February 21, 2011: I spent this weekend at a Swedish island called Koster – the westernmost point of the west coast, and a car-free haven with only about 350 inhabitants. You need half an hour on the ferry to get here, and once you arrive you have to travel on foot, by bike or one of the small moped trikes often used by the locals – with a front loading deck over the two front wheels.
Not surprisingly, I prefer the bike.
I have an old singlespeed standing at our place here, bought at a fleamarket for less than the cost of driving here and back – by car it’s one and a half hour each way from our home to the harbor on the mainland. This bike has to stay outdoors all year. This weekend we had 13 degrees celsius below zero – and the bike hadn’t been used for months.
It just worked, like always.
It took me down to my favorite beach before a late breakfast, rolling over frozen puddles and crisp snow – giving me the chance to enjoy a quiet moment before returning to the rest of the bunch.
Bikes like this deserve so much more love than they get.
