your tribe’ on a Tribe Bike!
Ready for Family Adventures on 3 Wheels?
Tribe Bikes are available now. Priced from $1,990, delivered fully assembled and ready to ride. This includes free delivery to NSW, Victoria, Queensland and ACT.
