Bringing a Bike on a Trip
One of my joys in life is riding a bicycle. Another joy is travel - especially road trips. Having a bike available when exploring a new place is fantastic. The two really go together like peanut butter and jelly. Drive the car to reach an exciting new place. Ride the bike to experience the details.
I bought a bike rack for my car to enable this combination. However, it’s really inconvenient. It takes 5 or 10 minutes to install it on the car. And when it’s on there, I can’t open the trunk. Furthermore, it takes some effort to put the bike on the rack. There are several straps to tighten and then I use bungie cords to keep the wheels from spinning around. Doing all that takes a couple minutes. It doesn’t sound like much but in reality I dread all that hassle, so I rarely end up using the bike rack.
Enter the Fold
I’ve always admired the engineering elegance of the Brompton folding bicycles. Sometimes I’d consider buying one but talk myself out of it because I already owned a road bike. Why have two? Especially when the Brompton is expensive and the road bike is faster? Well I’m glad I finally treated myself to a Brompton B75 two years back.
The Brompton really excels at portability and convenience. The bike folds up quickly, probably less than 30 seconds, and gets really compact. It easily fits into the trunk of a car. One time I even took it in the overhead storage of a plane!
I ride the Brompton frequently on trips since it’s so easy to bring it along. It really opens up opportunities for quick, serendipitous rides. For instance, I was traveling through Colorado and made a brief stop in Fort Collins. I only had about 30-40 minutes on my schedule. I found a parking spot, unfolded the B75, pedaled away, and got to enjoy the trail along the Poudre River!
The Value of Convenience
Yes, my road bike is faster and more efficient for longer distances. But that’s irrelevant if I left it at home. When I’m traveling, the Brompton B75 is the best bicycle. Why? Because it’s the one I actually use!
I’ve learned to apply this more generally. After recognizing the importance of convenience it’s often the case that “The Best X is the One You Use.”