Hauling things by bike

I had really hoped to have a more spectacular re-launch of CFA2 in time for Curb Your Car Month 08, but it's been way busy on the non-motorized transportation front lately (which is a good thing) and it turns out it's not that easy to find bloggers who are not already blogging. So we'll do the best we can and maybe hope to have lots of new posts in time for World Carfree Day in September.

I'm (finally) prompted to post by an excellent recent Grist article on cargo bikes. Who could resist a title like Haul's Well that Ends Well?

Now, anyone know if anyone in town has an Xtracycle?

advice from the bike pile

Paul at carfreefamily has a lot of bikes and trailers to haul kids, groceries, and stuff around his farm. He has a tandem. He has a three seat tandem. None of this stops him from adding to his extensive bike wishlist. He talks about how to better manage a carfree life and massive bike inventory and whether selling his car saved him money or just redirected it to more bike parts. It's a good read (as is the rest of his blog) for bike lovers on a budget. Also a good advice for those making their carfree Christmas lists.

Amtrak weekly specials

Riding Amtrak is by far the easiest way to travel from Ann Arbor to Chicago and points in between. The station is easily accessible from downtown, unlike the airport. The major gripe is usually the cost. However, Amtrak offers cheap fares on the Wolverine (and many other lines) through their weekly specials published on their website. One-way adult tickets to Chicago are often $20. Kids under 2 ride free. The trick is in the timing. You need to plan ahead and buy tickets early as there is a limited quantity of cheap seats but the tickets are only offered two weeks in advance.The other major gripe is that you can’t bring a bike on the Wolverine, unless it is of the folding variety. We’ll have to work on that.
website: http://www.amtrak.com (click on “Hot Deals”)

Contributed by: Ken Clark & Scott TenBrink