For a shorter reading, omit the passages in brackets

When I first saw the Xtracycle, I emailed a friend saying "I just saw something that fortunately is too expensive to tempt me." I was surfing for panniers, racks, *something* so that I wasn't so frequently saygin "I'd have taken the bike, but I had to bring _____."
Then I spent more time on the website, and also priced out the "racks and panniers and .." - especially since I *use* my bike. Quality matters.
I questioned the quality. Was this some quirky gadget that Californians with excess discretionary income got for show? Would it fall apart?
It was the history page that shifted me. These guys had been down in Central America with "bikesnotbombs" and had noticed bikes being overused... and went back and got a grant and got Stanford engineers to figure out how to elegantly, simply make a bicycle a more functional cargo machine.
Oh, and of course a chunk of the Xtracycle profits supported getting bikes down there.
I sent a few emails to Xtracycle. Laughter Medicine answered them.
I asked my bike shop guru who is ALAS AND ALACK moving to Wisconsin in a week or two... "ever heard of Xtracycle?"
"A reasonable carrying alternative," he said. And by the way, he'd be glad to make it happen to my bike. In fact, his eyes dilated... his breathing quickened...


[[[[[
[ I drove 735 miles to my sister's house for the fambly "Epiphimas" gathering. On the way I decided to go for it. I got to my sister's house 3:00 California time and called Xtracycle, Friday January 6... and got their voicemail. "You've reached Xtracycle. We decided to take a few days off at teh end of the year. If you want to reach ___, call ____. .... Laughter can be reached telepathically."
At 7:00 California time, 10:00 Baltimore time, after quaffing a few beers with the siblings (I have 5), I wanted to share that message with them. I called again... and a human answered. I hung up 'cause I was certainly not prepared to *talk* to somebody... and figured that there's was a business like the one I'm in and the phone was at somebody's house - and that, like we sometimes did, they'd forgotten to change the voicemail message
]]]]]

I ordered it. And I was just now inspired to peek at my blog, 'cause I had it going since 2005, so I wrote about the process. Snork... what could I know?

{{{{ My bike shop guru put it on. Therefore, it wasn't complicated. I think it takes a competent (but not excellent) mechanic to do it. (Tho' my guru is excellent.) Since it goes on lots of different kinds of bikes, you have to decide exacty how parts are going to get connected. But - once it's on there, it's on there.
I thought I commuted a lot. I thought the stuff on the website about "it will change your life" was California drivel.
I think I thought wrong.
It is so not complicated. It simply turns my bike into a practical vehicle.
The bags are like the back seat of my car, except after havin the Xtra for a year, I sold my car to my brother because in this college town I just don't need one. I've got the money in the bank, so I can get one... it's been a year and a half, and Illinois winters... and boy, do I *NOT* want a car. I'm FREE!
}}}}



I love my Xtracycle.
It rides like a bike. Carries like a truck.
And horribly nonmechanical Xious does not have to carefully load it so it doesn't fal over. I do have to make sure the silly straps don't dangle into the wheels, but I can put *anything* in there and it just stays and rides so easily... it's lke the back seat of a car. Only... what's a car?


((( I especially love watching people see it and THINK.
They think "Crap! She got that bike on PURPOSE!" Not "'til I can get a car."

Oh, and I was the third one in this town... and now there are a dozen.
And now longbikes are going mainstream - Surly, Trek, other folks are makeing them and Xtra has put the design online as "open source." I think this is amazingly gonadian of them. So you can make your own if you want
)))))