When you first started...

[emily_in_nc]

Emily and Lisa SH, I'd like to see your interior bike holder. Do you have to pop the front wheel off to use it--like Honda's bike rack? You can PM the pics so as not to hijack this thread further.

I PM'd you...

Emily

[Tuckervill]

I posted pics in this thread of my Element with the bikes inside.

In addendum to that post, I put my son's mtb and my road bike on the little rack (that's my mtb on the right in the pics) last weekend. I didn't pull the seat out completely, just flipped it up. I actually had both seats up, and there was plenty of room. But then I had to pick up my grandson who needs a car seat, and I was afraid the other seat wouldn't go down. But, it did!

I didn't make canvas wheel bags, either, as stated in that thread. I happened upon some at Nashbar for just $10 so I bought them. I hang those from a hook or just stick them in there.

The little board DOES slide around a bit if there's nothing wedging it in place. I put some kind of grippy feet on the bottom, but that didn't really help. So I just took a little wire and wired it to the tie-down loop at the back of the car. My son's bike tire ends up resting against the back of my seat so that keeps it in place, too.

Notice that I staggered the bikes so as to nest them together as closely as possible to get as much room for other cargo. I wouldn't go for the Honda bike rack, as that requires you to put your bike smack dab in the middle, and you can only put one in because of the way it is attached to the spare wheel cover. But if one bike is all you need to put in there, then go for it!

Here's a pic of my E doing its other job:

Karen

[sundial]

Karen, your E is very nice! Tango Red?

When I'm headed out with my bike, I just unfold the one seat and hang it out of the way and roll the bike in with the handlebars resting over the head rest of the other seat. If it's both of our bikes, I hang both seats out of the way and bungee in the bikes. It works for us but I've got a Thule rack on the way.

A few years ago hubby made me a platform for the cargo area and covered it with auto carpet (found at O'Reilly's). He made it so that the large dog crates could set above the wheel wells in the back. I wonder if I could make it work for the bike accessory.

[emily_in_nc]

You gals who fold the Element seats up against the windows, you don't find that it really hurts visibility when driving? I did that exactly once in my E and felt like I had HUGE blind spots. So, the seats are hanging with rope and pulleys my DH rigged up near our garage ceiling most of the time, and the back of the E is just wide open for bikes, luggage, whatever! We also have Thule racks for the top for kayaks.

My E stays pretty dirty from living on a gravel/dirt road, which gets muddy when it rains, so I won't post a photo here!

Emily

[sundial]

I like to hang only one seat at a time because I'm so used to looking out the side windows rather than the side mirrors.

[Tuckervill]

Yeah, there are blind spots with the seats up. I end up putting them up and leaving them up for a week, so those don't bother me. But honestly, the blind spot I've had the most trouble with is the one directly to my left and right on the window pillars! I have a hard time seeing pedestrians unless I physically shift forward or back or side to side to see if anyone's there.

One day I was on the street approaching a trail crossing. A police car was coming towards me. Two pedestrians were already in the crossing when we approached, and I let them by and started to go...but then I saw police car's blue lights come on and my husband said, WAIT! There were two MORE peds walking up to the crosswalk and beginning to cross and I never saw them the whole time I was slowing down or stopped. That's how wide that blind spot behind the pillar is. I'm training myself to check, but I don't always know precisely when I should. Luckily the cop did not think it was a big enough infraction to stop me for--and I was so far away from the crosswalk I would have seen them in time to stop.

eta: Yes, Tango Red Pearl. It's looking shiny there because it had been raining. I don't usually keep it spit shined, but when I do clean it, something about the paint, etc., makes it extra sparkly.

Karen

[LoriO]

Don't have an element, but I do have a Ford Focus wagon... plenty of room for the dogs!!

As for the original question. When I first started out, I was lucky to survive 3 miles, but then my neighborhood is ALL hills, there is almost nothing flat.

Nowadays, a lot of my mileage is dictated by how much time I have for a ride which is often only about an hour or so. I found I can usually get in a good 10-11 mile ride in that time with a lot of hills for a great workout!